NHL Thread - 2009-10

[Dressler]

Continuing on what IDR said, TSN is reporting Frolov will sign a 1 year offer sheet no dollars were expressed in the report but it does say it is directly from Frolov's agent.

The full story can be read here: http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=328588

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Continuing on what IDR said, TSN is reporting Frolov will sign a 1 year offer sheet no dollars were expressed in the report but it does say it is directly from Frolov's agent.

The full story can be read here: http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=328588

He's signing a contract, not an offer sheet. An offer sheet is something extended to the NHL's RFA (Restricted Free Agent) class during free agency in which teams can attempt to lure otherwise rights-owned players via contract under which the team losing said player is compensated via draft picks, all of which are determined by the value of the contract they willingly choose not to match.

While a few numbers have been thrown out – including one as low as $800,000, which was alluded to by Sergei Isakov, his agent, as similar to the one Maxim Afinogenov earned with the Thrashers last season. Afinogenov had previous made $3M with Buffalo, and hoped his one-year deal with Atlanta would have garnered him an open market contract worth something closer to what he'd made with Buffalo a year prior. If Frolov indeed signs a similar deal, look for him to cash in on a grander scale next year, otherwise, I'd imagine he signs for closer to $3M in base salary with the potential for bonus inclusions also made a factor.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

As I noted yesterday, the Frolov rumor has come to fruition and the Rangers have signed him to a one-year deal worth $3M – a $1,000,000 pay-cut from the $4M he actually earned (in real salary) last season, which is a tremendous bargain for the Rangers, as players as talented (and enigmatic, granted) as Frolov rarely make less in free agency.

A side note to this story is that the LA Kings have now signed former Penguin and Leaf Alexei Ponikarovsky to a contract most Kings fans will cry out is worth far less than re-signing Frolov would have been.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Oft-maligned Rangers President & General Manager Glen Sather has managed to erase yet another black mark from the Rangers report card post-lockout when the team announced this morning they'd traded faded fighter Donald Brashear (and his looming $1.4M over-35 cap hit) and rarely heard of Patrick Rissmiller to the Atlanta Thrashers for forward Todd White.

White adds to a glut of centers already on the team (Dubinsky, Drury, Anisimov, Prospal, Christensen, Boyle, etc.), but his ability to play LW might allow him to slot into the club come training camp.

At worst case scenario, however, he provides a reason for guys to compete in training camp, and his $2.375M cap hit can be erased in the event he's waived and re-assigned to Hartford to play the year out in the AHL with hopes of signing with another team when he becomes UFA next year.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

The Rangers suck.

Had to say that first.

Anyway, I interviewed a guy this morning for an opening I have at Enterprise, and he interned with the Rangers for more than 2 years. He has a pretty good mind to think that the trade for Todd White will enable the Rangers to send Wade "when does my check clear?" Redden to Hartford to minimize / eliminate his cap hit while they search for a trade for him.

Makes sense.

 

[simpsons_fanatic742]

In some big news out of Chicago, the Blackhawks decided to let Antti Neimi walk away and sign Marty Turco. Neimi now becomes an unrestricted FA and is free to sign with any team. Turco signs for about $1.3 million so Chicago saves about $1.47 million. The Chicago Blackhawks have now lost another piece of their Cup winning team and the salary cap has demolished them.

People may think this was a bad move or a sign of the team going downhill, but I don't necessarily agree. Look, Neimi was good last season, but not this great goalie people are painting him to be. He was playing infront of a fabulous team and we know that Neimi wasn't the reason they won. I think the worse thing about letting him leave is that it's another player Chicago had to let go of this off-season. They've had a terrible off-season and losing Neimi was another blow. Don't get me wrong, losing Neimi was bad, but the reason I don't think it was a bad move is because I think Turco will have a good season behind the Blackhawks defence. If they didn't sign a decent goalie I would think it was a terrible move. Chicago is still screwed because they need about 9 more players and can only offer about a million to each of them.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

The Rangers suck.

Had to say that first.

Anyway, I interviewed a guy this morning for an opening I have at Enterprise, and he interned with the Rangers for more than 2 years. He has a pretty good mind to think that the trade for Todd White will enable the Rangers to send Wade "when does my check clear?" Redden to Hartford to minimize / eliminate his cap hit while they search for a trade for him.

Makes sense.

Frolov already did that for them. With the Frolov signing (even before Brashear/Rissmiller/White) they were $2M into their summer cap, which means Redden was almost assuredly going to be demoted barring some bigger move that might have involved Rozsíval out of town. Problem is, even with Rozsíval's $5M opened up, the team would still be too tight trying to re-sign Staal, who's said to be looking for $4.5M or so a year.

Either way, if I'm a betting man, my money is on Wade starting for the Hartford Wolfpack come October. Things open up tremendously for the Rangers in that case. They go into the season with roughly $7.9M in available cap-space (sans Redden and Brashear).

 

[simpsons_fanatic742]

BREAKING NEWS: Arbitrator has ruled in favour of the NHL and the contract that Kovalchuk signed with the Devils has been voided. This now makes Ilya Kovalchuk a UFA once again.

It was clear that the contract circumvented the CBA and the NHL put their foot down to stop contracts like this. I fully expect Kovalchuk and the Devils to work out another contract, but this is still an interesting development. I'll be keeping my eyes open.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

It was clear as day (if you understand the legalities) that the arbitrator would rule in favor of the NHL in this case.

26.3 (a) No Club or Club Actor, directly or indirectly, may: (i) enter into any agreements, promises, undertakings, representations, commitments, inducements, assurances of intent, or understandings of any kind, whether express, implied, oral or written, including without limitation, any SPC, Qualifying Offer, Offer Sheet or other transaction, or (ii) take or fail to take any action whatsoever, if either (i) or (ii) is intended to or has the effect of defeating or Circumventing the provisions of this Agreement or the intention of the parties as reflected by the provisions of this Agreement, including without limitation, provisions with respect to the financial and other reporting obligations of the Clubs and the League, Team Payroll Range, Player Compensation Cost Redistribution System, the Entry Level System and/or Free Agency.

They lost right there.

The beauty of this is that the NHL has turned it's head now and is going to be investigating the Hossa, Savard, Luongo, etc. contracts. My guess is anyone who's deal has already taken effect will likely be left to it, but guys who've signed extensions may be forced to re-sign, which might be a blessing in disguise with a guy like Savard.

If Savard goes the UFA route, I guarantee you the Rangers jump all over the opportunity to sign him.