2017 Free agency thread.

http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/amerks-sign-former-khl-goal-leader-stevie-moses/

Steve Moses can certainly score in inferior hockey leagues. He is also noted to be one of the worst personalities in the game. I wish Matty was not on sabbatical because I am sure he'd have some insights and choice words to say about this Masshole.

Nonetheless, he's our Masshole now, so I like him. Go Amerks!

 

Not really a FA, but Penz lock up "Doom" for 6 yrs x 4.1 per.

 

The Canadiens agree to terms on a one-year, one-way contract with defenseman Mark Streit.

 

Rob Lehner and the Buffalo Sabres avoided arbitration by agreeing to one-year $4MM contract. I like it:
- The term gives Rob a year to prove that he's an NHL starter and does not commit Buffalo to a long term arrangement that they could later regret.
- It helps that after one year Rob will still be an RFA and not a UFA.
- Rob faced the second most shots/game in the NHL, and his GA Ave. should improve significantly this year since the D in front of him has been significantly upgraded, and the Sabres will play a style under HC teh Phil that should help.
- His SV% was in the upper echelon for NHL starters, (I could look up his exact ranking, but so could you!).
- His salary for the upcoming season ranks him at 20th in the league, while his stats are much better than that.

An objective review of his career would conclude that Rob has not proven that he deserves a long term contract at starting goalie wages. But he has established himself as a G with great promise; put a good team in front of him and he actually could be real good. We get another year to get a clearer idea if he's worthy. I like it.

 

Hey Dan, when you get a chance, check your inbox for messages.

Thanks.

 

Mika Zibanejad has agreed to a five-year contract with the Rangers worth an average annual value of $5.35 million.

Zibanejad got exactly what he was reportedly seeking from his new deal. He had an arbitration hearing slated for Tuesday, but that obviously is no longer necessary. Zibanejad was limited to 56 games last season and he contributed 37 points. He will be the Rangers' top center in 2017-18 and could reach the 60-point plateau if he can stay healthy.

 

The new Conversation section is a nice upgrade from the PM.

 

Got me my Sabres logo back!

Thank you, Tim!

 

Markov won't be back with the habs, I guess he wanted too much.

 

Off to the KHL he is. It will be strange as hell to not see him on the Habs back-end.

He claims he would have loved to finish his hockey career in Montreal, but he could have lowered his price too.

 

He probably wanted $4M+ for one year and the habs wanted to do a 2 year deal for less.

 

What makes you think this?

I heard he was asking for 2 years at $6MM per.

 

I was just thinking that $4M would've been the minimum. His productuon warrants about $5M, the age factor and cap get in the way. Looks like after 16 years he only wants to play for the habs, other teams would've bit.

 

Predators spend big on Ryan Johansen: eight years, $64M

 

Johansen is basically making "Crosby money" ($8.7M/yr)... HA! In 2012, #87 signed a 12-yr extension worth $104.4M, most of it front loaded ($95.4M in the first 9 years). I like this signing (from an adversary perspective) because now Trashville gets to over-spend for the foreseeable future. I'm not saying that Ryan Johansen is a big ol' bag of suck, but he's no Sidney Crosby. By the time 2024 rolls around, Crosby will make approximately $5M/yr less than RJ. Congrats to Ryan Johansen for gettin' paid.

 

It's gonna take more than $8MM AAV to extend Jack Eichel. I think his 8 year deal may come close to $80MM.

 

I wonder how these giant money long term contracts are going to effect the NHL and its teams. Is it even sustainable to pay this kind of money without screwing the fans who already pay ridiculous prices for every aspect of seeing a game. I don't know the answer, but it kinda sends a sense of caution in my mind that things are getting a little bit too much to sustain.

Maybe I just worry too much. It sure is going to effect the way the next guy wants to gets paid.

 

The salary cap is pegged to 50% of HHR, and it's been going up. To me, that's the main reason for rising contract values. The structure of these contracts, (length and salary weighting), have been tightly regulated with the last CBA.

I do not think EDM has much risk with 8 years with 20 year old McDavid. He probably will contribute more to collective HHR than almost anyone. Looked at that way, his contract is literally cheap. (Cap pegged 50% to HHR; he takes approx.. 15% of the team's cap, but contributes more than 15% to rev. growth.) To a much lesser extent, the same can probably be said about Eichel.

Of course having one player get 15% of the pie, (or two getting 25%), leaves a much smaller pie for the remaining 22 players on the roster. The NHL is big business with huge stakes associated; the GM that gets this right is lauded and has a huge income to boot. Handle the cap like Clarke did in PHL and you're out on your ass. Chicago has proven to be the model of balancing a roster with ELC players together with star-sized contracts and finding a way to win. (It'll be a real challenge for the Hawks to keep this up in '17-18, but it's been a huge challenge every year since they became dynastic.)

I don't think the NHL is going to falter due to a small number of mega-contracts being handed out. These players actually deserve that based on how the business is now constructed. Life may become more harsh for veteran players that cannot contribute to HHR growth, i.e., role-players. They may find themselves pushed aside as teams battle to add to the number of players under cost-contained ELC's.

 

I wish I could see Jagr in a Red Wings sweater... That would be fun.