SIX years for Yanni Gourde

[kimzey59]

Granted it's only 2.33mil per year, but SIX years for a 33 year old UFA?

I think I'm inclined to stay out of this years UFA market if that's indicative of the kind of deals that are going to be tossed around.

[Harry S Deals]

Granted it's only 2.33mil per year, but SIX years for a 33 year old UFA?

I think I'm inclined to stay out of this years UFA market if that's indicative of the kind of deals that are going to be tossed around.

Wow thats tough, Gourde was one of the 2c/3c kinda guys i was thinking of. Still think Army is going to get a 3rd center from the next group down, a fairly competent player that upgrades Sunny and skate with Bolduc and Neighbours

[seattleblue]

GMs are getting more confident at dealing with the ends of bad contracts. They're looking at seven year deals like four year deals and worry about the last three later.

[skilles]

UFA contracts are almost certainly going to be perceived as crazy as we venture back in to significant increases and people continue to compare new contracts to old contracts.

[Frank Underwood]

That seems to be Tampa’s new game plan…..keep the AAV low but give older players extra term. I don’t remember the details, but they tried to do the same with Stamkos last year. I think their offer was only $3 million but for an 8-year term for a guy that turned 35 this past season.

[TheJackBurton]

That seems to be Tampa’s new game plan…..keep the AAV low but give older players extra term. I don’t remember the details, but they tried to do the same with Stamkos last year. I think their offer was only $3 million but for an 8-year term for a guy that turned 35 this past season.

Yeah, Brisebois knows that he has a shelf life, so what will he care when that bill comes due? Likelihood of him still being there are quite small.

[STL fan in MN]

The cap is going up significantly over the next 3 years (and likely beyond). I suggest folks get prepared for an absolutely insane market reset. UFA prices will be sky high this summer.

[chuckt]

In the final couple years, I bet this contract is fully bury-able in the AHL with no cap hit.

In that sense, it's four years at 2.3 million, which is almost minimum pay with the rising cap.

[STL fan in MN]

In the final couple years, I bet this contract is fully bury-able in the AHL with no cap hit.

In that sense, it's four years at 2.3 million, which is almost minimum pay with the rising cap.

Perhaps the amount a team can bury in the minors goes up in the next CBA from the current $1.15M but I doubt it goes up that much.

But also a good thought as I bet it does increase. Risky term but a pretty darn low AAV. An interesting strategy.

[callitwhatyouwant]

I don't know what you guys expect. These guys are capable of playing until they are 36-40. If you want a cheaper contract for a 33 year old, you have to give them the longer term on the background. That way that even if they are waived from the team, they are still making cash. They get to make the decision on the backend if the AHL at 38-39 is for them if that happens or just to retire. This is no different then spending 4 million for 4 years. It just looks different.

It's why I don't understand people complaining about Schenns contract. It's going to be perfectly in line with market value. You know who had identical production to Schenn this year? Barbashev. Barbs is a hair cheaper but that contract was signed 2 years ago. If he were to resign today he'd be making 7+ easy. It just is what it is.

[bluetunehead]

Yeah this is basically giving him a few extra years to lower the cap. It's back diving without actually back diving. If he signed a 3 year deal he'd be getting 4M a year. He's sacrificing cash up front.

[IsDurbanodoingtime]

Yeah this is basically giving him a few extra years to lower the cap. It's back diving without actually back diving. If he signed a 3 year deal he'd be getting 4M a year. He's sacrificing cash up front.

Akin to a poor man's buyout without the hefty penalty. Just park him in the minors ala Andrew Ladd and at a lower salary. Isn't there a rule against these type of contracts ? How did the potential penalty play out for the Preds and Webber's contract ? A question for the cap experts.

[bluetunehead]

Yeah this is basically giving him a few extra years to lower the cap. It's back diving without actually back diving. If he signed a 3 year deal he'd be getting 4M a year. He's sacrificing cash up front.

Akin to a poor man's buyout without the hefty penalty. Just park him in the minors ala Andrew Ladd and at a lower salary. Isn't there a rule against these type of contracts ? How did the potential penalty play out for the Preds and Webber's contract ? A question for the cap experts.

The difference with the old contracts that got penalized was that there was actual substantial backdiving going on because there were no rules preventing it. So you'd have guys getting 10M a year for 5 years and then 800k for the next 5 so that the cap would magically be half of what it should be, and it would be plain as day the player never intended to fulfill the life of the contract. Kovalchuk had a 17-year contract blocked by the league that would have paid him 550k in the last few seasons. He then still signed a 15 year deal that he shockingly didn't finish.

This Gourde deal pays him 3.1M in the first year and only down to 1.8M at the end. So he's really just sacrificing a bit of money early for a couple extra seasons of stability. There's no clear circumvention going in.

[IsDurbanodoingtime]

Yeah this is basically giving him a few extra years to lower the cap. It's back diving without actually back diving. If he signed a 3 year deal he'd be getting 4M a year. He's sacrificing cash up front.

Akin to a poor man's buyout without the hefty penalty. Just park him in the minors ala Andrew Ladd and at a lower salary. Isn't there a rule against these type of contracts ? How did the potential penalty play out for the Preds and Webber's contract ? A question for the cap experts.

The difference with the old contracts that got penalized was that there was actual substantial backdiving going on because there were no rules preventing it. So you'd have guys getting 10M a year for 5 years and then 800k for the next 5 so that the cap would magically be half of what it should be, and it would be plain as day the player never intended to fulfill the life of the contract. Kovalchuk had a 17-year contract blocked by the league that would have paid him 550k in the last few seasons. He then still signed a 15 year deal that he shockingly didn't finish.

This Gourde deal pays him 3.1M in the first year and only down to 1.8M at the end. So he's really just sacrificing a bit of money early for a couple extra seasons of stability. There's no clear circumvention going in.

Got it. Thanks.

[TBone]

The cap is going up significantly over the next 3 years (and likely beyond). I suggest folks get prepared for an absolutely insane market reset. UFA prices will be sky high this summer.

It's going to make Thomas and Kyrou's contracts look like steals in the near future.

Given the future cap I'd rather lock up Holloway and Broberg earlier than later.

[SIU LAW]

Random thought: while the number of years is obviously to knock down the AAV and most of it could be buried in the minors if needed, with more expansion coming and creating more roster spots, some portion of older players will probably stay in the league a little longer than has been the norm the past 10-15 years (not unlike the pre-cap era).