Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins fail at salary cap management

[realmofotalk]

I hadn't realized until I read this week's ESPN Mag that the Hawks stand to lose two of three best players: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith. As for the Bruins, to not be able to re-sign their 21-year old goal scorer would be a P.R. abomination in any other professional sport.

[cjkalt]

The Bruins traded Kessel for a motherload of 2 1st round picks and a 2nd round pick and considering Toronto isn't that good its a pretty good deal but thats the way the NHL system is, you simply don't get to keep your young talent for cheap for a long enough time... its one of the reasons fans don't attract to hockey as much cause of the constant turnover

[Foster]

Yet a team like Pittsburgh can have Malkin, Stall, Crosby, Kunitz, Letang, Orpik, and Fleury for the next 3 years. Yes I know it's not cheap paying your top talent less than 9 million a season, but it works.

[nick]

This isn't meant to sound ignorant in any way, but I pretty much only casually follow hockey and don't even know many players outside of the Blackhawks roster, and I really don't know much about how the contract or salary cap (if there is one) works at all. But why is Chicago set to lose 2 out of their 3 peding star FAs? Just not enough cash, or would they be way over a luxery tax, or what? Just wondering, if there's a simple way to explain it.

[Halladay_is_God]

This isn't meant to sound ignorant in any way, but I pretty much only casually follow hockey and don't even know many players outside of the Blackhawks roster, and I really don't know much about how the contract or salary cap (if there is one) works at all. But why is Chicago set to lose 2 out of their 3 peding star FAs? Just not enough cash, or would they be way over a luxery tax, or what? Just wondering, if there's a simple way to explain it.

NHL runs a Hard Cap system, no luxury tax, the cap limit for the upcoming season is at 56.8 Million which right now the Hawks are over but still have time to make room by sending players down to the AHL or the minors (teams are allowed to be 10% over the cap in the off-season)

with the Hawks on the Kane, Toews, and Keith, those 3 are set to become RFA's after this season and the team is already near the cap ceiling this season with and sure long term contracts to Marian Hossa, Brian Campbell, Cristobal Huet, Patrick Sharp and others, it makes people wonder how they can make room for Kane, Toews and Keith.

if the Hawks really needed to make room in the salary they would elect to put a player with a big salary in the minors (if they pass though waivers) or putting a player on Long-Term Injury Reserve (example right now would be Adam Burish who's out with a ACL injury) and that would keep that player's salary off the team's cap but the team would still have to pay that player's salary on top of the NHL salaries, so it like a double edge sword that way.

[Halladay_is_God]

I hadn't realized until I read this week's ESPN Mag that the Hawks stand to lose two of three best players: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith. As for the Bruins, to not be able to re-sign their 21-year old goal scorer would be a P.R. abomination in any other professional sport.

wish i saw this earlier

Boston was in danger but made a decent deal with Toronto for Kessel, ad its not like Toronto going to get any better anytime soon so the two 1st round picks should be near the 10-15 range which might be enough to get Boston a NHL player

although Boston was lucky they landed Blake Wheeler last season when he didn't sign with Phoenix

They were options for Boston to sign Kessel and get under the cap at the same time although that didn't end up happening


I touched on Chicago already but make no mistake about it I believe all 3 of them will stay in Chicago

with trades just like what New Jersey and San Jose did in 2006 or putting players in the minors

2006-Oct-01 Traded Vladimir Malakhov from New Jersey Devils with round 1 pick in the 2007 draft (David Perron) to San Jose Sharks for Alexander Korolyuk and Jim Fahey (that 1st rounder went to St Louis in another trade)

so there are options out for Chicago, only thing that could stop them is giving players No-Trade or No-Movement Clauses just like the Toronto Maple Leafs did before the lockout and they ended up getting caught for it.


and I haven't even touched on the buy-out period in the off-season

[realmofotalk]

Yes, Boston made out okay considering that Kessel was a free agent, but considering that he's 22, you would have expected that he would be one of the last players that they would let go.

I don't think New Jersey had any players as good as Kane or Toews that they were in danger of losing. I think teams aren't going to be inclined to help Chicago get under the cap if they have a shot to lure Kane or Toews next year.

[cjkalt]

He wouldn't sign an extension with Boston, he really wanted to go play in a hockey city and get away from the Boston pressure cooker, so it wasn't like we had the choice to sign him and didn't, he really didn't want to sign with us...

Speaking of which can someone know if we have a hockey or basketball prediction thread yet?

[Foster]

Pressure cooker, in Boston?!?!?!?!
He has himself in the second biggest pressure cooker in the NHL (I'll argue Montreal #1). Toronto can swallow you up seeing as how all the national sports media outlets in Canada are based there.

[cjkalt]

its a little easy to deal with pressure when you got that nice big contract thats guaranteed

[Halladay_is_God]

if Kessel said that, he's just foolig himself, didn't want to be in the pressure cooker, well he went to the WRONG city for that

Kessel whether he likes it or not is now the face of the Maple Leafs

[realmofotalk]

Kane and Toews, both 21, signed five-year deals reported to be worth $31.5 million each. Keith, a defenseman, got a 13-year contract worth a reported $72 million, making it the richest in team history and surpassing the 12-year, $62.8 million given to Marian Hossa(notes) in the offseason.

I believe they are now capped out for 2010, if not over it. It seems to me they will have to dump a few of their second-tier players just to fill out their depth chart with minimum salary players.

[Foster]

Sopel on the back end of the D is the man that people are talking about taking a flight away from town.

Savard signed in Boston for a long term deal as well. I can't remember the numbers but for the next couple of years its big money, and back end has something like less than a million per.

[Halladay_is_God]

the hawks singing all the big 3, didn't see that at all, not at all


edit: and they still won't move Sharp

Sopel going to be gone, either traded or just waived

Campbell should be traded but the price would come pretty high to the Hawks, likely adding their a prospect and a young player like Jack Skille, they will need to find a buyer first

[realmofotalk]

Brian Burke may have interest in Sopel.
Fadoo.ca: Leafs-Blackhawks Talking Trade?

My first thought is that I'm skeptical that another team would claim Sopel's $2 million 2010/11 salary off waivers, but I guess teams can't refuse adding a veteran player for "free".