Darren Dreger from TSN reporting that the NHL owners presented an counter-proposal to the Donald Fehr and the NHLPA on Tuesday in NYC.
According to Dreger:
Proposed Salary Caps: All projected and fixed: 2012/13 - $58M 2013/14 -$60M. 2014/15-$62M. 2015/16-$64.2M. 2016/17 - $67.6M 2017/18 - $71.1M
If this new is indeed true, the Sabres would have to shed some serious payroll in order to get compliant with the new $58 million salary cap next year. The Sabres are at present approximately $3 million and change over the $58 million cap. Buffalo currently have 23 players under contracts that equal $61,867,000. RFA Tyler Ennis isn't included in these numbers as his entry level contract ended on July 1.
At present, the cap for 2012-13 is $70,200,000. By those metrics, the Sabres are $8.3 million under the cap. There are 15 other NHL teams over this limit, with Boston and Minnesota each $10+ million over the $58M cap.
Lets assume the cap truly drops to $58 million for next season. Not only would Buffalo have to shed a $3 million salary like Leopold (one year left at $3 million cap hit) or Sekera (3 years left at $2.75 million cap hit), but they would have to move another chunk of money in the $3-$4 million range in order to sign Ennis.
Steve Ott. Bad Mofo. He @otter2nine, and he is fully and completely becoming citizen of Pegulaville.
Since he was traded for Derek Roy, "Otter" has been blending into the Buffalo landscape rather nicely. He and his family have been chilling out, basking in the Mother Nature-made beauty of Lake Erie and the Niagara River.
Last weekend, the Windsor Spitfire alum celebrated his 30th birthday with family and friends at his cottage. I followed the action on his Twitter, and let me say, the man knows how to rage. The party theme: "White Trash Bash" was hilarious. There was even a photo of a shirtless Otter, tats on display, not a care in the world, carving up a pig to serve to his guests. Manly man!
He's all man. No fluff. Just what the doctor ordered for the Sabres who were sadly lacking in the Hell's Angel department last season.
Recently, he told NHLPA.COM what he's been up to this Summer.
Here are five things you need to know about Ott's Summer:
WHAT FLOATS HIS BOAT: “I’ve always loved boating for as long as I can remember. I get that from my father. Now, I have a boat to go out and cruise around and one for fishing. I really just enjoy doing anything on the water. If it’s fishing early in the morning, going out for a quick trip or having a full day out on the lake, I just love it. I see my daughter’s love for the water, too. We just bought her a pair of water skis and she’s really into it.”
Bu the way, his boat is aptly named "Otter On The Water"
THE BIG PICTURE: “I had a gym built in the cottage, which is great not having to go too far. You wake up in the morning, go down to the gym and you can get in a really good workout. There are a lot of big windows, so you get to look right out at the water and see what’s going on out there. I love it.”
NO SABRE-RATTLING: “When I had my press conference, I got to meet a lot of my new teammates. Two of the guys I got to meet were Patrick Kaleta and Cody McCormick, guys I have both fought before. And just as you’d expect, they are great guys, very welcoming. That’s the way it is in hockey. You can get under someone’s skin, drop the gloves, battle it out and then once you’re teammates, it’s all water under the bridge. You shake hands, sit down for a beer and anything that happened on the ice, it’s forgotten.”
TAILOR-MADE: “You look at the young talent they have in Buffalo and you have plenty of reason to be very optimistic. You get a real sense, from top to bottom, that they are serious about winning. I’m an energy guy and that’s what I bring to the team. I really see it as a good fit. You have great fans, fans that are very passionate and vocal. I couldn’t be happier.”
THE SUMMER SIDE OF LIFE: “You never take for granted the time you get to spend with your family and friends during the off-season. Obviously, you want to be playing for as long as you can once the regular season over, but you appreciate the moments you get to do some fun activities. Any chance I get to be around the water, I’m happy. But I don’t think I have to worry about trading in my hockey stick for a fishing rod or waterskis.”
This guy is tailor-made for Buffalo, NY. No frills. Just blood, sweat, tears, and smack!
“What happens on the ice, for the most part, it’s heat-of-the-moment exchanges that are usually forgotten,” said Ott. “The great part of hockey is in knowing a guy who you had a heated battle with and now call a teammate…you can just laugh it off, move on and go out there and work together to win. And that’s the way it should be.”
Ott has two years remaining on his contract in Dallas. No no-trade or no movement clauses. He's a $2.95 million cap hit, which by today's standards, is a steal. Whats more, he's 30 years of age and has played a ton of meaningful NHL hockey games to this point in his career.
Hell, imagine Ott chirping Lucic, Spezza, Lupul, Subban and the rest of the Northeast division.
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