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4 Reasons NHLPA is Killing Themselves Arguing For Longer Than 5 Year Deals

December 10, 2012, 3:07 PM ET [239 Comments]
Eklund
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#1 The Myth that keeping contracts to 5 year limits will hurt the lesser players...

This one isn't just wrong. It angers me and as I said to a player yesterday, "If Fehr is trying to convince the third and fourth liners to stand pat and be wiling to miss a season if the NHL won't go above 5 year limits then he should be fired immediately. If the players REALLY do have each other's backs they must see how wrong that is."

The average NHL salary is 2.1M.

Do you know how many current players with the average or below are on 6 year contracts in the NHL?

NONE. Max Talbot is on a five year deal...Helm and Moen 4 year deals.

Do you know how many players earning under the league minimum lost their jobs last time we missed an entire season?

Over 100.

How it is that Fehr has convinced some of the NHL players that they should be willing to cancel a season vs. demanding the NHL have longer than 5 year deals is so bad for the players it is scary.


I don't know if the NHL will move off of the 5 year contract limits or not. They say they are requiring it as part of the package, but it surely isn't worth canceling a season over.

However there is a common thread some NHL players will say to you...


#2 Star Players want more than 5 year deals.

Ok, sure for the occasional star player I can see this being true for security...and if they believe they have reached the top of their game and will never be able to demand more....It is always viewed as the team locking the player up and the player accepting less money in exchange for more years committed.

But as far as actual money, a star player will ALWAYS take less for a shorter term. Great example here is Shane Doan

Late in the 2006–07 season, Doan agreed to a five-year, $22.75 million contract extension. Just over 4M per. This past summer Doan was a UFA and had deals in the $7 Range being thrown at him. Had he not wanted to stay in Phoenix he would have almost doubled his annual salary BECAUSE he wasn't tied into a longer than 5 year deal. As it was he signed a 3 year deal just under 16M as a huge hometown discount. But he still is making more than an extra 1M per year..and he signed a 3 year deal to keep his options open.

A month into the 2010–11 season, the Flyers signed Giroux to a three-year, $11.25 million contract extension.

#3 A player in his mid twenties takes more money because the team wants to tie them up into their UFA eligibility.

NHL players fought hard to get the UFA age down and yet they want longer contracts.

I don't know about you, but when I hear a five year deal has been signed I think of it as a case where the team and player are completely comfortable with each other and both sides are willing to take a risk.

The team is willing to bet the players will maintain the level of play they are being signed at for the foreseeable future and the player is looking for security and betting that he is at the top of his game now...willing to take what he's worth.

Example... Wayne Simmonds from the Flyers just signed a 5 year deal at just under 4Mper. Wayne is coming off of his best season to date putting up 28 goals last year in his 4th pro season, doubling his highest goal output to date. He is 24. Simmonds showed flashes of absolute brilliance and there were also games where he was somewhat invisible. Kings fans kept telling me he was often invisible in LA, but in Philly he was certainly a solid second/third liner.

Is he a $4M per player over the next 5 years? My inclination was I would have liked to have seen a second plus 20 goal season, but then I realized when the contract is up he will be 29 and two years past UFA age. So what did we all say?

"To get Simmonds to take less he would have wanted a three year deal. The Flyers got him to go to 5 years and paid more to buy two years into his UFA years."

It is a risk for sure.. At some point 3/4 years from now we will likely consider Simmond's contract as a bargain or that he was way overpaid.

Either way, would more years have benefitted Simmonds?

If Simmonds is indeed a consistent 30 Goal scorer/top 6 forward he will be able to make a lot more money for sure on the UFA market in July 2019. 5M per for a consistent 30 goal guy in 2012 is a bargain, so if he had a three year deal and was a 27yo UFA in 2015 5-6 would be more than reasonable...by 2019 that number could be 6-7.

However, if Wayne becomes a consistent 15 goal guy based on inflationary history the average NHL salary will be somewhere in the $3.5M range anyway.

And what if Simmonds hates the new 2019 Flyers coach Keith Primeau...he can go elsewhere and play.

For a player like Simmonds, the mid 20's player who is possibly a top 6 guy, definitely a top 9 longer than a 5 year deal doesn't make a ton of sense for the player or the team. Remember, Simmonds was overpayed BECAUSE he wanted a three year deal so he could be a UFA at 27.

PLAYERS WANT TO BE UFAs. THAT IS WHERE THEY MAKE THEIR MONEY

#4. Players who hit the UFA Market Always have a shot at a jackpot.

Let's look at the UFA's this past summer..

Matt Carle

On November 2007, Carle signed a four-year, $13.75 million contract extension with San Jose.
July 2012, Carle signed a six-year contract worth $33 million with Tampa.

Dennis Wideman

In July 2008 the Bruins signed Wideman to a four-year deal worth $15.75 million.
In July 2012 Wideman signed to a five-year $26.25 million contract with the Flames.

Zach Parise is a great example of shorter contracts driving up yearly hit.

In 2007 the Devils signed forward Zach Parise to a 4-year, $12.5 million deal (3.125 per year)
In 2011 Devils have signed forward Zach Parise to a 1-year, $6 million deal (6 per year)
In 2012 Parise signed a 13-year contract worth $98 million with the Minnesota Wild. (7.5 per year)

Rick Dipietro

In 2006 the NY Islanders signed DiPietro to a 15-year, $67.5 million ($4.5 per). Had he stayed healthy and continued to be a star goalie think of the money he could have gotten in 2011 had it been a five year deal? of course it worked out for Dipietro...financially...because of all his injuries he was over-payed...but that is the only way a star player with a contract over five years actually DOES get more money than he would have if he had only signed a five year deal.
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