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Today will be the start of looking who is getting hurt the most by this lockout.




Central

Detroit- Damien Brunner
After torching the Swiss League for the past three seasons, Brunner was finally going to be given a crack at the NHL. Because of the lockout, Brunner stayed home in Switzerland and will now have to go through the ordeal of earning another NHL contract. On the bright-side, my guess is the Wings will be sending him another offer once they are allowed to, as Brunner is once again leading the Swiss League in scoring and scoring at a better clip than a lot of NHL stars. All while playing alongside Zetterberg.

Missing this year will cost him roughly a million in salary, but who knows, he may make that up on his next deal if he keeps up his current pace.


Chicago- Jamal Mayers
At 38, this was likely the last kick at the can for Mayers. This season he is losing out on the 650K he would have made, but he is also losing out on playing for another contract next season. The reality is that this lockout has very likely ended the career of Mayers. And to me, it really sucks to see such a great character guy go out this way.

Mayers will miss out on 650K this season and that is very likely money he will never see again.


Nashville- Themselves
Nashville doesn't really have anyone that will lose out as much as their entire organization. This is the team that I feel the most pain for during this lockout because I really believe they have done everything right for the past 6 or 7 years. They have won on a budget. They have made the playoffs. They have built and exciting team. They have some of the best fans in the NHL and have created one of the best environments to watch a game.

The Preds have found a way to make it work despite long odds. What really sucks is this lockout will destroy a lot of that momentum and it is my guess that it will take 5 years to get it back. And to top it all off, without making a dime on the ice this season they are ponying up 26 million dollars in signing bonuses to their captain.

I have no idea how they are going to cover that. I wondering if Gary or Donny Boy will cover it?


St . Louis- Andy McDonald
I think McDonald is a heck of a hockey player and worth every penny when he is healthy. The problem is, he hasn't been all that healthy in the past little while. At the age of 35 McDonald is scheduled to make 4.7 million this season. I would guess when this lockout is over he will be hard pressed to find a team that will pay him half that because of age and injury concerns.

Given the fact McDonald will lose 4.7 million this season, and not have this season to earn another deal, this may very well be the end of the road for Andy. I wonder how supportive he is of the PA right now?


Columbus- Artem Anisimov
Anisimov was the player that I felt was the key to the Nash deal. While I'm not sure he can completely replace Nash, I honestly think he could have scored at close to the same clip as Nash did last year and earn a big contract. Now, because of this lockout, Anisimov might be thinking about not coming back (and what a huge loss that would be for the Jackets in this deal)

The Blue Jackets have two Russians in Anisimov and Bobrovsky who are both having a lot of success back home while this lockout has been going on. My guy says that to get these two back next year, Columbus will have to pay in the area of 3.5-4 million for each of them without really knowing if they can do the same at the NHL level.


Northwest


Vancouver- Mason Raymond
When Mason Raymond was signed this past summer the general response was WOW! I don't think I haven't found one person yet who feels that he is worth the 2.275 million that he signed for is a good deal, but that was what Gillis had to pay him or watch him walk. Fast forward to this season and you still will find Canucks fans who believe in Raymond (myself included). But without a season this year, Raymond will be going into free agency with not much to brag about over the past three years. Because of this, I would imagine Raymond will be lucky to land a deal in the neighbourhood of a million per.

Going by that, this lockout is costing Raymond money this year and next because there is no season for him to show if he's a 10-15 goal guy or a 25 goal guy. I'd say he's in line to lose at least 3 million and maybe more if he misses out on another NHL deal.


Calgary- Mikael Backlund
This may surprise some people but I really feel like this coming season could have been a coming out party for Backlund. He was in line to at least have a shot at playing in the top 6 and while I don't think he's ever going to be a star, I think he could have put up 50ish points. 50 points as an RFA could have got him paid in the area of 2-3 million, but now he will be waiting around next season and likely re-signing for around 750K (roughly the same as this year).

Going by that, I would say this lockout is costing Backlund in the area of 2-2.5 million in salary this year and next.


Edmonton- Ladislav Smid
Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows I'm a huge fan of Smid, so because of that, I'll warn you now that I may overvalue him. Next year's crop of free agent D is what I'd call ok. In my books, Smid is the second or third best of the group. If Matt Carle can get 5+ million then Smid can as well.

But that was all before the lockout. Without a season, I believe Smid will fade into the background with a lot of the other UFAs because he is not a flashy player. Next July, when GMs are tossing out money, my guess is they won't necessarily be looking for "steady". I'd still be willing to go 4.5 on him, but I'm guessing he could have got 5-6 million if he had a season this year like he did last.

Going by that, I would say this lockout is him 2.25 million this year and about a million per season when he finally signs a new deal. Conservatively, I'd say this lockout is costing Smid 5 million dollars


Minnesota- Pierre-Marc Bouchard
It wouldn't shock me if Bouchard is hurt right now and getting paid, but if he isn't, he's standing to lose 4.3 million this season. As much as I like Bouchard, because of his health concerns, I think I can safely assume that he will be hard pressed to land a 4.3 million dollar a year deal again.

Bouchard has played 97 games the past three years and even though he has 60 points, with his health concerns I think he will be lucky to land a long-term deal. He will likely be offered in the area of 2 million per for one-to-two years. If he had a healthy season with Parise, I think he would be in line for a 3-5 year deal somewhere, worth in the ballpark of 4 million per.

Going by that, I would say this lockout is him 4.3 million this year and about two million per season when he finally signs a new deal. And that deal will likely be a lot shorter than if he was coming off a healthy, productive year.


Colorado- Milan Hejduk
I'd really hate to see Hejduk's career come to an end without him doing it on the ice. That alone, is why I say he will lose a lot this season. I realistically see one of the younger guys taking his spot next year and cannot really see the Avs signing him past this year.

Hejduk stand to lose 2 million in salary this year, but I think the bigger loss is that one of the all-time great Avs doesn't get to really say good-bye.


Who do you think is standing to lose because of this lockout?



That’s a wrap

Ian

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