Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Purcell's Value Underrated; Kings in China?

December 4, 2016, 11:28 AM ET [14 Comments]
Sheng Peng
Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


The news of Teddy Purcell's release yesterday was not entirely surprising.

The 31-year-old winger, signed in the offseason to a one-year, $1.6 million dollar contract, had been expected to make up for some of Milan Lucic's lost production. But instead, he notched just two assists in 12 games.

I believe giving up on Purcell so quickly is a mistake. The caveat being that he's still the same player who's averaged over 0.5 Points Per Game in five of the last six seasons and didn't experience a sharp decline overnight.

I'm not going to rehash arguments previously made -- I'll simply say that Purcell's offensive track record over the last six seasons is convincing. Instead, I'm going to offer one word: Value.

Value is a $1.6 million dollar cap hit for a potential 40+ points -- the definition of low risk for high reward.

Value is demonstrated by how few UFA-aged forwards scored 40+ points last season for a $2 million dollar cap hit or less:

Lee Stempniak, Carolina 19-32-51 ($850K cap hit)
P.A. Parenteau, New Jersey 20-21-41 ($1.5 million)
Jason Chimera, Washington 20-20-40 ($2 million)

Value is what a cap-strapped Cup contender like Los Angeles should be keeping, not dropping.

Take, for example, Pittsburgh's Matt Cullen, who scored 32 points last season for just $800K. Beyond production, devoting so little cap space to a key player allocates more financial resources to other needs, whether for your stars or Trade Deadline pick-ups. In the salary cap era, every contending organization needs value to field a deep team.

Of course, Purcell hasn't resembled a "key player" so far. He's on pace for 12 points this year, not 40+. His more deliberate style hasn't fit with LA's north-south game yet. At this point, he represents just potential value.

But that potential value is still greater than those who the organization chose to keep -- and Purcell's audition this season was so limited -- which suggests that Los Angeles moved away from him too quickly.

(Update: Purcell has cleared waivers and will be heading to Ontario.)

***

A few days ago, Darren Dreger reported that the Kings and Canucks are "expected" to play an exhibition game in China next season.

My sources pegged the probability of these games happening at 70%. AEG, who also owns the Kings, "has put lots of effort" toward it. There will likely be two games or more in China, at least one at Beijing's LeSports Center and the other at Shanghai's Mercedes-Benz Arena. AEG and the NHL are both after their share of the "$12 billion supposedly being spent" by the Chinese government on winter sports development before the 2022 Winter Olympics.

In my opinion, two games does make sense -- that amount of travel seems more sensible for at least this many. Also, LeSports Center and Mercedes-Benz Arena are both AEG-operated, so that fits. Los Angeles and Vancouver work as the league's choices too, as both cities have large Chinese populations to potentially stir interest on both sides of the Pacific.

***

++++I AM CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR ADVERTISERS! If you, or anyone you know would be interested in placing an ad here at HockeyBuzz, then send me a PM!++++

Join the Discussion: » 14 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Sheng Peng
» Murray Craven & Pat Verbeek Remember Zarley Zalapski
» HHOF Weekend: Bondra, Goyette, Niedermayer, Rutherford & Stevens Speak
» Season Preview + Work Announcement
» Thoughts on Iafallo, Auger & MacDermid; Nolan to Buffalo
» Kings/Canucks Report: Beijing Edition