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When news broke today about the re-signing of talented centerman Brooks Laich, fans and media alike wondered out loud about the terms of the contract. Minutes later, we saw the official terms, and suffice to say, it wasn't pretty.
Obviously due to a potential roll back (or even worse, lockout) in the next CBA, Laich made sure that he got paid and paid handsomely. The numbers, once again front-loaded, look as follows: $6.5M, $4M, $4M, $4.5M, $4M, $4M, good for $27M over the course of six years($4.5M per cap hit).
Brooks Laich is an extremely solid two-way center that was expected to be one of the bigger lures in the UFA draft crop. But, even with a salary cap continually on the rise thanks to inflation, it's hard to imagine that a player who's averaging just 18.6 goals per season and just 43 points per season is worth that kind of change.
The scarier part? Over the last five years, Laich's actually been a pretty healthy player. He missed nine games in '06-'07, and four games in '09-'10. The other three years? Full seasons - 82 games played.
Now, obviously a lot of the draw to Laich was his play on the defensive end. There's no arguing that he's very responsible and gives the Washington Capitals some credibility amongst the forward ranks, but it's still a pretty hefty price tag.
Was it an overpayment? No question about it. Was it an overpayment relative to the rest of the market, at least with respect to the 2011 UFA class? Hardly. See, Washington was fully aware that the rest of the players in free agency would sign in a similarly inflated manner, and grabbing Laich - perhaps the biggest name past Brad Richards - was big for the franchise.
The market is ugly. Supply is limited, and the demand is at an all-time high. Compounding the issue? The talent in respect to the supply is also limited, meaning your basic S/D curve is turning into a comedy of sorts. Equilibrium is rapidly moving in a northwest direction, indicating higher prices as a direct result of lessened quantity.
What we're seeing isn't an aberration of sorts, either. When July 1 rolls around, a number of players - and you can quote me on this - will sign to just exorbitant contracts with respective franchises around the league. See, teams competing for the post-season are in a tough spot, having to fill obvious gaps on their roster without paying too much of a premium. Unfortunately, that's a pretty paradoxical situation this season, and rest assured that the former will win out. The teams at the top of the standings are going to have to send some serious money the way of otherwise average players in the hopes of staying competitive next season.
At the other end of the spectrum, teams million and millions of dollars away from the cap floor (e.g. Colorado, Florida) are going to be forced to hand out some pretty hefty contracts in order to avoid harsh penalties for failing to meet CBA requirements. The only thing worse than overpaying for a player is overpaying for a player when your team already sucks.
For a team like the Ottawa Senators, it's the perfect long-term situation. Stay out of bidding wars for overpriced players, and head into next season focused on the continued development of prospects. If you're serious about acquiring another gun, and Ottawa's indicated they are just that with respect to a top-six forward, do so through the trade market, where the pricing will unquestionably be fiscally smart and subsequently more fair.
The Senators will hit the July 1 market in search of one forward and one goaltender, a back-up to Craig Anderson. Don't expect them to make a big splash past that, but keep an eye out on the trade front. Rumors have swirled for the past few weeks, and I wouldn't be completely surprised to see B-Murr pull the trigger if the situation presents itself.
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Thanks for reading!
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