When news broke yesterday via Jon Rosen on LAKings Insider that Anze Kopitar and the Kings were, per GM Dean Lombardi, "Not even in the ballpark", people instinctually freaked out.
For the most part, it is hard to blame them.
Kopitar has been the face of the Kings franchise and their best player over the past seven or eight seasons. His consistent 70+ point production, excellent defensive play, and all-around outstanding play on and off the ice has left people in freak out mode when it comes to picturing a divisive future between the No. 1 Center and the franchise.
The 28-year old Slovenian is coming up on the final year of his 7-year, $47.6 million dollar contract. A contract that has turned out to be one of the most cap friendly contracts in the NHL given what Kopitar provides. At $6.8 Million dollars per year, he has been a downright steal at different points of his Kings career.
The Kings have had a window of negotiating his extension with the team for a fairly decent time frame here before the season, but that window is quickly coming to a close. That alone is daunting. Then factor in the following:
Kopitar also has no interest in negotiating during the season so there's going to have to be some serious progress made in short term.
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) September 1, 2015And that was on top of Custance saying that the Kings were several million dollars apart.
To follow up on @lakingsinsider report, gap in Kopitar/Kings negotiations a good couple million per season apart. Pretty significant.
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) September 1, 2015Sports Illustrated is calling it a "Tire Fire"
Stalled Kopitar talks latest tire fire for Kings GM Dean Lombardi, who must smell like smoke http://t.co/dLXrWyE6aK pic.twitter.com/9cjaG4wvYg
— SI NHL (@SI_NHL) September 2, 2015Does not sound like good ground to be on.
However, I am here to tell you that it is okay. He has not re-signed yet, he might not be re-signed by the start of the season, and that is okay.
You can only imagine that the gap comes somewhere between $7.7MM and $10MM a season. Ergo, what he will be making on the last year of this contract, and Jonathan Toews. Ever since the Hawks captain signed his whopping $10.5MM AAV contract, fans have been wondering if Kopitar would be paid in the same vein. You could easily make a case for that, as well as against it. That may be playing a part in the hold up.
Also holding things up? Stamkos and the Lightning, which should be another good indicator of the going rate for a top 10 center in the league. Currently, Malkin, Giroux, Toews, Getzlaf and Crosby all make north of $8 million a season. However, at the same time, great centers like Nick Backstrom, Henrik Sedin, Patrice Bergeron, and David Krejci all make around $7 million. There is definitely room to debate over where Kopitar lies in the spectrum with good cases to be made on either side. Surprisingly, 49% of the readers on Jewels from the Crown, believed Kopitar's contract should exceed $10 million dollars per year. However, you could definitely make a case he should make more in the range of 8.5 as well. Merit on both sides, evaluation of overall impact, age, and competitive contracts play a huge part in this. You can see already how it is not an easy process to narrow down.
What else? Well, the Canadian economy is now in a recession.
The weakness of the Canadian dollar and how that affects the revenue of the league in the future could have implications on the cap. Mindful of these events, the Kings may be attempting to play it safe with Kopitar in terms of a lower cap hit.
The other thing that is playing into this is mostly status quo with contract negotiations of good players. We may all be overblowing what is standard operating procedure. Is it coming a little close to the start of the season? Absolutely. But there is still time both before and after the season to get things done. If the Kings enter the season without him signed, you can almost guarantee he will not be traded and something will get done after the season comes to a close. That is, unless, something of drastic proportions happens during the year, like the Kings suddenly becoming a lottery team.
Not being in the ballpark at this point is not a terrible and egregious thing. This is the world of contract negotiations. You start very far apart and slowly, sometimes painfully slowly, work closer to what you feel is fair on both sides. When you are talking about a world class No. 1 center, with a wide range of comparables and cap hits, it is not crazy to think this is taking a bit long and is getting a bit stressful.
This week they may not be in the ballpark, but next week they may be sitting behind home plate sharing a hot dog with each other Lady and the Tramp style. (There is an image for your Wednesday afternoon...)
The team still has roughly a month before the season gets underway and things basically have to cut off until May or June. That is plenty of time. One month, four weeks, 30 some odd days. All it could take is one good day of negotiating, or one side giving just a little bit on the "hardball" mentality, and an extension will be all but worked out. The Kings have little else to be worried about at the moment with the roster pretty much set for the year. Guaranteed this is probably order of business No. 1 on Dean Lombardi's schedule from now until October 7th when the season starts.
If there is no extension in place by October 5th, alright, MAYBE start to worry a little. For now though? Everything is okay. Miles apart today is inches apart next week. No need to freak out...
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