Follow @james_tanner123 Now, it's not like the Hawks are the only team with a couple of suspicious contracts, but the NHL did have a lockout about this and they did brutally penalize the New Jersey Devils for doing what the Hawks now have three Stanley Cups for also doing.
Somewhere, Lou Lamoriello is chanting over and over:Serenity Now.
And who could blame him? I mean, congrats to the Hawks and everything, because they are an awesome team, but can we just stop for two seconds and acknowledge that Playoff MVP Duncan Keith makes $5.5 million through 2022-23?
That's Jeff Petry money, baby.
And it doesn't stop there: Marian Hossa makes $5.2 until 2021. And Kane and Toews are just finishing up deals that pay them each only 60% of their market value and much is being made of next year they are going to make a combined $21 million.
Now, many people are fretting over this wondering how the Hawks will continue to compete and it's a fair question, because their main competitive advantage is about to be squashed.
There is nothing wrong with this, the Hawks saw a way to utilize the Cap situation to their advantage, but the fact that the Devils were so punished and that the league actually stopped for half a season makes their victories somewhat hard to take for the rest of the NHL, I would imagine.
I'm glad they won., they're an exciting team, but no one seems to want to talk about the fact that they have won by paying their players far below market value. I come from Toronto, where several years before the lockout, Leafs GM Brian Burke preached about the immorality of cap circumventing deals.
Now, the Leafs pay Phaneuf and Kessel just slightly more than the Hawks have been paying for Toews, Kane and Keith, Burke is in Calgary and the Leafs biggest problem is whether to salute the fans after losing 9-1, not deciding the order of who gets to hold the Cup.
I mean, say what you want about a guy who has made some pretty questionable hockey decisions, but his choice to put principles ahead of winning is refreshing, I guess.
I am sure fans of the Leafs aren't sitting here today saying "hey, we may not have won three Cups, or made the Playoffs that many times in the last 15 years, but at least we never had the foresight to game the system."
And so, the lesson of the Cap system is that exploiting the rules pays off - well, it pays off in winning, not so much in salary. I mean, I don't think Keith is going to starve any time soon, but he also has left more money on the table than any thrice-winning Champion with a Norris and a Conn Smythe to his name.
Now, I am sure this will get misinterpreted, but please don't misunderstand me here. The Hawks won and I have no problems with that. I just think it's something that should be talked about, and no one is. Yes, they are a borderline dynasty. Yes, they have put together an amazing team and should be proud.
But there is no getting around the fact that they exploited what can - generously - be called a huge loophole to do it. One one hand you can say that they didn't do anything technically illegal. But then on the other, I am sure the Devils don't necessary agree.
Anyways, just thinking out loud here, congrats to them on their Cup. All I am saying is that I make slightly more money in a given year than Duncan Keith.
Thanks for reading.