Hope the Ehrhoff picture (topic of this blog) does not throw people off. This is in fact a Canes blog (full disclosure).
I have half-written a draft recap blog that I will hopefully finish/post tonight, and I will also post 1 if not 2 blogs heading into free agency. So check back regularly over the next few days if you are Canes-inclined.
The topic of this blog kind of popped out of thin air with news today that Christian Ehrhoff has been bought out by the Buffalo Sabres. With his no-trade clause, it is not clear whether the Canes or other teams had any chance to get him via trade. I guess his agent could have just vetoed any/all deals to collect the big chunk of change via buyout, and then get an even better contract (minus the $1M/year tail at the end of the current one) in free agency this week.
IF the opportunity was there, Canes GM Ron Francis might have missed a huge opportunity.
I will write it up in more detail between now and the start of free agency, but I think the Canes could still use another true top 4 defenseman ideally with offensive/puck-moving abilities. In 2013-14, the Canes top pairing of Sekera/Faulk was pretty good with Sekera being arguably the team's best player. Faulk had some struggles as you would expect from a young defenseman in the 2nd half of the season, but proved top pairing capable way ahead of schedule. The 2nd pairing anchored by Ron Hainsey enabled the Canes to take a significant step forward defensively even despite losing Joni Pitkanen before the season even started and scrambling around to fill that hole. Brett Bellemore and Ron Hainsey proved pretty good defensively, but I think the downside was struggles to move the puck at times against good teams driving matchups and targeted systems/schemes on the road. And as much as I like Bellemore and hope he returns, he is just light offensively for an every night top 4 defenseman especially when paired with another blueliner who leans defense first. The Canes also tried Liles with Hainsey. That worked okay, but there was no pure magic that saw Liles offensive ability become a perfect fit with Hainsey's slightly more defensive style. With Bellemore headed toward free agency uncertain to return, and no other defensemen added, I personally think the Canes could use another top 4. The alternative of hoping for Liles to step up, Murphy to even further accelerate his development or role or Bellemore to return is more ifs than answers.
Enter Christian Ehrhoff. He has quietly been a pretty good defenseman playing on the team in the process of dismantling itself and building a team of kids for the future. He is only 31 years old and very much meets the Canes needs of being offensively, skating and top 4 capable. So why is he even available, and why was he not the subject of a bidding war that included all of the usual big market suspects who tend to win these bidding wars? Put simply, it is his strange contract. He is signed for 7 more years at $4M, $4M, $4M, $3M, $1M, $1M and $1M. He has one of those contracts (now outlawed) that is heavily frontloaded (collected $18M in 1st 2 years of deal) and more than anything designed for him to retire and go home to Europe before the end of the deal. At a salary cap hit level, this is a dangerous contract. The annual cap hit of $4M/year looks real dicey in years 5-7. There is also that whole issue of if he retires and the salary cap impacts of that.
But let's try this from a Canes standpoint. As the salary cap continues to grow rapidly, the team has and will continue to spend under the salary cap. The Canes will likely spend under the salary cap by multiple million $ most years. Because of this, the salary cap situation on Ehrhoff's contract is mostly irrelevant. The only thing that matters for the Canes is real salary $ - checks to be written. In that respect, I think Ehrhoff's contract is very reasonable. Over the next 4 years, he will make $3.75M/year. That is between the age of 31 and 35. I guess we will know in a week or so, but my wild guess is that his annual salary as a free agent will be higher than that for a shorter 3-4 year term obviously. Then if you look at the problem part of his contract which is the 3 years at $1M salary but $4M cap hit, I do not see this as a big problem for the Canes. 1 of 4 things happens. If he is still playing at a high end (worth way more than $1M) or at least capable of being a good veteran #6 or #7 defenseman ($1M still fair even if not a bargain), then the contract is either great or at least okay. If he retires and the Canes take a cap hit, that is also fine. Again, it is the real $ that matter, so the salary cap issue is a minor problem if any at all. The only downside scenario is that he has no use at the NHL level, in which case the Canes waste $1M cash on a non-roster player. This is a small potatoes problem.
If you buy into my opinion that the Canes need to add another top 4 defenseman this summer, then I really think Ehrhoff is a no-brainer. My top 5 list for UFA defensemen this summer is something like Boyle, Niskanen, Orpik, Meszaros, Stralman, Ranger, etc. The pickings are slim and the quality level mediocre. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if he makes it to free agency, Ehrhoff would immediately vault to#1 or #2 on this list.
The beauty of this situation was that Ehrhoff because of his strange contract is not a great fit for the usual big market bidders because of the salary cap implications.
Again, it is not clear if Ehrhoff and his agent would have accepted any kind of change or if they were instead focused on collecting a nice buyout check and then testing a free agent market this summer that is very light on defensemen of his caliber.
What say you Canes fans? Was this opportunity too good to be true? Would you have hopped on this chance if it was possible? Do you think Francis did?
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
Go Canes!