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Around the League 2017-2018 Edition

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LeafOfFaith said:
All I'm saying is, and we can say that it's just this isolated case (and maybe it is), but when have we seen a top talent and face of franchise leave as a UFA when he's in his mid to late 20s and still in his prime?

Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Stamkos, Getzlaf, Perry, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Doughty, Kopitar, the Sedins, and so on. All these guys have or will likely retire in the same jersey they played their first NHL game in. For as much that's made about so few players ever playing for one team throughout their careers, I think among the elite players, it's almost always the case, in contrast to the players that are a step below, who do move around with some frequency.

I do think Tavares leaving via UFA will have an impact on the next wave of superstar players. Guys like McDavid, Laine, etc. This takes the shock value off of such a move somewhat.
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Well, we'll see what happens going forward.

But I think the common theme among superstars who stay with the team that drafted them will continue to be that they're playing for winning teams.

I mean, just look at the guys you listed off:

Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Stamkos, Getzlaf, Perry, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Doughty, Kopitar, the Sedins, and so on.
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6/12 won multiple Cups with the team that drafted them.
9/12 won at least one Stanley Cup with the team that drafted them
12/12 played in a Stanley Cup final with the team that drafted them

If you build it, they will come...as well as choose to stay.
 
Also, in Long Island news, Lou Lamoriello signed Ross Johnston to a 4 year NHL deal @ $1M per season today.

If you're like me, your first question is "what's a 'Ross Johnston'?"

Well, he's a 24 year-old, 6'4", 235lb AHL enforcer who plays on the wing:




wBZJA2o.jpg






...I think it's safe to say Shanahan kept Lamoriello on a tight leash while he was in Toronto.
 
JT was also rooked into taking a team-friendly deal likely on the promise of being able to assemble a winning team. In those six seasons they made the play-offs 3 times, making it past the first round once. I'm sure he felt a little cheated, particularly when they fired Capuano and replaced him with a rookie coach.
 
LeafGm said:
Also, in Long Island news, Lou Lamoriello signed Ross Johnston to a 4 year NHL deal @ $1M per season today.

If you're like me, your first question is "what's a 'Ross Johnston'?"

Well, he's a 24 year-old, 6'4", 235lb AHL enforcer who plays on the wing:




wBZJA2o.jpg






...I think it's safe to say Shanahan kept Lamoriello on a tight leash while he was in Toronto.
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Holy shit does it look like we dodged a bullet.

What the ****. Would he have been making these idiot moves for us, and Dubas and Shanahan were blocking him?
 
Lou has been a disaster since July 1st. Imagine if he was handing out contracts like that here?
If you look at the Isles cap situation, they are paying an embarrassng amount to 4th line plugs. And our problem is worrying about hadning out money to MMN.
 
I wanted Maroon to add some toughness to the line up... but a Maroon type of player is the furthest I'd go for some "grit" on the third/fourth line.
 
Killer93 said:
Lou has lost it. Huge bullet dodged there.
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His management of the Devils for his last number of years there certainly seemed to indicate that, and his performance thus far in Long Island is really cementing it.

Left to his own devices, he's every bit as bad in free agency and at managing the cap as Brian Burke ever was. Paying money to highly replaceable 4th line grinders and straight-up old-school enforcers & apparently planning to play several of them at the same time is bad enough...but the real killer is the term Lou's giving these guys.

Makes me really curious to know what exactly Lou's pitch to Tavares was.

"Well, you see John, the problem with the Islanders & the reason the team hasn't won with you so far is that you haven't been surrounded with enough toughness, grit & character."
 
So, the Lightning have re-signed Kucherov to an 8-year deal.

Pretty curious to see what the AAV is.

That ****er Yzerman better have not conned another star player into taking a significantly-below-market-value AAV due to the tax situation in Florida.
 
Mother ****er.

Stamkos at 8.5. Hedman at $7.8M. And now Kucherov at $9.5M, after he got screwed on his last contract.

I'm starting to develop a pretty healthy dislike for Tampa Bay and the unlevel playing field they get to compete on.

Not to mention my ongoing grievance over the fact that the bastards basically copied Toronto's jerseys, and slapped a lightning bolt on it in place of a Leaf.
 
Yes it does seem a little off that clubs like Tampa benefit greatly off the CBA then get to use tax advantages to lure players.
 
LeafGm said:
Mother ****er.

Stamkos at 8.5. Hedman at $7.8M. And now Kucherov at $9.5M, after he got screwed on his last contract.

I'm starting to develop a pretty healthy dislike for Tampa Bay and the unlevel playing field they get to compete on.

Not to mention my ongoing grievance over the fact that the bastards basically copied Toronto's jerseys, and slapped a lightning bolt on it in place of a Leaf.
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Yeah, man, if they can save 1.5M on every major FA, that's definitely not fair for the rest of the league.
 
**** Yzerman and getting his stars to take under market contracts.

Both Kuch and Stammer are probably better than Tavares, and both make less.
 
UWHabs said:
Yeah, man, if they can save 1.5M on every major FA, that's definitely not fair for the rest of the league.
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Run a cap system similar to baseball but hard cap the luxury tax payment to help offset the difference in state and federal taxes?

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk
 
UWHabs said:
Yeah, man, if they can save 1.5M on every major FA, that's definitely not fair for the rest of the league.
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Yep. It really does defeat the purpose of the salary cap.

I'm not sure how the league could go about addressing it, though.

number17 said:
whooa ... i guess no Karlsson to Tampa
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Unfortunately, I don't think that's true. If Yzerman was going to successfully lure Karlsson to Tampa, I can't see how keeping Kucherov wouldn't be a part of that.

Just like Tavares wanting Dubas to go through how he'd be able to keep Matthews, Marner & Nylander.

And as far as the cap goes, they could still fit in Karlsson. Both for this season, and on a Doughty-esque extension that would start next year. It would be tight, and would almost certainly require dumping Ryan Callahan's contract, and/or one of Killorn, Johnson or Palat. They'd also need to fill in around the edges of their roster with kids on ELC.

But it's still very much doable. Especially if, like Hedman, Stamkos & Kucherov, Yzerman can use state taxes to convince Karlsson to take a cap hit about $2M below his market value.
 
Wayward DP said:
**** Yzerman and getting his stars to take under market contracts.

Both Kuch and Stammer are probably better than Tavares, and both make less.
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That's what happens to successful franchises ... and I suppose we'll get MNM to take slightly under market value in their extension too. Tavares was different, when you sign UFA 'away' from other teams you generally have to pay more, and, Tavares did leave $$ on the table.
 
I'm not sure I expected much more for Kuch, especially since he was still an RFA at the end of his current contract.
 
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