Daniel Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 The Islanders used every trick in the book to get over the salary floor. They signed horrible veterans to bonus-laden contracts. They promoted young players too early so that their bonuses would count against the floor. They traded for the contract of a guy who wasn't playing but whose contract would count on the cap. If they're not cheap, I don't know who is. Wang also gave DiPietro one of the most ridiculous contracts you'll ever see, and, if the reports are to be believed anyway, offered Kovalchuk a ton of money. He also didn't fool around when it came to giving Tavares his extension. The Isles spend so little at the moment more out of circumstance than anything else. Milbury so damaged that team that they were never in a place where it never made any plausible sense to pursue the big name free agents, and even if they did, those guys would not want to sign there anyway. And then there was just the bad luck of, up until Tavares, never drafting someone that would truly demand the huge dollars. A true cheap skate would have sold the team a while ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 (edited) Wang also gave DiPietro one of the most ridiculous contracts you'll ever see, and, if the reports are to be believed anyway, offered Kovalchuk a ton of money. He also didn't fool around when it came to giving Tavares his extension. The DiPietro extension was thought to be a money-saving contract. If they thought he was a star goalie (they shouldn't've, but they did), DiPietro right now would be an enormous bargain. The average starting goalie makes more than $4M, and star goalies make considerably more, and that's with an economic downturn and artifical reduction in the cap in between DiPietro's huge contract and now. The Tavares extension is simply what you have to do in today's NHL to keep a player. And again, with all their other contracts, it's significantly backloaded, so who knows what Wang will do once the piper has to be paid. The Isles spend so little at the moment more out of circumstance than anything else. Milbury so damaged that team that they were never in a place where it never made any plausible sense to pursue the big name free agents, and even if they did, those guys would not want to sign there anyway. And then there was just the bad luck of, up until Tavares, never drafting someone that would truly demand the huge dollars. Again, it's not just that the Islanders haven't spent money on free agents. It's that they have been significantly below the salary floor in actual dollars paid in several seasons. A true cheap skate would have sold the team a while ago. Owning a sports team is fun. I don't know how much Wang loses on that team - obviously not what he tells the media - but I imagine it's worth it for him. Edited September 25, 2013 by Triumph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartholomew Hunt Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Stepan is just the tip of the iceberg. I am going to genuinely enjoy this offseason when the rangers have to somehow give, lundqvist, callahan, girardi, del zotto, moore, and brassard raises. More so lundqvist, cally, and girardi than the rest. Still I cant see them being able to keep them all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC 1m Various reports indicate both Stepan and Rangers are in agreement on a two-year deal. Final total expected to be in neighbourhood of $6.5M, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Eco Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 (edited) Stepan is just the tip of the iceberg. I am going to genuinely enjoy this offseason when the rangers have to somehow give, lundqvist, callahan, girardi, del zotto, moore, and brassard raises. More so lundqvist, cally, and girardi than the rest. Still I cant see them being able to keep them all Kreider too. I think Moore and Brassard will be dark horses of the group, as far as value is concerned. I think they're going to both have a really good contract year.... Show me the money! Edited September 26, 2013 by DJ Eco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroGravityFat Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 6.15 over 2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Have we seen any higher bridge contracts than this? 3.075 for Stepan is really cheap, but more than any bridge contract I can think of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartholomew Hunt Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Kreider too. I think Moore and Brassard will be dark horses of the group, as far as value is concerned. I think they're going to both have a really good contract year.... Show me the money! Yeah youre right kreider too, I dont know if he will be due a big raise though unless he has an outstanding year. I dont think moore is that great but all my ranger fan friends love him. Brassard is a very good player though and I can see him getting a deal between 3-4 mil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek21 Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Yeah youre right kreider too, I dont know if he will be due a big raise though unless he has an outstanding year. I dont think moore is that great but all my ranger fan friends love him. Brassard is a very good player though and I can see him getting a deal between 3-4 mil Brassard looks good. He might start with Zuccarello and Pouliot. He's a restricted next summer who already makes $3.2 million. If he puts it together, 60 points is possible. Moore looks like a good fit for AV's new system. He's looked better than Del Zotto. If I had to choose between the 2, I'd keep Moore. Kreider hasn't looked good. He's getting the benefit of the doubt. They're trying him up front on the power play. But his biggest strength is his speed. Zuccarello is also restricted next year. Including Justin Falk who I'm skeptical on, that's six Group II. Slats must get Lundqvist done. Callahan and Girardi will be harder to re-sign. They'll lose some salary and have the benefit of a higher cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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