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Brad Richards get 5/39 deal


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According to TSN.CA, TB gave Brad Richards a 5 year, $39MM deal that pays him $7.8/year. Of course this is ridiculous, but it just put Elias' number right at $8MM and gomez well over $5MM.

It only takes one guy to wreck the whole thing and Jay Feaster just did it.

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FYI, this is official. It's even on TB's website. If Feaster has a job in two years, i'll eat my hat. he has killed TB's future unless they deal St. Louis or Lecavailler.

Chara, Redden, Lidstrom, and Elias have all started their new number at $8MM as they're all better than Richards and they're all more important to their own teams (or any other).

Feaster says F-U to the entire league with this deal. Betteman must want him dead.

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It only takes one guy to wreck the whole thing and Jay Feaster just did it.

Well said.

I went to NHL.com to see what time the Carolina-Buffalo game is on at, instead I get blown away. That's unreal and Brad Richards just doesn't command THAT much in my opinion.

Cheers,

- Roland

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Players Like Elias will see this and think "if he can get a contract like that I want it or more!" Not good for us. if Lou doesnt take care of Elais like TB took care of Richards.

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I don't think this ruins the rest of the market - here's why:

1. Brad Richards is only 26. Patrik Elias is 30. Big difference. Tampa Bay will be getting these five years in his absolute prime.

2. Brad Richards has a Conn Smythe Trophy. This raises his price by a significant portion - just ask anyone who's won one over the last 10 years. Players who win a Conn Smythe are overpaid by at least 10% generally.

Here's why it does:

Brad Richards' first year can be used in arbitration because he was not yet a UFA. Something has to be done about this - the Leafs did the same thing with Mats Sundin. Players often get this year at a higher salary so that they give up some UFA years.

One thing that Tampa did not do was let the market set a price for Richards. I think he would've gotten in the high 6s.

Remember, the salary cap still dictates market price more than comparable salaries.

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There is no way that Richards is worth more than St. Louis, Conn Smyth or not.

Richards is a good player, but Tampa gave him more than double his worth in my view, which is going to hurt them in getting a goalie and also re-signing their blueline. I think they will have too deal St.Louis (who was league MVP).

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There is no way that Richards is worth more than St. Louis, Conn Smyth or not.

Richards is a good player, but Tampa gave him more than double his worth in my view, which is going to hurt them in getting a goalie and also re-signing their blueline. I think they will have too deal St.Louis (who was league MVP).

St. Louis was pretty average this year. 61 points - he wasn't even close to his form of 2004. He did play hurt for some of the season, but I'm not sure we will see him score 94 points again. 75-80 is the range I would put him in now. Brad Richards is now a better player than St. Louis for sure, and especially since Richards is 26 and St. Louis will be 31 when the season starts.

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I like Richards. Is he getting overpaid with this deal......Absolutely

Is Elias worth that money........Hell No.

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I don't think this ruins the rest of the market - here's why:

1. Brad Richards is only 26. Patrik Elias is 30. Big difference. Tampa Bay will be getting these five years in his absolute prime.

2. Brad Richards has a Conn Smythe Trophy. This raises his price by a significant portion - just ask anyone who's won one over the last 10 years. Players who win a Conn Smythe are overpaid by at least 10% generally.

Here's why it does:

Brad Richards' first year can be used in arbitration because he was not yet a UFA. Something has to be done about this - the Leafs did the same thing with Mats Sundin. Players often get this year at a higher salary so that they give up some UFA years.

One thing that Tampa did not do was let the market set a price for Richards. I think he would've gotten in the high 6s.

Remember, the salary cap still dictates market price more than comparable salaries.

it's bad triumph. richards' age isn't going to factor as much as the best player on the team argument and people looking at points. Elias has been the better player than Richards EVERY year except 02/03, but elias was very good in the playoffs that year. Richards' contract virtually guarantees that elias gets AT LEAST $7.5 and more than likely, the same if not more than Richards. The same will be true for Redden, Chara, and Lidstrom. it's not like everyone is going to be making crazy money, but what we'll see is teams with 3-5 guys making 25%-35% of the team's cap and lots of other guys making $750k. take care of the stars and screw everyone else. gomez can also go to arbitration with this and get around $4.5 for this year.

this will go down as a sakic/holik/guerin type contract that the league will have to deal with.

just bad bad stuff. Feaster will be shunned by the rest of the NHL community for this.

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You mean the NHL community will love Tampa Bay because they will have to get rid of Lecavalier or St. Louis for cheap, right? They've got 20 million tied up in 3 players, that's just unsustainable under the salary cap. St. Louis is going to be the guy they're going to want to deal - he's not getting younger and if he loses a step he's only a good, not great player. Look for someone very stupid to acquire him.

Look, if someone's going to kill themselves for Elias, let them. The FA class of 06-07 is way better than that of this year - that's why Tampa's move is foolish, because the market would've dictated that Richards' salary go down by virtue of the fact that there were several equivalent players out there. That Conn Smythe definitely contributed, but Richards should be making high 6s at best. I just don't think the market can bear centers of Richards' ability being paid 7.9 million a year.

The 'stratified' NHL scenario just doesn't make any sense because of the way markets work. Players get mandatory RFA raises, and then they are dumped on to the open market - their salary is unlikely to go down since there will be several teams bidding for their services.

Edited by Triumph
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How many teams are going to completely screw themselves over like this? In the past, a deal like this was certainly bad news, but the cap forces GMs to have at least some common sense. This scenario will likely not be repeated.

Edited by RowdyFan42
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Damn...so much for GMs now being more cost-conscious...

The only case I can make for Richards commanding this kind of coin (and I think Feaster was out of his mind giving this much money to someone who clearly isn't a franchise player) is that Richards' numbers have gone up pretty much every year, and he doesn't ever miss games. But basing a signing on projected performance can be deadly...this contract instantly becomes a distaster if:

1) Richards ever gets hurt and misses an extended period of time, and

2) His seasonal elevation in production either stalls or falls off. Now the expectations are going to be bigger than they've ever been for Richards. Several good players have screwed up their careers trying to live up to contracts they had no business being offered in the first place.

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Look, if someone's going to kill themselves for Elias, let them.

I just don't think the market can bear centers of Richards' ability being paid 7.9 million a year.

Before this deal, Patrik could've been offered 5/35 and it would've gotten it done. Hell, we might've gotten away with $6.75MM/year. Now, you can forget it. Someone will give Elias $7.9 because that's the going rate. The same will be true for Redden/Chara.

What's worse is that it makes a guy like gomez or marc savard think he's worth $6-6.5 instead of $4.5-5.

unfortunately, feaster isn't the only dummy out there.

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Damn...so much for GMs now being more cost-conscious...

The only case I can make for Richards commanding this kind of coin (and I think Feaster was out of his mind giving this much money to someone who clearly isn't a franchise player) is that Richards' numbers have gone up pretty much every year, and he doesn't ever miss games. But basing a signing on projected performance can be deadly...this contract instantly becomes a distaster if:

1) Richards ever gets hurt and misses an extended period of time, and

If Richards gets hurt, he comes off the cap. That's the best they can hope for!

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Before this deal, Patrik could've been offered 5/35 and it would've gotten it done. Hell, we might've gotten away with $6.75MM/year. Now, you can forget it. Someone will give Elias $7.9 because that's the going rate. The same will be true for Redden/Chara.

What's worse is that it makes a guy like gomez or marc savard think he's worth $6-6.5 instead of $4.5-5.

unfortunately, feaster isn't the only dummy out there.

This just doesn't make sense. Everyone is going to recognize that Richards' deal is an anomaly - while Elias is sure to get more, Elias at 7.9 isn't worth it - what if he turns back into 01-02 Elias? Players were signing for reasonable amounts during the season and there's plenty of precedent for this. Remember, Richards wasn't even a UFA this season anyway.

Teams still have a budget - teams that are going to want to win need to stick to it. Tampa doesn't have the money to sign defensemen or a real goalie - Kubina's as good as gone, as well as Modin in the future - teams aren't going to sell themselves out for this kind of player. With the salary cap in place, it's not about losing money, it's about simply lacking the money to sign key ingredients to a winner.

The player I'm worried about is Gomez, who I felt would command mid 5s on the open market, and now will certainly command low 6s.

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