The Current New Jersey Devils Salary Cap & What to Expect for Future Additions
by John Fischer on Jul 17, 2010 10:44 PM EDT
in Devils Issues & Views
52 comments
If you have been following the New Jersey Devils in this offseason, then you probably know that the Devils have a little over $4 million dollars in cap space left and 19 players. And even if you didn't, well, CapGeek spells it right out for you. Since the Devils haven't dumped any players to create cap space, you can probably rule out the likelihood of seeing Ilya Kovalchuk or any other "big name" player on the market come to New Jersey now.
That said, all teams must have 20 players on an active roster, the Devils will likely carry an extra defenseman to start since Anssi Salmela suffered a major injury in May, and all teams must be under the cap ceiling of $59.4 million when the season begins. What can we expect the Devils to do from now until October?
Fortunately, the current cap situation clues us in to what the Devils can do. CapGeek has come out with a brand new, Flash-based salary cap calculator for all 30 NHL teams. The key feature of this calculator is that it allows users to organize an actual roster by position and add players to see how they'll fit in under the cap. I've played around with it for a bit and have come up with an idea of what to expect going forward.
First off, that $4.1 million cap space figure you've seen on the original team charts includes a bonus cushion. The Devils have $740,000 tied up in potential bonuses: $240,000 to Vladimir Zharkov and $500,000 to Johan Hedberg. I'm not completely clear on what activates those bonuses but they do factor into the additional space the Devils have. It's not an insignificant amount as taking out said bonus leaves the Devils with $3.458 million in cap space.
For the sake of this argument, let's include the bonus cushion and hope they aren't activated.
Now, looking at the calculator, the roster is a bit out of order with respect to position. That's OK, we can click and drag players to positions as we see fit. Still, you'll immediately see that the Devils are short a forward. This can either be a center or a winger depending on how you see everyone factoring in. When I put it all together, I made Dainius Zubrus the second line right wing and Rod Pelley as a center. Therefore, there's a spot open there. You may feel that Zubrus should be a center with Pelley and that will leave a wing position open. All the same, a forward has to be added.
Since I made the opening at center, there are four things the Devils can do. They can put Jacob Josefson and his $900k cap hit in that spot, they can put Adam Henrique and his $870k cap hit in that spot, they can figure Tim Sestito is ready and put his league minimum deal of $500k on the New Jersey roster, or go with a veteran free agent.
I'm not even looking at other spots and already preseason has an important purpose: who among the prospects and minor league players is ready to step up? One of Josefson, Henrique, and Sestito could have a real shot at making the roster as-is and that's not even considering a long shot like Michael Swift coming in and making a splash. If the Devils want to keep as much space as possible, then Sestito has an advantage. If not, then that's better for Josefson and Henrique.
Incidentally, there are a lot of free agent veteran centers who haven't been signed yet. Given that the spot I made is on the bottom two lines at center, then it doesn't have to be a big name - just a cheap player with experience. Still, given the other roster needs, it can't be too expensive lest I prevent myself from adding a top prospect. The quantity of UFAs does help drive their value down so getting an older player on a one-year, league minimum deal would be likely. It would be necessary if it's apparent that Josefson, Henrique, Sestito, etc. aren't ready to handle a center position for a whole season.
Let's move on to defense. Remember: Salmela had knee surgery in the end of May and is expected to be out for 4 months at a minimum. He'll miss preseason and will need extra time to get ready, so the Devils need a sixth defenseman to at least for the start of the season. This could easily be Mark Fraser, who filed for arbitration earlier this month. However, with the number of defensive prospects in the system, they could definitely make their case to move ahead of Fraser. Depending on what he's re-signed for or awarded in arbitration, the Devils could save some money here.
Immediately, I see the purpose of Tyler Eckford signing a two-way $550,000 deal. He's been mentioned along with Matthew Corrente and Alexander Urbom as being not far away from the NHL. Unlike Corrente ($821k + bonuses) and Urbom ($870k), though, Eckford has the edge of being more cap friendly and that could be the difference maker if the decision comes down to those three. Why spend an extra $300k for a depth defenseman position when Eckford can provide similar performance as Urbom or Corrente (or Fraser or Salmela) would? Speaking of cap friendly deals, should Matt Taormina shows his offensive skills can have value at the next level, then the Devils will take a good look at him as well. Remember, his deal is worth $510,000 in the NHL - he could be an even bigger bargain, though I really do think he's a long shot for now.
Again, the Devils can go for a veteran free agent and possibly for the league minimum on defense. Though, I don't see the need to do just that. At least three defensemen prospects will fight for the spot with Fraser and given that Eckford signed just above the league minimum, there's not a lot of room for savings.
Sure, a savings of about $300,000 may not seem like much, but it can be huge later on should the Devils need to call up players for injuries or make a trade and need all the space they can get. Preseason's not just about finding out who's ready for the NHL anymore. It's about finding out who's ready and whether they can be added without taking unnecessary cap space.
This leads me to extra players. Since they'll need one on defense to start, I don't see the need to add another one. With one of the signed forwards being Pierre-Luc Letourneau Leblond, an extra, non-beefy winger would do the trick. Here, the Devils have relatively expensive winger prospects they can plug in. Mattias Tedenby is the hot name and would add $875k to the cap. Alexander Vasyunov ($850k) and Nick Palmieri ($801k) would be options from the farm team, as would the recently re-signed and now-really-cheap option of Patrick Davis ($500k). Again, the Devils could add a veteran forward for league minimum and be safer with experience should none of the prospects be ready.
You may think these are minor moves, but they can have a dramatic effect on the overall cap. Suppose the Devils want to go with prospects and the best ones regardless of contract. If you add Josefson, Tedenby, and Corrente, the Devils will have 22 players on the roster and $1.766 million in cap space with the cushion. Not bad. But if you go for cheaper options in those same spots with Sestito, Davis, and Eckford, then the cap space is at $2.648 million. That's a savings of close to a million dollars, which can be huge later on if the Devils need to trade for a quality player. Even if there is no trade, there's no good reason to waste cap space.
Quite frankly, it would be foolish if the Devils went out and spent even just a million of their cap space on a short-term role on this roster. This is why you should expect league minimum or near-league minimum deals from the Devils or seeing prospects being given a real long look in preseason to do the job. Forget about Kovalchuk or even Frolov. The big moves made by the Devils this summer have been made already short of a massive trade. Now, they don't have much cap space and at least two roster spots to fill. From here on out, it's going to be minor additions (either by signing or promotion) and the Devils will be wise to minimize their additions to the cap.
Play around with the new CapGeek calculator and let me know what you think the roster will look like on opening night. What are your expectations of the Devils future additions? Do you think they'll take a prospects' contracts into account along with how they perform? I think they should, but perhaps you feel differently. Should the Devils go into free agency to fill these roles, who do you want to be added? Please let me know what you think in the comments.
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At least one of these players will be ready to come up to the NHL. Probably more than one. Giving them the chance will not only be good for them but also for the team. When new players get brought up they usually try to prove their worth, so it’ll give a good energy boost to the team. And of course it’ll keep the team under the cap.
bonuses
I can’t remember where I read this…it may have been an article about the blackhawks and their salary cap situation…or on the fire and ice blog…and I’m sure its in the CBA somewhere but I have no desire to read through it right now…but anyway….
The bonus cushion allows teams to spend up to the cap for the season, and any bonus that is achieved during the season or whatever the bonus may be, will be applied to the current years team cap. However, lets say for example, the achieved bonuses would technically put the team over the cap, that bonus amount would be applied to the following seasons cap.
So if a team was say 500,000 under the cap, had 1 million in bonuses and all were reached, then 500,000 would be applied to the current season cap, putting the team to the limit, and the remaining 500,000 would be applied to the following seasons cap.
Lou is not done
Assuming Kovalchuk leaves for LA, lou is definitley not done, and you hit on the exact name I’ve been thinking, FROLOV.
He is no Kovalchuk, but has shown 30 goal capability and can be had cheaper.
Where does the cap room come from? I don’t believe that Salvador and/or Zubrus will be here come camp, and thats only because we are stuck with White and Rolston’s deals.
Until we hear otherwise
Kovalchuk is not out of the picture. It does seem very improbable but Lou has acknowledged that signing him would put the Devils over the cap and he has said he would handle the situation as needed. This would mean either another buyout or a trade. I think it’s too early to say he is definitively out of the picture.
Also, I think Corrente will probably make the team as a regular this season and Eckford will probably get in a number of games as well as they held their own last season. At forward, I really thought Patrick Davis looked good when I saw him play but it could be anyone that fills that spot. I think if Tedenby gets the spot it won’t be at the beginning of the season.
Lasty, there has been a lot of talk about getting both Zajac and Parise contract extensions, but I’m not sure what the big deal is. The Devils will be freeing up 7.8 million in cap space between Arnott and Langenbrunner alone after this season and will also have the 3.1 mil on Parise’s contract to sign him to an extension. Granted Arnott and Langenbrunner will have to be replaced, but that might be done cheaply in the farm system. And since the two new defenseman (Tallinder and Volchenkov) are the ONLY two players signed by the Devils when Zajac becomes a UFA, let’s not worry about him yet.
Fun little tool, that calculator.
I took Salmela off, since he’ll be on LTIR and moved Salvador off as I still think he’s redundant and movable. That leaves $7.7m in space to fill in a bottom six center and two defensemen.
I think I’d re-sign McAmmond to a two-way league minimum contract like he had last year and, depending on how the camps and the preseason went, would look for Sestito and Pelley to center the third and fourth lines, but leave McAmmond, among others, available to call up if one of them struggles.
For arguments sake, I plugged Josefson in because he had the higher salary, and that still leaves $6.8m for two defensemen… or ~$6.25 if we assume one of the kids makes it (I went with Urbom for salary sake).
That’s more than enough room to get us a good puck-moving defenseman for the second pairing, though looking at the pickings, they’re pretty slim. MA Bergeron perhaps? Or perhaps one will be acquired while offloading Salvador…
So, as it stands, my lines would look like:
Parise – Zajac – Langenbrunner
Elias – Arnott – Zubrus
Rolston – Sestito/Josefson – Clarkson
Leblond – Pelley – Zharkov
Volchenkov – Green
White – ????
Tallinder – Urbom/Random Kid
DON'T PANIC.
Another fairly cheap option for 3C might be Belanger, if the coaches don’t have enough confidence in the kids.
Plugging him into the 3C at last years salary of $1.75m still leaves $5.4m for a 2nd pairing defenseman… which should more than enough.
DON'T PANIC.
Brendan Morrison also might be an option – made less than Belanger last year, GVT close to Malhotra’s and a strong face-off man, which would be nice to have on the 3rd line. And he’s a former Devil…
while i think that’s noble, we don’t even really have room in the minors for dean mcammond, nor do i think that mcammond would sign up for that. it’s better just to leave him out altogether and if we do need him, like last season, give him a call. we can always switch zubrus to 3rd line center and call up one of tedenby/palmieri to play the wing.
i’d like to avoid signing a 3rd line center. dominic moore would be okay and thankfully rob niedermayer has already signed somewhere – niedermayer turned from a mild fiasco into a complete disaster after the olympic break. i see no reason for belanger to sign here, there’s no reason to offer him multiple years, and no reason for him to sign for one.
That’s precisely what he signed on for last year, but was called up because the team had so little depth at center that Elias and Zubrus were both playing out of position to cover for it. There’s no reason to suspect that now, a year older and still unsigned, that he has designs on making an NHL club out of the gate.
A third line center signing would be dependent on how the kids perform. I have no problems letting Sestito and/or Pelley and/or Josefson and/or Henrique onto the starting roster if they show they’re capable… but if it becomes apparent that they’re not ready, there is little choice.
DON'T PANIC.
i would like to see Henrique play, its specialty is his faceoffs-rookie camp, plus i think we should give him a chance,
or every X amount of games, switch henrique and josefson, see who gets the job done
PS3: J-CAMPS
i am pretty sure that both the devils and mcammond himself knew that he wasn’t going to be in the minors for very long – he used that as a training camp. it’s less clear this season. and since mcammond would have to sign two-way and at $105,000 maximum – that doesn’t sound too appealing. i’d prefer what happened with shanahan last year, that he comes to training camp and if the devils find out that they don’t need him, they go their separate ways.
I also think Salvador will still be moved, and hopefully we can pickup a puck-moving defenseman.
I do agree that Kovalchuk is out of the question, besides that it will be easier to deal with when he actually signs in LA.
Denis Grebeshkov, Tom Preissing?
"What in tarnation's goin' on 'round here?!?" - Yosemite Sam in reference to Ilya Kovalchuk not yet signing
Chicago
So I was playing with the Cap Calculator, just for fun, with the Blackhawks Cap. They still need to make a move to shed salary unless Niemi gets $2M or less. Maybe we can get Troy Brouwer from them for 3C
"What in tarnation's goin' on 'round here?!?" - Yosemite Sam in reference to Ilya Kovalchuk not yet signing
Sure
I do it in excel and they go ahead and put it in flash!!
Go Devils
Go Jets
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Let the Kids Play
The Kovy chapter in Devils history assuming he goes to LA has turned out to be a true disaster. I feel bad for Lou because I know he made the trade wanting to retain Kovy going forward and build the team for the next decade around Parise and Kovy. Those two on the same team essentially solve your core offensive dilemmas and spell playoff births a a minimum and serious cup contender with good complementary players for the next decade. Now that he is gone to LA I cant help but think how much better this team looks right now with Oduya (there is your puck moving defenseman) and Bergfors (there is your second or third line right wing) who did score 20 goals last year and I think has the potential to easily be good for 25-30 a year in the future.
Its going to be really difficult for Lou to make a significant trade for a big player which would require gutting our farm system even more. Plain and simple this season will come down to youth. The Devils knwo they have to get younger and faster; the word on us around the league is that we are old. I agree with Elesias’s suggestion that the Devils are reubuilding in the sense of getting younger. Instead of signing veteran players to 1 year 1 million dollar contracts with our last 4 million and having another team of 35 year olds, I think its time for Lou to just let the kids play. If one or two of your young players have break through years we will be very competitive and hopefully get out of the first round. If none of them breakthrough we may be fighting on the last weekend of the season to keep our playoff streak alive.
The second line of Elias Arnott Zubrus is no where near what I had hoped for with Kovy (as a side note we had enough money to sign Kovy and keep Parise with Langenbrunner and Arnott coming off next year) but if all three of those players stay healthy the whole year they can get the job done. However, we will need production from a third and fourth line as well and I think we should go exclusively with youth in those positions including Zharkov, Pelley and at least two other offensive prospects along with Clarkson. I know Rolston has to fit in somewhere on the third or fourth line but I really think he just takes up space and time for developing one of our young players. I also think we should actively try to move Salvador for anything and go with at least two youthful D out of six.
There really isnt any other choice but to let the kids play.
Elias - Zubrus
Are the Devs somehow stuck with these guys? I have not been impressed with these guys for the last few years. 6 million (Elias) for what?
Elias has a complete no-trade/no-movement clause. He’s not going anywhere…. nor for that matter should he. Injuries aside, he’s your second-or-third best player (after Parise and maybe Zajac).
As for Zubrus, his contract makes him more difficult to move, but I suspect Lou will pull his magic if he needs the cap space. Zubrus and Salvador get mentioned in these threads as the guys to go because they have the significant-size contracts without NTC protection, meaning they have no reasonable way to block trades.
I have no idea why you’d want to move Elias. Sure, maybe in light of the past few years 6 mill/season is a little high. But 48 pts in 58 games last year (without being in the best shape as he and others have pointed out) and 78 points in 77 games the year before. How could you not be impressed by that? Plus, should any chemistry remain with Arnott (as I feel there will be), those numbers could easily spike to even somewhere in the 80s.
Zubrus, in my opinion, played some of his best hockey as a Devil when he returned from that injury last year. Sure, once again the contract is too much, but at least it’s not a Rolston.
I obviously dont see elias going anywhere, but i have to somewhat agree with zookdog here. He has not been the elite player of the early-mid 2000s recently. He is a finesse player and cant really take a hit. His injuries seem a bit soft and he tends to miss multiple games a season due to one minor thing or another. Lately, hes just been a big name on a franchise that DESPERATELY needed some scoring— especially in the playoffs.
That being said, elias has not been able to play in his natural position the last few seasons nor has he had a ‘real’ center to feed him the puck. I see him and zubrus putting up big numbers this year if they play left and right wing, respectively, with Arnott centering. I see this being the year where we do have a scoring Line 2 that can take some of the load off of Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner
by Marty'sBetter30 on Jul 18, 2010 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions
I just don’t feel like he worth that kind of coin at all. I follow the devils all year long and have since they came to NJ. I even was a season ticket holder. Not to say or even claim to know everything. I think Elias is way over paid for what he contributes. I’m curious if there is a winger in the league with worse stats and makes that much money? I rather ditch him and Zubrus for Kovy any day. That’s just my opinion, obviously something needs to change for us to return to the promise land… That goes for white and langs… rolston was a stupid move also… We also should have kept Clemmenson, who’s on deck?
I’m curious if there is a winger in the league with worse stats and makes that much money?
Um…. Brian Rolston?
Also, consider the circumstances of Elias’ signing. He was the top UFA on the market that year, and fielded multiple high-dollar offers from several teams. His loyalty to the Devils, combined with the loyalty the franchise had shown him (sticking with him 100% even when he contracted Hepatitis during the lockout) led to him taking a deal that was considered “below market value” compared to some of the other offers (such as one from Our Hated Rivals).
He may not be the uber-elite player he was ten years ago, but that was ten years ago. He is still reasonably close to a point-per-game player, and those don’t exactly grow on trees. He is also a leader in the locker room from many indications.
Again, not the same player he was in his younger days, but he’s still easily a Top 6 forward on just about any team in this league. Elias isn’t the problem here.
elias.
6mill
58gp-48pts
77gp-78pts
in 2007, that wasnt his best year, but elias is playing amazing, not just points but how he passes, those no look passes are amazing, he makes everything look easy, always calm-most of the time
PS3: J-CAMPS
IIRC, cap space opens up to 4.5x by the time we reach the trade deadline. so if the devils had 1 million in cap space, they’d get 4.5 million by the deadline. and really, there’s no need for much more than that, given the makeup of this team, they only have one ‘obvious’ hole that could be filled by a deal, and that’s for a defenseman who can work the power play. the devils should pick the best team out of their remaining players without cap space considerations.
I actually hope and expect Lou to make some more additions/acquisitions through free agency and/or trades. I certainly think that the moves we made are improvements, but would like to see something more in terms of the offense. According to NHL.com, we ranked in the bottom half of the league (19th overall) in goals for in the regular season and dead last in the same category during the playoffs last year. I think there still needs to be a bit more done in terms of signing offensive-type players, and this may necessitate the movement of some current players to make cap space available.
Rob Davidson’s still under contract, and it’s a two-way contract meaning waivers will not affect him. His salary is $500k, so he could be a replacement if Lou doesn’t want to bring up Eckford.
In Lou We Trust: Now More productive than a New Jersey Devils Powerplay
"Pfft, Wii’s where it’s at. *Swings toy plastic racquet, separates shoulder"- RudyKelly
by Kevin Sellathamby on Jul 18, 2010 11:13 AM EDT reply actions
davison didn’t get much time with new jersey last year, but in that very brief time he was awful. i really can’t see where davison gets into the NHL with new jersey, not with fraser’s emergence.
Well, salary wise, Davidson is the cheapest. Skill wise… yea, he’s not going to be much help unless the Devils are facing Vesa Toskala.
In Lou We Trust: Now More productive than a New Jersey Devils Powerplay
"Pfft, Wii’s where it’s at. *Swings toy plastic racquet, separates shoulder"- RudyKelly
by Kevin Sellathamby on Jul 19, 2010 8:18 AM EDT up reply actions
To be honest, everything hinges on Kovalchuk. If he signs with the Devils we have arguably the best group of Top-6 forwards in the league. If he doesn’t, then we are going to struggle to find that offensive touch we definitely need. Furthermore, if we do sign Kovalchuk and free up enough cap space, remember this is purely hypothetical, we would probably be able to trade Langebrunner to the Leafs for Kaberle and maybe a bit more. Imagine a Kaberle-Volchenkov defensive pairing, that would be the closest thing to Stevens-Niedermayer we’ve had in years. We’d be getting back to our true roots. Having a balanced defensive pairing feeding fast wingers breakout passes. Kaberle could easily help both Parise and Kovalchuk reach 50 goal seasons. I know its not very possible and definitely not probable but it was just a thought. Then Tallinder-Greene could be the second d pairing.
parise
in a way i think all devils fan want parise to do amazing and suck in a way
sure, if he gets 50goals, 100points, then thats a big raise
if he sucks this year we can cut the price down a little, but i hope he doesnt suck
do the right think parise and stay in NJ for 6mill or so, dont be greedy like some player we know..
PS3: J-CAMPS
Even with Kovalchuk, there’s no way the Devils have the best group of Top 6 in the league. Sure, you could put Parise, Zajac, Elias, and Kovalchuk up against anyone’s top 4 and have a fighting chance, but I wouldn’t go any further than that. Pittsburgh has Crosby and Malkin for starters, and Jordan Staal is the best #3 center in the league by a country mile. Washington has Ovechkin and Backstrom and Semin — probably the best threesome in the entire league. Out west, you have Detroit and Chicago who also have multiple extremely good top-end players.
we would probably be able to trade Langebrunner to the Leafs for Kaberle and maybe a bit more
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! How many times has this thought been brought up on other threads?
Langenbrunner is not being traded to Toronto. He has a no-trade clause and no reason whatsoever to accept such a deal. He certainly is not going to fetch you Kaberle and something else…. not to mention that the cap numbers won’t work (Kaberle makes much more than Jamie).
Brian Burke is not trading Kaberle for a winger he isn’t going to build around and who won’t be around after the season. Burk is going to ask first for David Clarkson and a high pick/top prospect. Then he’s going to ask for Tedenby and Josefson. Then he is going to ask for Greene, a prospect, and a pick.
You’re more likely to find a unicorn wandering the swamps around the Meadowlands.
Bryce Salvador is getting burried in the minors and if 2 Center prospects show they are both ready (Jofeson, Henrique,Pelley) then look to see Zubrus also get the na-na-na hey hey good bye. (If we landed Kovalchuk Rolston was gunna get the Molgilony ie. Forced into retirement via. Lou Lamoriello)… So you can basiccly add that 2.9 from salvador to the cap space. Which makes 6M… I’m not sure if Lou’s going to make any changes.. but I am certain he is most certaintly out there trying to wheel and deal. He knows like others it would be nice get that 4th cup while marty’s still playing at his best. ( if you think hes not playing at his best just check the goalie stats for last season.. )
My Roster for the start of 2010.
Praise – Zajac – Langenbrunner ( Our most productive line the past 2 seasons )
Elias – Arnott – Roloston/Clarkson ( Rolston has said he’s playing RW this season )
Tedenby – Jofeson/Henrique – Clarkson/Rolston ( Which ever center proves there ready )
Vasyunov/Luc-Leblond – Zubrus – Palmeri/Zharvkov.
Volchenkov – Greene
Tallinder – Urbom/Corrente/Burlon ( Whom ever Lou decides )
White – Urbom/Corrente/Burlon ( If only ones ready for the NHL, then unfourtently.. Bryce Salvador.
If Kovalchuk signs elsewhere, most of the discussion is moot. There’s plenty of cap space for Zubrus and Salvador and a couple of kids (even the ones whose cap hits approach a million) without making sacrifices off the roster.
If Kovalchuk signs here, Lou will dump Salvador and Zubrus for whatever he can get, even if he has to throw in a draft pick or a second-tier prospect to do it. There are teams that will take on the salary for the right price, and there are teams out there that have to take salary to reach the salary floor — it is in their interests to take such players as long as they’re getting something of value for their trouble.
Burying players at Albany is a last resort, for if there are no other ways to get rid of somebody. I can’t imagine it helps the team for the long haul if you do it very often — you’ll engender a lot of resentment from otherwise good players whose only crime is that they make too much money and didn’t negotiate themselves a no-movement clause, and it probably makes it harder to bring in free agents in the future.
(If we landed Kovalchuk Rolston was gunna get the Molgilony ie. Forced into retirement via. Lou Lamoriello)
Not without a legitimate injury, he isn’t. After playing that game with Mogilny, you know the league is going to look very closely at the Devils if they try it again, all the more because there were questions raised regarding whether Mogilny was really hurt badly enough to be dropped on LTIR and thus expunged from the cap. Even if Rolston voluntarily retires, his salary remains on the cap for the next two years — that’s part of the 35+ rules in the CBA. Like it or not, the Devils are stuck with Rolston…. and I imagine Lou and Johnny Mac have discussed how to get the most out of him at this point in consideration of that.
Who does that 35+ rule actually protect in the CBA? It seems that it hurts players 35+ because if I was a GM I wouldn’t give more then 2 years to anyone over 35.
There is nothing quite as satisfying as out running security after you've punched out a Flyers fan!
It protects those who over 35 who actually signed a deal. But you’re right, it’s no accident that a lot of the UFAs left are veteran players.
I have a feeling this could be a sticking point for the next CBA fight.
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The New Jersey Devils SBN Blog
by John Fischer on Jul 18, 2010 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions
They need to get rid of the buy-out penalty and make it so if a player retires his salary comes off the cap. I have no problem with the salary counting against the cap if the player is in the minors because at 35+ a player deserves better than being burried in the AHL.
How did we get Shanny off the cap when he retired?
There is nothing quite as satisfying as out running security after you've punched out a Flyers fan!
They need to get rid of the buy-out penalty and make it so if a player retires his salary comes off the cap. I have no problem with the salary counting against the cap if the player is in the minors because at 35+ a player deserves better than being burried in the AHL.
True, but if retirement leads to salary coming off the cap, players could be “advised” to retire and that’s just as bad, if not worse, than burying a player into the minor leagues.
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The New Jersey Devils SBN Blog
by John Fischer on Jul 18, 2010 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions
More than that, the 35+ rule was put in to prevent teams from circumventing the cap system by giving a veteran a long-term, front-loaded deal, letting him play out a few years at high pay, and then retiring when the small numbers come due (the ones that are there to reduce a cap hit).
If you want an example of such a possibility, go to Capgeek at look at Chris Pronger’s salaries the next several years. That extension of his that is just now kicking in clearly looks to be a 5-year deal with two small numbers dropped on the back end to massage a cap number. Take those two years off, and the cap hit jumps from $4.9m (approximately) to about $6.7m…. quite a difference in today’s system.
Simple Fix
Cap Hit = That years salary
There is nothing quite as satisfying as out running security after you've punched out a Flyers fan!
by slackdog_rm on Jul 18, 2010 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I have a gut feeling Kovalchuk signs today…with Los Angeles.
As for what to expect, I do not have a problem with allowing the kids to play to see who is ready for full-time action. I do have a problem, however, with throwing in too many kids at the same time, and possibly retarding their development. Furthermore, I would not like to see any of the offensive kids on the 4th line or receiving 6-8 minutes per game. Id much rather see them in Albany playing 20-22 minutes in all offensive situations.
There is good cause to bring up prospects slowly (especially since the Devils are able to do so) so that you can rely on them being solid NHL’ers in the future as opposed to flash-in-the-pan players who you get frustrated with because you see the potential, but do not get the day-in day-out development.
Let there be one rookie defenseman make the team full-time, and one rookie forward playing on the 3rd line. Assuming guys like Fraser, Pelley and Zharkov are regulars, I see no need to bring up many more ‘kids.’
"What in tarnation's goin' on 'round here?!?" - Yosemite Sam in reference to Ilya Kovalchuk not yet signing
Maybe it’s just hope, but I want it to end today. Just sign with the Kings already. He wants to play there. They want him there. They’ll give him the first line. You’ve been a pretty cool dude during your time here. Glad you’ll be out west. Hope to see you in the Finals. The Devils might be better this year with him, but in a year or 2, I’ve been convinced otherwise.
I got beer-wagers with my other devils fan friends about what’s next. I’ve got money on Salvadore being moved (bonus if it’s a D for D swap that gets us blueline scoring threat) and Eckford making it as a semi-to-regular defenseman.
I like the wager on your end that Salvador is moved before training camp. I can only hope it returns a blueline scoring threat, but I dont think that is a realistic expectation, unless the trade is something like Bryce Salvador for Jack Hillen on the Island or something like that. Im still holding out hope that we can swing a deal with Ottawa for either Kuba or Campoli.
"What in tarnation's goin' on 'round here?!?" - Yosemite Sam in reference to Ilya Kovalchuk not yet signing
If it makes you feel any better, there’s yet another report that it is going to be Los Angeles.
Perversely, I still think New Jersey is the team to beat unless there is a mystery NHL team that will meet Kovy’s asking price. I just can’t see Kovalchuk taking lesser money over the long haul that LA seems to be offering, because too many of the disparate forces I believe to be involved in this indecision (Kovy, his wife, Grossman, the Russian agent, and the NHLPA) will argue for him to take more money. I’m not buying the endless stories out there (such as the one I quoted above) that he absolutely wants nothing to do with playing in NJ. I believe he might believe himself to be happier playing in LA, and I believe his wife could be pushing for him to go to LA as well…. but I don’t see where the numbers would work out. His agents obviously would push for top dollar, whether here or in the KHL, and I can’t see the NHLPA letting him take significantly less coin without raising a stink.
It also wouldn’t surprise me if this saga dragged on until August 19th at this point. To pull a free agency circus reference out of another sport, this is really starting to remind me of Manny Ramirez during the 2008-2009 MLB offseason. Everyone knew the 95% likelihood scenario (returning to LA), but it still took roughly until the start of spring training (or about 3-4 months) before everything fell into place.
What’s happening on August 19th? Is that the start of training camp for the Devils?
If this really does drag out for a few more weeks (which I doubt), I think things will have to get done by early August. The Kovalchuk issue is holding up the rest of the free agency market, as well as a seemingly ready-to-pop trade market. The team that gets Kovy – even if it’s LA – will obviously have to make some big trades to clear space, and I think both these teams have backup plans to make trades if they don’t get Kovy as well. LA will look to trade for a scoring winger, and we should look to upgrade our defense. I think that by early August other GMs will really start applying pressure on Lombardi and Lamoriello to end the drama or else miss out on their trade opportunities.
But personally, I really think this ends this week. For all of Lombardi’s posturing about “final offers”, they made the move to fly him into LA, wine and dine him, and then talk contract. Either LA’s offer is acceptable to him, or it’s not. I don’t think there’s any room left for further negotiation with LA. If the offer is NOT acceptable, then he either signs with the Devils or he opens himself up to sign a one-year contract with a Cup contender. If that happens, I think he’ll get some decent offers and will be able to make a decision rather quickly.
I, too, feel like the Devils’ offer is stronger than most of these pundits think. I don’t buy the NYPost numbers pointing to a cap hit close to 8.5, but I think it’s more like 8.0 per year while LA’s is something around 6.5. Pretty big difference.
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