Quote:
Originally Posted by Hackey
I agree with "going for it" when the time is right. If I'm the Ducks then ya I'm worrying less about the future and focusing on winning a cup in the next 1-3 years. I don't think the Flames are there quite yet and that is why I don't think we can adopt that same strategy. Especially with a guy like Gio. If we are an elite team that is ready to challenge for the Cup year after year in say 4 years time is that the point when Gio starts to regress and his contract actually ends up hurting our chances at a Cup? That is more what I am concerned about.
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I am interested in the discussion of "going for it". What it means and when you do it.
Going for it, IMO, is at some point you roll the dice and try to leverage one or two key contracts at the right time. That way you have cap space to add that extra piece(s) to put you over the top and increase your odds of making a cup final and winning a cup or two.
The trade off is you likely won't repeat because you have to restructure for a year or two. But if you maintain (and replenish) a young core then you can reload quickly and make another run.
To properly leverage a key contract, you need massive cap savings for a key period of time, in order to justify the overpayment (excessive cap hit) that comes at the end of the contract. You don't pay fair value, followed by overpayment. You pay BELOW value, followed by overpayment.
My view is that most young stars are good and affordable until they are 26 or so (maybe you buy 1 or 2 UFA years on the second contract). If you are lucky you might have one or two players that you can offer another 8 year contract (Kane, Toews, Getzlaf, Perry, Crosby, Ovy) to take them to 34 or so. The rest are debatable to re-sign or trade for assets at 26 or so. If you are drafting and developing properly, some of those players can be replaced within a year or two.
In LA, Carter and Richards are examples of leveraged contracts that allowed the kings cap space to fit all the pieces into 2 cups in 2012 and 2014. They have cap problems and miss playoffs, but they are still a contender.
For Calgary, I like our core for the next six years but who knows after that. We aren't going to draft 4th or 6th overall for the next 6 years. If Gio's agent offered 5 years BELOW value in exchange for 3 years overpayment, I would consider it.