A contract like Giordano's is all about measuring risk. Will Giordano still be an effective player after 35? Time catches up to athletes quickly after that birthday. The body doesn't recoup from injuries as quickly, and Giordano has a history of missing games because of injury. In the last three full seasons he's missed 21, 18 and 21 games. That's almost 1/4 of the time played. That is a lot of risk to assume.
I said this in another thread and I restate it here as well. Every dollar overpaid to one player has to come out of the budget elsewhere. You really need to see the numbers in action to get a better understanding of what a few dollars here and there means. Take a $70M budget as an example, which is a fair number to use considering the cap and the space you need for call-ups for injuries and such. I would think a healthy budget breakdown is going to look like $40M on forwards, $24M on defense, and $6M on goaltending. So something like this, taking names out the mix.
$7M-$7M-$5M
$3M-$5M-$3M
$2M-$3M-$2M
$1M-$1M-$1M
$.75M-$.75M
$7M-$5M
$4M-$3M
$2M-$1.5M
.75M
$5M
$1M
That projection actually comes out $70.75M, or just a hair over budget. When you start plugging names and numbers into the matrix you start to see how actual dollars and cutting corners here and there mean all the difference in the world. We're already a little over budget in some instances, and corrections need to be made before over-extending in others.
Based on where this team is headed with talent up front, I don't see how Giordano fits into the mix with what he is demanding. If you over pay him you put the team in a precarious situation of having a budget that could allow your best young assets to be pillaged via offer sheet. I don't think the team can afford to work beyond its means when it comes to the budget and put players as risk because of over payment elsewhere, We already have some problems up front we need to deal with in short order. Stajan and Raymond both have contracts with term than have to be moved. You cannot afford to have $6.25M of budget space languishing on the 4th line. In that same vein you can't over-extend a player that may not produce compared to what he paid. I just don't see a salary structure that can pay Giordano the $8-9M he wants and not cripple the team long term. I would hate to see the Flames sign Giordano to a 7 year $56M contract, then lose a string of good young players because of that contract. It might be time to part ways and look for other options.
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