Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache
Now that the NA team tourney is over, we shall see how things progress.
If Johnny's camp wants to be unreasonable, I don't mind if he sits for a while.
He is a unique player that has shown a lot so far. Over a short time frame. On the other hand, of course, the Flames have their own set of questions, only 2 years in the league, road performance, etc.
The Flames have the majority of the leverage due to his contract situation. So many RFA years.
If it is half a million AAV over 8 years, it is 4 million total as the disputed amount. Presumably his year 1 is at least 4 M. So if he sits, it can be a wash monetarily.
Johnny's camp should ask themselves questions such as:
Are the Flames such contenders this year that they can't afford to let him sit out for a while? Who has more to lose, me or the team?
They were, what, 26th last year? Matthew Tkachuk is a rookie. New coach, who is getting a second chance after a pretty poor first run.... new goalie, but who put up good stats, but in front of Hitchcock D. As much as Troy Brouwer likes where things are going, this season is far from a sure thing. The team is likely not a cup favourite now, so if there is one year they can afford to live without him, maybe this is it.
This is a big league negotiation, and the answer is not "Give him what he wants." If your negotiating position is such that you want to make a threat, you need to be able to follow through or you lose your credibility. You pick your lines and you pick your threats, but if the team has a ceiling, it has a ceiling. And if Johnny thinks he is bigger than the whole concept of RFA, there could be a situation where he can sit and think about it for days, months or years.
Obviously there are many other considerations, but Johnny has an impressive but limited resume, notable lack of achievements versus the players one may cite as comparables, little leverage in terms of contract status.
Hudler, while obviously not being a comparable, was top 10 in league scoring season before last, did that for 4 M or whatever, and likely won't see that payday again. Toews. Kane, even Croaby had cups before they got paid. Johnny was a good player on a bad team. So was Olli Jokinen once. (I object to many of those as comparables but the point is that Johnny has not shown enough over multiple seasons to put him on the pay scale of the UFAs that have done so)
Really, I expect that Brad knows what he is doing and we should not see anything that is not justifiable. And Johnny's agent is probably doing what he thinks best to get money now, but hopefully recognizes the reality that their negotiating position is relatively weak.
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