Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
I guess we just disagree.
His agent would have been smart to turn the two way qualifier into a one way at league minimum.
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Well, the irony is we probably agree on that. However, there's really no evidence to support the fact that the Flames were willing to offer anything other than a two-way contract. That's what their qualifying offer was and their arbitration number was. My point has been pretty much all argument that the Flames didn't want to give him a one-way contract, so there's not much an agent can do if they would not budge...except hope the arbitrator agrees that he deserves one (which I think he will).
And still, Kulak is a fringe-NHL player. He played on a team with weak defensive depth so he only had to beat out Wotherspoon really for the job. It was a favourable situation, but as clearing waivers shows he isn't in the position to bank on a future NHL career. And more concerning for Kulak are the prospects that are now knocking on the door. Valimaki, Andersson, Kylington, all it takes is one to unseat him.
Realistically, this could be his last shot at a major contract. It's easy for us to sit back and be his armchair agent but an arbitrator awarding him ~$800K/year guaranteed contract is nothing to scoff at. Not when he could just as easily be the next Wotherspoon (or any hundreds of other fringe-NHL players who don't make it) and find himself in the AHL if he had signed what the Flames want, or God forbid, get injured and find himself out of a career all together. Certainly can't fault him if a guaranteed contract is what he's after, it has the potential for set him up for life without having to "bank on himself." Some people are just risk adverse, and that's fine.
It's just a strange situation when you think about a two-way contract. Imagine getting promoted to a manager position in a company making solid cash but having an unpaid hotshot intern breathing down your neck. An intern that the bosses love, have been grooming him for a management role since he got there and then telling you "if we like him more, you're going to become the unpaid intern." It would be easy why people would not want to go that route if they had other options, even if the reward may not be as high.