Quote:
Originally Posted by The Cobra
Handshake deals would be considered cap circumvention.
The best a team could say is "We can't agree to anything now, but we'll look favourably upon a longer deal at this money if you are playing well at that time". Nothing can be guaranteed.
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Well yeah, that's what a handshake deal is.
It wouldn't be cap circumvention because no cap is being circumvented. All the money paid to the player would still be paid and accounted for under the cap.
The only teams who have had any troubles with cap circumvention charges were those who signed long-term deals where the player was unlikely to play the full term which included a few low-value years at the end to bring the cap down in the early years of the contract. Tkachuk signing a one-year bridge deal would be the exact opposite of that.
I think people are taking the term "handshake deal" to be more nefarious than I intended. I wasn't suggesting he sign anything close to the Lebanc contract, rather something like a 1 year $5-6 million deal with a promise to go longer-term once the Frolik and Brodie deals are off the books.
If the league didn't have any problems with Lebanc's contract, they certainly wouldn't have any problems with Tkachuk signing for $5 or $6 million.