Quote:
Originally Posted by DiracSpike
This is exactly why it’s a smart move for him, and everyone clowning him doesn’t get it. He had a ####ty break having his big UFA year coincide with this crisis and he’s making a smart move to come back strong next year and sign the big ticket he wanted to sign this year. This move is only dumb if you actually think that NHL players value winning over their own fair market value, in which case LOL at you.
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100% disagree wholeheartedly. The objective of an agent is to make his client as much money as possible in as short a time as possible. There are some things to consider as to why it would have been a whole lot better to sign big right now, instead of gambling (big time) that he will cash in bigger next season:
- If his plan is to have a good season then cash in bigger next season, he will be 29 when he signs next season. 28 looks a whole lot better then 29 to a GM looking to sign someone longterm.
- Hall has been injured 3/3 the past seasons. He was healthy during his Hart season. But 3 seasons in row since, massive injuries. His party is gambling big time he's going to stay healthy this entire season to cash in bigger next UFA season? To me this is by far the riskiest part of this contract; gambling he will stay healthy to be recognized as deserving a bigger contract next time. The whole point of signing big long term UFA contracts is to have that stability/financial security IF you get injured.
- If it's such a "smart" move, why does this very rarely happen with big UFAs? Are there examples of past star players going the 1 year route, only to cash in substantially larger the season after and we can all agree it was a smart move. I think Hossa is a good example of doing as such. But those are the exceptions and not the norm. Otherwise we'd be seeing it happen a whole lot more. There's a reason you sign the dotted line when a big sum is put in front of you, and not risk going the 1 year route in an attempt for something bigger next season.
- I feel like Hall left between $40-$50 million on the table doing this. If Hall goes on to have an elite season and signs a bigger contract then I will happily eat my words. But IMO this is a huge risk. Take the stability NOW.
Weird signing. Even weirder it was with Buffalo. The only positive I can think of is he knows Buffalo isn't a contender, but can pad his stats with Eichel. Come trade deadline, he'll have the chance to essentially choose his destination (his NMC a big part of that) and if he wins the cup then he can cash in. I suppose if that all comes to fruition it will be seen as an epic 4D chess move. But that's some wild-ass 4D chess moves to pull it off.