Quote:
Originally Posted by Buff
Well, yes. Maybe I was a bit backwards in saying that. Back in those days, a young player like Iginla was very cost controlled. RFAs never really struck it big until they reached UFA. No way Johnny and Monny would have received $6M+ contracts on their second contract if they played in the 90s. We have the no good Kevin Lowe and his no good Oilers to thank for that. They started giving out giant contracts to RFAs (offer sheets), and younger players started getting paid bigger money much earlier in their careers.
|
Honestly, despite Burke's aneurysm, what's the problem with paying RFAs? Players get 50% of the hockey related revenue (a little bit different at the time) but the players get their half of the cake and how it's cut is based off of their 'salary'. But it's not like paying Hall 4M, 6M or 10M changed the size of the cake, it just changed how big of a piece the little guys got. And I think it's for the best. Otherwise, imagine instead of Gaudreau and Monahan making ~6.5M, them making ~4M...and Lucic making 10M.
Because the cake size is static, it didn't change how much (on average) the team's were spending, it really only made it that it was (slightly more) merit based rather than age based. And honestly, outside of the Penner and Vanek offersheets (which by design require a team to overpay) the increases were hardly that significant.
Sutter ####ed things up far far worse with the Kiprusoff contract.