Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
It amazes me that some people don't think the Huberdeau contract is going to be a huge concern down the road. Is it a concern today? Of course not. However, in 4 years, the Flames will likely be re-signing two young superstars - Parekh (who will probably go back to Junior for a year) and whomever they draft next year in the top 5, who is likely to play right away. Potential 10+ million deals each (assuming they work out). Then the Flames are likely to have a few more - they are likely to be picking in the top 5 for the next 3 seasons starting with this one. That's 2 more high end players that you probably want to extend to long-term deals. Plus you will have other players stepping forward - maybe Wolf? Brzustewicz? Morin? Other players? I mean, if the rebuild goes correctly, then cap space will be used up pretty damn quickly.
Huberdeau's 10.5 million (and Kadri's 7 million) are going to be impediments on extending certain players, and will probably require sweeteners to be added in trade. One year of Huberdeau's deal will probably be worth a first assuming that the cap rises. Kadri's deal you can buy out I guess (and this is why I suggest trading him now if you can so you can avoid it down the road).
Huberdeau's deal is by far the worst in the league. It doesn't hurt the Flames today, and that's great. However, it will definitely hurt down the road, unless the Flames aren't drafting well.
Feaster and Treliving had it easy. No bad contracts on the books. Conroy doesn't have that luxury.
I really like Huberdeau the person. I can't imagine that this has been easy for him. Yeah, sure, he can buy a bunch of really nice cars and make himself feel better, but he is also a human being with some feelings and a lot of pride too. Being labelled as the worst contract in the league must sting. Watching your former teammates lift the cup must sting. Being the butt-end of jokes must sting. I feel really sorry for him, regardless of how much money he is making. This sucks. It sucks for him, and it sucks for the Flames. Hopefully he finds a way to turn his game around a bit, but if that's the rate that he is producing at now, in 3 or 4 years I imagine it will be worse.
This is why I really hope that the Flames end up trading Kadri. He is good/fair value today, but the Flames can't afford to have 17.5 million in almost 'dead' cap space when they have a bunch of talented kids to re-sign, or even 10.5 + whatever Kadri's buyout cap hit is (at least Kadri's deal you can buy out).
Conroy is really handicapped here down the road.
As for being able to move Huberdeau's deal - I bet they will be able to, but it will still be expensive. Right now, it takes a 1st round pick to move 6 million for a year. With the rising cap (and assuming the cap continues to rise until the end of Huberdeau's deal), it will probably take a 1st round pick to move Huberdeau's last year, give or take. It won't be cheap. It isn't even front-loaded, so that cash-strapped teams that are rebuilding would at least be more willing to take it on.
That's why it is the league's worst deal. There isn't another contract that I wouldn't trade it for. I can't stand Nurse and that deal for him is atrocious, but it is shorter now and easier to buy out. PLD? Easier to buy out. Jones? I would make that swap all day long.
The good thing is that Huberdeau is not sulking, he plays hard, and is not a liability. He hasn't 'retired' or given up, even though the Flames sold at the deadline. I was specifically looking at him (and Kadri) to see if they would just start mailing it in. They both certainly had some bad games here and there, but they both played well even down the stretch, which was nice to see.
It will be interesting to see how Huberdeau's production continues over the next couple of years, and if he continues playing like he gives a damn. I have yet to complain about Huberdeau, but his contract is the absolute worst in the NHL at the moment, and though it doesn't hurt today, it most assuredly will assuming the Flames draft well.
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