[Rumour] Kopitar contract extension nearly done. (8yrs, ~$9.75mil AAV)

[sureLoss]

http://mayorsmanor.com/2015/12/anze-...with-la-kings/

Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, MayorsManor has recently confirmed via multiple sources close to the negotiations, the two sides are very close to wrapping up a new eight-year contract for the team’s 2005 first round draft pick and the man who has essentially led the team in scoring since making his NHL debut a little more than a year later.

Of note is the fact that Kopitar cannot get more than seven years from any other NHL team on the open market next summer as an Unrestricted Free Agent. Per the CBA agreed upon in January 2013, NHL teams can offer their own impending UFAs eight-year extensions, while the other 29 clubs can offer a maximum term of seven years.

Many outlets, including MayorsManor, have reported Kopitar and his agent, Pat Brisson, are believed to be asking in the $10-11 million per year range. Brisson was able to secure new contracts for the Blackhawks Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane during the summer of 2014, both averaging $10.5 million per season. While those were among the richest contracts in league history, they were still below the maximum allowable payout, 20% of the salary cap (roughly $14M now with a $71M cap).

If you assume Kopitar could find a team to pay him $11M on the open market, that equates to $77M over seven years. Even if you want to argue he could easily get $10M per season, that equates to $70M total. Hence, if he takes 9.75M per season from the Kings for eight years, the annual cap hit might be lower, yet the total value of the deal would sit at $78M.

From what we have been able to gather, Kopitar isn’t interested in going below the $9.75M number, feeling that equates to a hometown discount, considering all market variables. On the flip side, in every radio interview we’ve given on the subject over the past year, we’ve argued the Kings shouldn’t be looking to go above $9M per season. Apparently, GM Dean Lombardi agrees with that ballpark and has been trying to close the deal in the $9-9.25M range. Just like the Drew Doughty contract talks in 2011 drug out for an extended period, so to have the Koptiar talks. And just like the Doughty camp was able to get close to their number in the end, it looks like Kopitar’s new contract will likely land more in line with his wishes than what Lombardi had hoped for.

[Mass_nerder]

I like Kopitar, but that seems like way too much money.

[sharkov]

Crazy especially considering his performance this season

[GranteedEV]

I like Kopitar, and I would rather pay him that kind of money than pay Stamkos or Toews that kind of money, but I also think that's way too much money.

[Mr.Coffee]

Haha sure? Why not? Why not add another mill/yr for good measure?

That's just idiotic.

[The Yen Man]

Good, hopefully this wrecks the Kings' cap for years to come.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I like Kopitar, and I would rather pay him that kind of money than pay Stamkos or Toews that kind of money, but I also think that's way too much money.

I would say that Kopitar is a lot better than Stamkos and is about as good as Toews. Very underrated.

A lot of miles on odometer though...

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Good, hopefully this wrecks the Kings' cap for years to come.

Pfft we all know the kings will just terminate the contract when kopitar gets a ticket for Jay walking

[Locke]

Alright, well, I hope the Kings are happy with what they got because their winning days are over.

He just simply doesnt produce enough to be worth that.

A 70 point centre? At best. Is now worth $10M?

[blender]

I know the player will always want long-term, but why not just offer him the 70m at the max allowable for whatever it takes, 4 or 5 years, and get out from under the anchor years of the long term deal?

[Kswiss]

Horrible contract. That is an absurd amount of money and term. Personally 5 years would be the max I would go on any contract. Too much uncertainty beyond that.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Top tier players have been worth 10M a year in their prime for years.

Crosby averages over 10.5M a year until he's 35.

Parise averages over 10M a year until he's 35.

Weber averages 11M a year until he's 35.

Suter averages 10M a year until he's 35.

Ovechkin, going forward, makes 10M a year now until he's 35. He signed his contract in 2008 with a cap-hit of 9.5M+.

Lundqvist makes over 10M a year until he's 35.

These contracts just have either lower paying, if not completely retirement, years added on beyond their 35th birthday.

Malkin, arguably taking a paycut, is signed for 9.5M a year until he's 35.

Kane and Toews make 10.5M a year for the next 8 years.

Kopitar and Toews have 148 and 149 points, respectively, over the last 3 seasons. Both are perennial candidates for the Selke, both have multiple Stanley Cups. The second Toews signed for 10.5M a year, Kopitar was going to get a similar contract.

[driveway]

With any luck, there will be enough data showing that huge, long-term deals are bad when our current crop of 19-24 year olds start hitting 27, 28, 29 and asking for that max-money contract won't be a feasible thing for UFAs of that age to do anymore.

Get Monahan, Gaudreau, and Bennett for 5.5-7.5 million for the next 8 years now, and then when they're in their late 20's hope the market realities have changed and, once again 5.5-7.5 million dollar contracts make sense.

[N-E-B]

Yikes. Maybe it's just me but I've always thought Kopitar was really overrated. I don't think he's even in the same stratosphere as Toews. Great player, don't get me wrong, but he's making $2.75mil/year more than I think he's worth.

[Vinny01]

Bad contract

[Erick Estrada]

These contracts are going to catch up to the league. We already see how teams are paralyzed to make a trades due to the salary cap implications and it's only going to get worse. The Richards contract was a prime example of what happens when a player on a long term deal like this declines and it's not likely most players will afford teams a way to get out of the deal that Richards did.

Look at the Zach Parise contract. Not only are the Wild not even getting a sniff of the Stanley Cup while the player is just passed his prime he has a cap hit of $7.5 million until 2024/25. That team is going to be screwed in about 5 years as the salary cap is no longer pointing up annually like it was a few years back. US buildings are half empty and the salary cap is not longer pointing up. IMO the league could be heading back to hard times. I personally don't believe handing out compliance buyouts every new CBA is the answer to the poor spending habits of NHL GM's.

[bax]

It's easy for people to jump in and say "I wouldn't give him that money" or "5 years is the max I'd go" when in reality if you guys were running a team you would be perennial losers because stars would walk away. It's just the nature of the business these days. You want to keep you best players you have to pay up

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Good, hopefully this wrecks the Kings' cap for years to come.

They have the worst cap situation by far in the NHL. It's a mess. They have Mike Richards on the cap until 2031'.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

Yikes. Maybe it's just me but I've always thought Kopitar was really overrated. I don't think he's even in the same stratosphere as Toews. Great player, don't get me wrong, but he's making $2.75mil/year more than I think he's worth.

And what makes you say that? They're basically identical players, statistically. Is it because Toews has Olympic gold medals? Hard for Kopitar to get any of those playing for Slovenia.

Originally Posted by BigTuna

They have the worst cap situation by far in the NHL. It's a mess. They have Mike Richards on the cap until 2031'.

It's basically nothing though. The Kings are probably thrilled with how the Richards thing worked out.

[OutOfTheCube]

Seems like an awful lot of money -- I thought he'd be more in the Patrice Bergeron level than the Evgeni Malkin level.