[Signing] Chicago signs Toews and Kane to 8 yr contract extensions ($10.5 mil AAV EACH)

[IgiTang]

Pffff.... 2 players @ 21M/8 yrs...

Flames will have 3 players making $10.5M+ In 5 years.

These signings are nothing compared to what JG, Monahan and Bennett are gonna get.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by IgiTang

Pffff.... 2 players @ 21M/8 yrs...

Flames will have 3 players making $10.5M+ In 5 years.

These signings are nothing compared to what JG, Monahan and Bennett are gonna get.

Both Toews and Kane have been engraved a couple times before these deals.
As long as the same is said for the Flames players mentioned, I'm good with that.

[Esoteric]

It's not even that crazy

Once it kicks in
Toews - $10.5
Kane - $10.5
Keith - $5.4
Total - $26.4 million

I'd rather have that lineup than Crosby ($8.7M), Malkin ($9.5M) and Letang ($7.3M) for $25.5 million. The skill level may be less than Pittsburgh, but the level of compete and the consistency of results is much higher in Chicago.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Chill Cosby

High deal right now, but in years 4-8 those contracts look really good.

Honestly, probably not. One of the strange things the salary cap has done is completely stifle salary growth at the top end. Players were getting contracts that averaged over $11 million before the 2004-05 lockout, and as these two deals show - that hasn't gone up at all. Chances are, $10.5 will still be at the top end in years 4-8.

Still, the Hawks needed to get this done. Now they just need to survive a year or two until the cap (hopefully) rises enough to give them space to rebuild their supporting cast.

[Beatle17]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

The Hawks have done and continue to do a great job finding good talent in the draft despite not picking in prime position. So as long as they can keep doing that they'll be alright in terms of turning over their roster with cheaper young players who can provide good production when they have to lose a few guys.

The hilited comment is where I have a problem with people stating these great teams do a good job of drafting outside the top end. The real key player found outside the top 5 picks in the draft was Duncan Keith. Seabrook in junior was higher ranked than Phaneauf/Suter/Weber and others but dropped to lower in the round because of an injury. The other top players, Sharp and Hossa, were trades and free agency pick ups. Without the top talent the other "surprise" picks don't win the cup. The Hawks have won 2 cups because of the key guys, who just got signed to new contracts and they will change out the supporting players as they have done each time.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Beatle17

The hilited comment is where I have a problem with people stating these great teams do a good job of drafting outside the top end. The real key player found outside the top 5 picks in the draft was Duncan Keith. Seabrook in junior was higher ranked than Phaneauf/Suter/Weber and others but dropped to lower in the round because of an injury. The other top players, Sharp and Hossa, were trades and free agency pick ups. Without the top talent the other "surprise" picks don't win the cup. The Hawks have won 2 cups because of the key guys, who just got signed to new contracts and they will change out the supporting players as they have done each time.

And the Kings?

[the_professsor]

Originally Posted by Beatle17

The hilited comment is where I have a problem with people stating these great teams do a good job of drafting outside the top end. The real key player found outside the top 5 picks in the draft was Duncan Keith. Seabrook in junior was higher ranked than Phaneauf/Suter/Weber and others but dropped to lower in the round because of an injury. The other top players, Sharp and Hossa, were trades and free agency pick ups. Without the top talent the other "surprise" picks don't win the cup. The Hawks have won 2 cups because of the key guys, who just got signed to new contracts and they will change out the supporting players as they have done each time.

I don't think people are arguing that they find "top end talent" outside the first round, nobody does this consistently. The Hawks are excellent at drafting support players in later rounds, guys like Bickell, Kruger, Saad, Shaw, Smith, Hjalmarsson.

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by Esoteric

It's not even that crazy

Once it kicks in
Toews - $10.5
Kane - $10.5
Keith - $5.4
Total - $26.4 million

I'd rather have that lineup than Crosby ($8.7M), Malkin ($9.5M) and Letang ($7.3M) for $25.5 million. The skill level may be less than Pittsburgh, but the level of compete and the consistency of results is much higher in Chicago.

Sure, but surround Crosby, Malkin and Letang with the rest of that Blackhawks team and they would put up very similar "team" results. The Pens line up outside of those 3 guys is mostly an AHL level roster. Toews, Kane and Keith would have no better results being surrounded by the rest of the existing Pens team.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by RyZ

Sure, but surround Crosby, Malkin and Letang with the rest of that Blackhawks team and they would put up very similar "team" results. The Pens line up outside of those 3 guys is mostly an AHL level roster. Toews, Kane and Keith would have no better results being surrounded by the rest of the existing Pens roster.

That's more a function of good management versus bad than anything else.
But obviously the job in Chicago just got much harder.

[IgiTang]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Both Toews and Kane have been engraved a couple times before these deals.
As long as the same is said for the Flames players mentioned, I'm good with that.

Yup, thought that was implied with the joke.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Saad and Leddy are offer sheet targets next summer.

Not saying the Flames should do it, but they will be targets.

Will we ever see another offer sheet for a Group 2? Still waiting on Krug, R Smith and D King to be offer sheeted. I truly believe the GM's have an unwritten agreement about these now. But Ya, sign Saad up (next year).

[East Coast Flame]

Great deal for the team and the players. I would take them with those deals on the Flames in a heartbeat.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Derek Sutton

Will we ever see another offer sheet for a Group 2? Still waiting on Krug, R Smith and D King to be offer sheeted. I truly believe the GM's have an unwritten agreement about these now. But Ya, sign Saad up (next year).

Krug and Smith are ineligible for offer sheets.

[saintjohnflames]

Calgary should try and make a trade for Kris Versteeg than! We are short on the RW side of things and Versteeg would be a great asset. With a ton of prospects that we could let go it would make sense for both sides. Versteeg would relieve them of $2m and would have them just under cap or close to it. Chicago gets cap relief and a prospect to help out their bland pool of prospects and Calgary gets a NHL RW that could play on our top line. Make it happen Treliving!

[King Theo]

Originally Posted by East Coast Flame

Great deal for the team and the players. I would take them with those deals on the Flames in a heartbeat.

I would too. They make the players around them better.

[Yrebmi]

Originally Posted by Locke

They know. But they've already won 2 cups and likely came very close to a third. This is their payday.

...and 6.3 mil wasn't a payday? I know, I know, top end athletes and entertainers in general get paid, but paint me envy green.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Yrebmi

...and 6.3 mil wasn't a payday? I know, I know, top end athletes and entertainers in general get paid, but paint me envy green.

When Hall, Eberle and RNH are your salary comparables, then yeah - this is an appropriate payday

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by saintjohnflames

Calgary should try and make a trade for Kris Versteeg than! We are short on the RW side of things and Versteeg would be a great asset. With a ton of prospects that we could let go it would make sense for both sides. Versteeg would relieve them of $2m and would have them just under cap or close to it. Chicago gets cap relief and a prospect to help out their bland pool of prospects and Calgary gets a NHL RW that could play on our top line. Make it happen Treliving!

Do we need a new whipping boy because Versteeg would be tailor made for the position. Unless we value floaters who disappear at crunch time?

[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Honestly, probably not. One of the strange things the salary cap has done is completely stifle salary growth at the top end. Players were getting contracts that averaged over $11 million before the 2004-05 lockout, and as these two deals show - that hasn't gone up at all. Chances are, $10.5 will still be at the top end in years 4-8.



Still, the Hawks needed to get this done. Now they just need to survive a year or two until the cap (hopefully) rises enough to give them space to rebuild their supporting cast.

That's probably true, I was more so referring to what you laid out at the end. In 5-9 years (years 4-8 of the contracts) the cap SHOULD be at a level where that cap hit is less significant than it is now percentage wise.

That said, in 9 years I wouldn't be surprised to see guys making 12-15 million depending on the economics at the time. The "highest" cap hits seem to get incrementally higher with every new top end player that signs a deal.

[GGG]

This is less than Iggy got in the second year after the lockout when the cap was 39 or 42 and he signed is 5 yr 35 mil contract. Now that didn't work out that well for the rest of his contract but in terms of cap percentage he was higher.

Since those first 7 mil contracts early in the cap system the top players as a % of the cap have been taking less and less. The psychological barrier of 10 million and the cap cheater contracts pushed those numbers down.

Now that you can't cheat the cap this will be typical for top players to get 15% of the cap. And this should spread good players around the league a little more than right now.