[Signing] Stars sign Spezza to contract extension (4yrs, $7.5M AAV)

[Locke]

The term is okay, I guess, but the money isnt, especially in years 3 and 4. Hes already 31, his top productive years are mostly behind him and ergo his top dollar earning years should be as well. That contract is going to suck later on.

Originally Posted by corporatejay

crosby is disgustingly underpaid.

I agree, but its an interesting argument. In a perfect world you'd never want to sign those huge dollar/huge term deals, the cap rises and so do the average salaries, but guys want to get security as well in case of injury or whatever.

Realistically, 3-4 year contracts should be what players want. Look at Gio right now, I'll bet he wishes that 5 year deal he signed was a 3 year deal, he could damn near double his pay if this was a contract year.

[ricardodw]

4 goals 18 pts and -8 in his first 20 games as a Star.

Hemsky , Horcoff, Cole it seems that the Stars are entering the Flames/Bouwmeester stage in their team development. Enough older over-paid stars to almost make the playoffs.

[East Coast Flame]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

4 goals 18 pts and -8 in his first 20 games as a Star.

Hemsky , Horcoff, Cole it seems that the Stars are entering the Flames/Bouwmeester stage in their team development. Enough older over-paid stars to almost make the playoffs.

18 points is good for 20th in the league so far....not sure what you're getting at

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by East Coast Flame

18 points is good for 20th in the league so far....not sure what you're getting at

4 goals and a team worst -8 on a 12th place team...

is this as good as it gets?

Iginla in the Bouwmeester era was potting the 30-40 goals but was barely breaking even on 5 on 5.

Good enough to almost make the playoffs.

[burnitdown]

Great term, great price. Guys like Clarkson ($5.25M), Bolland ($5.5M), Cammalleri ($5M) set the stage and Spezza is much better than any of them. The fact that it wasn't a 6-7 year deal also brought up the price.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by burnitdown

Great term, great price. Guys like Clarkson ($5.25M), Bolland ($5.5M), Cammalleri ($5M) set the stage and Spezza is much better than any of them. The fact that it wasn't a 6-7 year deal also brought up the price.

Those are all absolutely terrible contracts. Cammalleri's is the least terrible but still.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I don't think that is a terrible contract. I think he is still one of the most offensively-gifted centers in the league.

Is Gary Roberts still doing player development in Dallas? Without knowing what Spezza's back ailments are, I am just wondering out loud if having Roberts all season will provide Spezza with some improvement. That would be my biggest concern on any contract Spezza has, though 4 years isn't all that long.

I think it is a pretty fair deal.

[ricardodw]

The likelyhood of someone 31-35 being a ppg player is betting against the history of the league:

18 year olds - 6 Crosby only one since 83-84
19 year old 16 Crosby and stamkos only 2 since 92-93 (Lindros)
20 year old 38
21 year old 76
22 year old – 114
23 year old – 131
24 year old 149
25 year old 165
26 year old 166
27 year old 160
28 year old 136
29 year old 113
30 year old 88
31 year old 63
32 year old 50
33 year old 44
34 year old 37
35 year old 19
36 year old 16
37 year old 9
38 year old 1 adam oates in 2000-01
39 year old 4 (Howe, Ratelle, Beliveau and Buyck)
40 year old 3 (Howe, Sellane, Buyck)
41 year old none

20 game min.

[T@T]

Risky, Spezza has played a total of one full season in the NHL, in the last 9 seasons he's missed 125 games due to injury. and it's not like most of these games missed are from one season either...he spreads them out nicely like winter holiday time. "oh my back boss"

Bad contract IMO, did his agent drug Nill into thinking someone would pay him $8m as a UFA?

[doctajones428]

So you're telling me a point per game, 6'3" 220 pound center isn't worth 7.5?

Wow ok.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by doctajones428

So you're telling me a point per game, 6'3" 220 pound center isn't worth 7.5?

Wow ok.

31 and can't stay healthy now, what's he going to be like in 3-4 years.?

He gets his points but he realy doesn't play "big"

[killer_carlson]

It's fine for the first 2 years, it's years 3 and 4 that would cause me concern if i'm Dallas.

[Arya Stark]

Originally Posted by T@T

Risky, Spezza has played a total of one full season in the NHL, in the last 9 seasons he's missed 125 games due to injury. and it's not like most of these games missed are from one season either...he spreads them out nicely like winter holiday time. "oh my back boss"

Bad contract IMO, did his agent drug Nill into thinking someone would pay him $8m as a UFA?

Very likely Spezza would get $8 million on the open market.

I like this deal. Pretty short term and ok money. 4 years is a pretty short deal and he likely could have got 7x8 on the open market.

[bluejays]

Spezza's career will be over within a couple years as bad as it sounds. He's had major back issues for years now where his career was in serious jeopardy a couple years ago, with Spezza saying he's been uncomfortable despite the surgeries. The AAV isn't bad - it's the length. Dallas should know better to pay that long for a guy can't play at 100% as talented as he is.

[DOOM]

I swear some people still think the salary cap is 39 million.

[GreenLantern2814]

If Spezza's career really is over in two years, then insurance will cover his money and the LTIR will take care of the cap space.

Even a declining Spezza is still better than the majority of centres in this league, and if he stays healthy, it's a big win for the Stars.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

If Spezza's career really is over in two years, then insurance will cover his money

Not necessarily. Players with a long history of injuries are often uninsurable. Basically, the probability of injury can be so high that the insurance premiums cost as much as the player's salary.

Spezza has to be getting pretty close to that territory.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Not necessarily. Players with a long history of injuries are often uninsurable. Basically, the probability of injury can be so high that the insurance premiums cost as much as the player's salary.

Spezza has to be getting pretty close to that territory.

I'm sure his premiums are higher, but I would have to believe they've managed to find a way to insure a $30m contract - if you write off a couple Hyundai's, they don't forbid you from driving, they jack your rates. He's not injured now, and he's never missed a full season.

Crosby missed a calendar year, broke his jaw and has had a dozen other things that kept him out, he still got 12 years and $102m.

Spezza for 4/30 is a good deal for everyone. No downside to getting a player like that locked up, and with that term and dollar figure, he remains tradable for the life of the deal.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

I'm sure his premiums are higher, but I would have to believe they've managed to find a way to insure a $30m contract - if you write off a couple Hyundai's, they don't forbid you from driving, they jack your rates.

If they jack your rates high enough, it amounts to the same thing.

I knew a guy once who had a nasty habit of writing off vehicles. He went out to buy a new truck, which at that time (early 1980s) was worth $10,000. He was ready to close the deal when he found out that his insurance premium would be $7,000, not per year, but for six months. So he gave up the idea and kept driving old clunkers with nothing but PLPD.

Crosby missed a calendar year, broke his jaw and has had a dozen other things that kept him out, he still got 12 years and $102m.

Crosby wasn’t 31 when he signed his deal. Besides, that was a deal signed under the old CBA, and everybody knew that stretching the term out to 12 years was just to circumvent the cap. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit to find that the later years of his contract are not covered by any insurance.

Spezza hasn’t missed a full season yet, but he has known chronic illnesses that are only going to get worse while he keeps playing professional sports. On top of that, he is at the age when cumulative injuries normally start to take their toll. That makes him a very bad risk for any insurance company.

[doctajones428]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

4 goals and a team worst -8 on a 12th place team...

is this as good as it gets?

Iginla in the Bouwmeester era was potting the 30-40 goals but was barely breaking even on 5 on 5.

Good enough to almost make the playoffs.

If Spezza, their number 3 guy, can put up 16 goals and 73 points on the second line, it's a win. His +/- isn't the the reason they will "almost make it".

Hemsky and Daley are both a team worst -9 by the way