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

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Also, Lombardi is terrible at signing contracts, just terrible. Whoever replaces him is going to be cursing his name for years.

[Jason14h]

It makes WAY more sense to pay your stars, as there are limited quantities of them.

Would you rather have Stajan, Raymond and Hiller or Kopitar and a rookie center and backup goalie?

And the amount isn't high. As a % of cap these deals are lower then when we had Iginla.

[Jason14h]

Double Click

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

It makes WAY more sense to pay your stars, as there are limited quantities of them.

Would you rather have Stajan, Raymond and Hiller or Kopitar and a rookie center and backup goalie?

And the amount isn't high. As a % of cap these deals are lower then when we had Iginla.

Can I choose none of the above?

I like Kopitar but this is going to be one of the worst contracts in the league within 3-4 years, if not sooner. He's having his second down season in a row and he's almost 30. Lombardi's track record with regards to signing 30 year olds indicates this will likely be a disaster.

[albertGQ]

I would sign Kopitar to a $217M / 7 year contract

[Huntingwhale]

nm

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

Really? The guy has lead his team in playoff points in the two seasons his team won the Cup. He's lead the team in regular seasons for nearly a decade. He has more points than all but 14 players in the NHL over the last 5 years, and he's been nominated for the Selke 2 times.

If he's not a franchise player, I'd love to hear your definition.

You can't pay for past production from soon to be 30 year olds anymore and expect it to not bite you in the ass down the road, especially over the course of 8 years.

[Poster]

Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix

You can't pay for past production from soon to be 30 year olds anymore and expect it to not bite you in the ass down the road, especially over the course of 8 years.

how can the NHL have a system that limits earnings during prime years and also doesn't reward players when they reach UFA and expect to keep their players?

Kopitar will get that money from somewhere and where will LAK replace their elite world class championship calibre #1 C if they just let him walk to say SJS?

Its the systems shut the door on the fans TWICE to get so I don't think they see a problem with it.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by East Coast Flame

Think Toews is worth $10m? Pretty much identical career numbers.

You guys are nuts, this is a great deal. Kopitar is awesome.

I was actually thinking about it a bit more because I am a huge fan of Kopitar, I guess I was just caught by surprise. Its actually not even that much of a raise. I was surprised more by the term. I mean at those dollars 8 years seems a bit....whats the word...insane?

But you're right, looking at his comparables the dollars arent bad, and Kopitar is an excellent player. The Toews comparison is a good one.

But man oh man, if I'm Dustin Brown I am dotting all my i's and crossing all my t's and being on my absolute best behaviour.

Because if Brown steps out of line by so much as a pinky toe Lombardi and co are going to take that as just cause and launch him and his contract into the sun.

That team is in legit cap hell.

[Northendzone]

i wonder what the delay is - are they discussing who is going to pay for laces and stick wax?

anywyas, must be nice to be a sports executive and be able to sign large $100 million dollar deals and be somewhat certain that you won't be around is three years to answer for the deal.....

i'd have to think that in cases like this the agent and the player must laugh and go "very nice - high five" when they receive the teams offer....

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

i wonder what the delay is - are they discussing who is going to pay for laces and stick wax?

per the link the terms and conditions of the NMC/NTC are the final things needed to be worked out

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Poster

how can the NHL have a system that limits earnings during prime years and also doesn't reward players when they reach UFA and expect to keep their players?

Kopitar will get that money from somewhere and where will LAK replace their elite world class championship calibre #1 C if they just let him walk to say SJS?

Its the systems shut the door on the fans TWICE to get so I don't think they see a problem with it.

The system doesn't restrict earnings for players during prime years. It's quite the opposite. Look at Edmonton's wunderkids, Dougie Hamilton, the contracts Gaudreau and Monahan will undoubtedly sign, etc.

I'm not saying the NHL shouldn't allow contracts like this, I just think LA is making a mistake.

[Fan in Exile]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

Really? The guy has lead his team in playoff points in the two seasons his team won the Cup. He's lead the team in regular seasons for nearly a decade. He has more points than all but 14 players in the NHL over the last 5 years, and he's been nominated for the Selke 2 times.

If he's not a franchise player, I'd love to hear your definition.

He's a good player on a good team but he has never carried his team. He's a point per game in the playoffs but do you really think he is more important to that team than Doughty or Quick? He doesn't have that level of talent. If I were to compare him with someone else, it would be Hossa. Great player but never going to get it done unless he has a really strong supporting cast. You can't tie that much salary up on a player like him.

I honestly think the Kings can do better without him at 9.75 million a year by using that salary elsewhere.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Fan in Exile

He's a point per game in the playoffs but do you really think he is more important to that team than Doughty or Quick?

The last time they won they Cup, yes I would say he was more important than Doughty or Quick. He was the shoo-in for the Conn Smythe before Justin Williams put up 7 points in 5 games against the Rangers in the finals to go along with his game seven heroics.

[Hackey]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

I would sign Kopitar to a $217M / 7 year contract

Kopitar deserves more. He has 2 rings. Price hasn't won a playoff game yet.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Good contract. It's 1 or 2 years too long, but the Kings will be tearing down and rebuilding by then anyways.

Kopitar is one of the best players in the world.

[East Coast Flame]

Originally Posted by Locke

I was actually thinking about it a bit more because I am a huge fan of Kopitar, I guess I was just caught by surprise. Its actually not even that much of a raise. I was surprised more by the term. I mean at those dollars 8 years seems a bit....whats the word...insane?

But you're right, looking at his comparables the dollars arent bad, and Kopitar is an excellent player. The Toews comparison is a good one.

But man oh man, if I'm Dustin Brown I am dotting all my i's and crossing all my t's and being on my absolute best behaviour.

Because if Brown steps out of line by so much as a pinky toe Lombardi and co are going to take that as just cause and launch him and his contract into the sun.

That team is in legit cap hell.

Would I prefer if it were a 5 or 6 year term? Of course I would. But that's the NHL these days. When your choice is either sign him and hold your nose for the last 2/3 years or lose his next 4/5 years, I think the choice is easy.

That Brown contract certainly is looking worse and worse every day. And Matt Greene for another two years? Hoooooo boy.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix

You can't pay for past production from soon to be 30 year olds anymore and expect it to not bite you in the ass down the road, especially over the course of 8 years.

I don't necessarily disagree with that, but it doesn't change the fact that Kopitar is an obvious candidate as a franchise player.

As for the contract, there's enough contracts in place over the years to say that there would be teams lining up at the door to pay Kopitar the rumoured price (and probably making up for the 7 year contract). Players of Kopitar's tier see 10M. So the option the Kings have is to either lose him for nothing as a free agent or sign him to a fair market value contract. They aren't trading him mid-season when they are leading their division and are a known "playoff-built" team. Losing him for nothing sets back their team significantly, Selke candidate potential PPG players are not easily replaced regardless of cap situation.

And it's not like every contract can be overpaid. Kessel is making 8M while Bobby Ryan is making 7.5M over similar lengths and similar ages. O'Reilly is making 7.5M. Kopitar is significantly better than those guys, you should be expecting him to make more then them.

[Fan in Exile]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

The last time they won they Cup, yes I would say he was more important than Doughty or Quick. He was the shoo-in for the Conn Smythe before Justin Williams put up 7 points in 5 games against the Rangers in the finals to go along with his game seven heroics.

He did have a great playoffs. Both Cup wins he was a point per game and that's impressive. He was a very important player in those Cup wins and the Kings aren't likely to win without him. I suppose he deserves to get paid on that basis alone. But I still see him as more of a reliable two-way grinder rather than an offensive star or leader who can take a team on his shoulders. I also think he is going to wear down faster than other players his age due to the way he and his team play. Anyway, I guess we'll see. Looks like the deal is all but done.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Fan in Exile

If I were to compare him with someone else, it would be Hossa.

While I would heavily disagree with that comparison, I mean I think there's a pretty more obvious player on the Hawks to compare him too, even if you do think he's Hossa quality his contract isn't out of line.

Hossa is 36, the same age Kopitar would be when the rumoured contract expires. Hossa made 7.9M each year for the last 7 years. Hossa's contract began when the salary cap was 56.8M. Hossa was paid, in terms of real money (the thing players actually care about), 14% of the cap when his contract kicked in until he was 36.

Kopitar's rumoured contract would be roughly 13% of the cap when it firsts kicks in until he is 36.

Don't get fooled by the retirement years that skewed the actual pay of players and cap-hits. I'm sure if the Kings could, they would love to add on 15 years at 1M to reduce the cap hit, but they can't anymore.