Below, I analyze teams’ current contract regimens as if the new CBA in “The Next CBA: Part I” were to be applied this season. While several examples of how the recommended CBA affects Management/The League and Players in “The Next CBA: Part II”, there has been some commenting and traffic about specific team impacts. So this is the first of six blogs with by-team analysis on this subject. (Note in “The Next CBA: Part I” there is new language reference Offer Sheets to FCPs. Thanks for the comment, Davegeek!)
These six blogs use current information from www.capgeek.com to determine contractual impact of the recommended, next CBA. I assume that players being paid over the League Minimum Contract (LMC) floor of $700K are at least Non-Franchise Contract (NFC) Players, so their re-designation is not listed unless their salary must change or a special designation is required. I also assume the goal of every team would be to honor the contract awarded unless there are public rumblings to the contrary. And all changes required to meet the recommended CBA’s contracting language are discussed.
The First Five Teams Of The NHL Alphabet
ANA – No players meet FCP I, II or III status.
Jason Blake will be 37 years old this season with one additional year remaining on contract. Under the new CBA, the team would need to request a one-time exception for him to complete his current contract. (This will be a negotiating point in CBA language – will teams be required to request the one time exception in order to honor the contracts they have already awarded to the maximum extent possible.) Cap change = $0.
Saku Koivu will be 36 years old this season with one additional year remaining on contract. The team would need to request a one-time exception for him to complete his current contract. Cap change = $0.
Lubomir Visnovsy will be 35 years old going into next season with one additional year remaining on contract. The team can request a one-time exception to retain him in his last season as contracted. Cap change = $0.
Toni Lydman will be 33 years old this season with two additional years remaining on contract. The team needs to designate him as an NFC player to complete his current contract. Cap change = $0.
Kyle Chipchura, Ryan Carter, Troy Brodie, Brendan Mikkelson, Brett Festerling and Curtis McElhinney, as holders of an LMC, all need a raise to the LMC floor of $700K this season. Total Cap change = $476K AAV and total
For the Ducks, the total number of players requiring contract adjustments is 10 with an AAV and a total Cap change of $476K, all in 2010-11. No players would lose any contract years. Well done, ANA.
ATL – No players meet FCP I, II or III status and no player’s contracts are at issue.
Chris Thorburn, Eric Boulton and Freddy Meyer, as holders of an LMC, all need a raise to the LMC floor of $700K this season. Cap change = $190K AAV and total
Both Zach Bogosian and Evander Kane are over paid on their ELC in 2010-11, and Kane also in 2011-12. Their contracts need to be lowered to $1.273M this coming season and Kane’s to $1.298M the next including the maximum bonus structure. Cap change =
Bogosian’s AAV and total are -$2.102M; Kane’s is -$1.815M AAV / -$3.629M total; for a total of -$5.731M
For the Thrashers, the total number of players requiring more than just a contract re-designation is five with a total Cap change of -$3.727M AAV and total dollar change for the team is -$5.541M. No players lose any contract years.
BOS – Zdeno Chara must be named the club’s FCP I. No players meet FCP II or III status.
Chara needs to be compensated for his remaining contract season at the FCP I maximum rate for a total Cap Hit of $3.3M AAV and total
Marc Savard will be 33 years old this season with six additional years remaining on contract. At age 35 (in 2012-13), the team will have to request a one-time exception to retain him under current terms in contract Year 4 (2013-14), and then allow him to become a UFA. Cap change = -$4.007M AAV and a total of -$8.014M
Dennis Seidenberg – unless designated as an FCP – has one year too many on his current contract. The team can retain him as an NFC, but must request a one-time exception to keep him in Year 4 of his current contract. Cap change = $0K
Tim Thomas will be 37 years old this season with two additional years remaining on contract. After Year 2 (2010-11) of his current contract, the team can request a one-time exception to keep him in Year 3 but he will become a UFA in Year 4 of his current contract. Cap change = -$5M AAV and total in 2012-13
Adam McQuaid, as a holder of an LMC, needs a raise to the LMC floor of $700K this season and $725K next season. Cap change = $138K AAV / $275K total
Tyler Seguin is over paid on his ELC. His contract needs to be lowered to $1.273M, $1.298M and $1.323M with maximum bonus structure. Cap change = -$2.252M AAV / total of -$6.756M
For the Bruins, the total number of player adjustments is six with a total Cap change of -$11.122M AAV and -$16.196M total dollars difference over various years from 2010-11 through 2015-16. The team has two players losing a total of four contract years.
BUF – Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller both meet FCP II status. No players meet FCP I or III status.
Thomas Vanek cannot be an FCP II at the same time as Ryan Miller. The team can solve his issue by awarding him the team’s FCP I designation per the proposed CBA with one season of the FCP I maximum salary. Cap change = $915K AAV / $3.657M total
If Ryan Miller is designated the team’s FCP II, he can serve out his current contract as written with no change as long as he gets a one-year exception for play in the last year of his agreement and a one-year raise to the FCP II Maximum. Cap change = $238K AAV / $950K total
Jason Pominville – unless designated as an FCP – has one year too many on his current contract. The team can retain him as an NFC and request a one-time exception to keep him in Year 4 to complete his current contract. Cap change = $0K
Derek Roy and Jordan Leopold only need their current contracts designated as an NFCs. Cap change = $0K
Cody McCormick and Patrick Lalime, as holders of an LMC, all need a raise to the LMC floor of $700K. Cap change = -$200K AAV and total for McCormick and -$50K AAV and total for Lalime, all in 2010-11
Tyler Myers is over paid on his ELC. His contract needs to be lowered to $1.273M and $1.298M with maximum bonus structure. Cap change = -$14.5K AAV / -$29K total
For the Sabres, the total number of player adjustments is eight with a total Cap difference over four years of $1.387M AAV /-$4.828M total. No players lose any contract years.
CGY – Jerome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester both meet FCP II status. No players meet FCP I or III status.
Jerome Iginla cannot be an FCP II at the same time as Jay Bouwmeester. The team can solve his issue by awarding him an FCP I designation which would also carry him through his 35-year-old season per the proposed CBA. They also have to pay him the FCP I maximum for one season. Cap change = $1.267M AAV / $3.8M total
With Jerome Iginla designated the team’s FCP I, Jay Bouwmeester’s contract is in compliance if he is designated the FCP II. Cap change = $130K AAV / $520K total
Rene Bourque’s contract requires him to be designated as the FCP III if Iginla and
Bouwmeester are the other two FCPs. This would require an adjustment for at least one season to a $6M salary. But at age 29 this season, his FCP reaches the age 32 mark in Year 4 with two years remaining. The team can request a one-year exception in Year 5 (2014-15) and then has to release him as a UFA in year 6 (2015-16). Cap change = an AAV of $533K / $2.667M total through 2014-15, and a savings of -$3.333M in 2015-16. The total dollar change is a net of -$667K
Matthew Stajan (due to age and term) and Robyn Regehr (due to term) need their current contracts designated as NFCs and the team to secure a one-year exemption to complete all terms as written. Cap change = $0K
Cory Sarich needs his current contract designated as an NFC. Cap change = $0K
Miikka Kiprusoff will be 34 years old in this season with a contract taking him through age 37. After Years 3 and 4 (this coming season and next) of his current contract, the team can request a one-time exception to keep him in Year 5 after which he will become a UFA and lose one contract year. Cap change = $0 AAV / total through 2012-13 and an AAV / total savings of -$5.833M in 2013-14
Ratis Ivanans, Tim Jackman, Craig Conroy, Staffan Kronwall and Henrik Karlsson, as holders of an LMC, all need a raise to the LMC floor of $700K. Ivanans and Jackman would get a second year at $725K and a third year at $750K while Conroy, Kronwall and Karlsson would be UFAs after the next season. Cap change equals: AAV and total of $600K in 2010-11 for Conroy, Kronwall and Karlsson; an AAV of $162.5K / total of $325K for Jackman; an AAV of $112.5K / total of $225K for Ivanans; for a grand total of $875K AAV / total of S1.15M
For the Flames, the total number of players requiring more than just a contract re-designation is 12 with a total Cap change of -$1.03M in various amounts from 2010-11 to 2014-15. The team also has two players losing two contract years.
Summary
Based on what is shown above, ATL has the least CBA contractual issues to deal with. Their five players with a -$5.541M Cap difference provide the least turmoil for management to solve.
BOS is next in line with five player issues and a Cap difference of -$16.196M and two players with a total of two lost contract years.
BUF is third in this group with eight player issues and a $4.828M Cap difference. Working within an internal budget, they will have to make up the difference caused primarily by FCP I and II designations.
ANA may have 10 contract issues, but they are the least fiscally impacted team at a $476K Cap difference in terms of dollars. The discussions of $5M for five years for Bobby Ryan and his desire to have less term make Ryan the more astute manager as the parameters of this CBA would not allow for the five year term unless he was an FCP.
The team with the toughest row to hoe here is CGY with 12 player issues with a total Cap dollar difference of –$1.03M. The strange math between the AAV and the total dollars is due to the -$6.5M savings differential from Bourque’s and Kiprusoff’s lost contract years.
I would be remiss if I didn’t make two overarching comments here. First is that you can see with such contracts as Marc Savard’s that this new CBA closes down the number of years on the back end of the contract like the NHL is reviewing following the Kovalchuk decision. Legal folks will tell you a contract as written and signed by parties should be honored. But a new, signed CBA would supersede old contracts. In this case, it would not be like the re-writing of all agreements coming out of The Lockout, but contracts past approved terms would have to be altered.
Currently ‘guaranteed’ money departs from players’ pockets here with the only payback being a release to UFA status. In fact, from the four teams above, four total players lose six total contract years, producing a five-team average of .8 players/1.2 contract years lost per team. Some form of compromise might well need to be stricken here – the final tally of how many players this affects will be important at the end of these blogs.
And a second issue seen with ATL, BOS and BUF above is that the largest, single contract group from these teams impacted by the new CBA is players with an ELC and maximum bonuses. I will look to see if that holds throughout the other 25 teams because it could indicate another negotiating point between the NHLPA and Management/The League that will have to be hurdled for an agreement to be hammered out.
Note this blog has been adjusted to an Update 2 (U.2) due to player and monetary adjustments and team charts for affected players’ salaries have been added.
The next, New CBA analysis blog will cover the impact to contracts for CAR, CHI, COL, CBJ and DAL.
Take me to “The Next CBA:Part I”.
Take me to “The Next CBA:Part II”.
Take me to On Goal Analysis…
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