reckoning
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2005
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I recently finished the book Revival about the Leafs 77-78 season, and Anders Hedberg is quoted as saying he and Nilsson were the first unrestricted free agents in NHL history. I'm not sure how true that is. I'm sure there were superstar players in the pre-consolidation era who would qualify. But it's probably true for the post-merger era. There were players who were free to sign where there wanted, but they weren't stars. And there were big name free agents before (Dionne in '75, Orr in '76), but the fear of compensation kept down the offers. With Hedberg and Nilsson, it was a no holds barred bidding war.
In 1974 the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA had the idea of turning to Europe for potential talent and signed several Swedish players. The two best were Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson. The pair were put on the teams top line with Bobby Hull, and it became one of the leagues most productive and exciting lines. Both players hit the 100 point mark in each of their four seasons with the Jets, the best being 76-77 where Hedberg led the league in goals with 70 and Nilsson led in assists with 85.
The final year of their contract was the 77-78 season. Their contract gave the right to negotiate with NHL teams during the season, and they decided to exercise that right and see how much interest there was from NHL teams. There was also a clause in their contract that stipulated that Winnipeg would retain them if they came within $40K of matching whatever offer they accepted. So it wasn't just a case of picking a team, they had to sign for an amount that Winnipeg couldn't match. The Jets wanted to keep the two Swedes, as they thought it would help them get admitted into the NHL, and for awhile it looked like they had the funding to do so, but that fell through.
The Swedes agent claimed that 14 of the NHLs 18 teams had made serious offers. Some thought Detroit had the inside track since their coach was Bobby Kromm, who coached them in the WHA with the Jets. Chicago sent Bobby Orr to meet with them personally to try to convince them to join the Black Hawks.
Philadelphia looked like they had a good chance. Hedberg had said that he liked the idea of playing there since Fred Shero was more open to European hockey systems than most North American coaches. But eventually the bidding got too rich for the Flyers blood and they dropped out. Ed Snider was quoted as saying that some of the rumoured salary offers he'd heard in the media were "disgusting".
In the end, they were only two teams left: the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
For awhile in the mid-70s the Rangers had actually been trying to cut costs and shed some big contracts (like Hadfield and Giacomin). But two years of missing the playoffs caused them to change strategy and start making big moves. As for Toronto, it may seem strange that someone as notoriously cheap as Harold Ballard would be involved in a bidding war, but he felt the Leafs were only a couple of pieces away from being a Cup contender and instructed GM Jim Gregory to make whatever moves necessary to get them there. That's why Toronto's moves at the time were short-term benefits at the expense of the future, like giving up two first-round picks for Dan Maloney and trading away a young Randy Carlyle for veteran Dave Burrows.
The two Swedes had made a pact that they would sign with the same team for the same money. Hedberg liked the idea of going to Toronto where Salming was, but Nilsson and his wife really wanted to live in New York, so the Rangers ended up signing the pair. And as it turned out, Hedberg got his wish of playing for Fred Shero as the Rangers would end up signing him after the season.
It's hard to get a definite confirmation of how much they signed for. Wikipedia says $600K, but I've seen it quoted as low as $400K and as high as $750K. What is for sure is that they became the highest paid players in the NHL. At the time, most of the top stars were in the low $300K range. Having two players who had never played in the NHL become the league highest paid players must have sparked resentment from other clubs. Probably not coincidentally, Guy Lafleur refused to start the next season unless his deal with Montreal was renegotiated.
How did the two Swedes do in the NHL? Hedberg gave the Rangers six seasons of solid dependable play, but his usual output of 30 goals and 80 points was a far cry from his WHA numbers. Nilsson was over a point-per-game in his first two seasons, but had horrible luck with injuries. The most notorious was a broken ankle after a Denis Potvin hit, which was the origin of Ranger fans chanting "Potvin Sucks", although Nilsson maintained that a rut in the bad MSG ice was mostly to blame for it. Nilsson ended up suffering a knee injury during the 1981 Canada Cup that ultimately ended his career.
An interesting sidebar to this story was that in the summer of 1981, Bobby Hull was doing an interview. He was asked if he was truly retired, or if he might try one last comeback. Hull responded that the only way he would play again would be if he could go to New York to be reunited with Hedberg and Nilsson. Rangers coach Herb Brooks heard this and invited Hull for a tryout. Hull did play some pre-season games with the Rangers that year, but decided to pack it in.
Anyone here have any memories of Hedberg and Nilsson, or thoughts on their legacy?
In 1974 the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA had the idea of turning to Europe for potential talent and signed several Swedish players. The two best were Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson. The pair were put on the teams top line with Bobby Hull, and it became one of the leagues most productive and exciting lines. Both players hit the 100 point mark in each of their four seasons with the Jets, the best being 76-77 where Hedberg led the league in goals with 70 and Nilsson led in assists with 85.
The final year of their contract was the 77-78 season. Their contract gave the right to negotiate with NHL teams during the season, and they decided to exercise that right and see how much interest there was from NHL teams. There was also a clause in their contract that stipulated that Winnipeg would retain them if they came within $40K of matching whatever offer they accepted. So it wasn't just a case of picking a team, they had to sign for an amount that Winnipeg couldn't match. The Jets wanted to keep the two Swedes, as they thought it would help them get admitted into the NHL, and for awhile it looked like they had the funding to do so, but that fell through.
The Swedes agent claimed that 14 of the NHLs 18 teams had made serious offers. Some thought Detroit had the inside track since their coach was Bobby Kromm, who coached them in the WHA with the Jets. Chicago sent Bobby Orr to meet with them personally to try to convince them to join the Black Hawks.
Philadelphia looked like they had a good chance. Hedberg had said that he liked the idea of playing there since Fred Shero was more open to European hockey systems than most North American coaches. But eventually the bidding got too rich for the Flyers blood and they dropped out. Ed Snider was quoted as saying that some of the rumoured salary offers he'd heard in the media were "disgusting".
In the end, they were only two teams left: the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
For awhile in the mid-70s the Rangers had actually been trying to cut costs and shed some big contracts (like Hadfield and Giacomin). But two years of missing the playoffs caused them to change strategy and start making big moves. As for Toronto, it may seem strange that someone as notoriously cheap as Harold Ballard would be involved in a bidding war, but he felt the Leafs were only a couple of pieces away from being a Cup contender and instructed GM Jim Gregory to make whatever moves necessary to get them there. That's why Toronto's moves at the time were short-term benefits at the expense of the future, like giving up two first-round picks for Dan Maloney and trading away a young Randy Carlyle for veteran Dave Burrows.
The two Swedes had made a pact that they would sign with the same team for the same money. Hedberg liked the idea of going to Toronto where Salming was, but Nilsson and his wife really wanted to live in New York, so the Rangers ended up signing the pair. And as it turned out, Hedberg got his wish of playing for Fred Shero as the Rangers would end up signing him after the season.
It's hard to get a definite confirmation of how much they signed for. Wikipedia says $600K, but I've seen it quoted as low as $400K and as high as $750K. What is for sure is that they became the highest paid players in the NHL. At the time, most of the top stars were in the low $300K range. Having two players who had never played in the NHL become the league highest paid players must have sparked resentment from other clubs. Probably not coincidentally, Guy Lafleur refused to start the next season unless his deal with Montreal was renegotiated.
How did the two Swedes do in the NHL? Hedberg gave the Rangers six seasons of solid dependable play, but his usual output of 30 goals and 80 points was a far cry from his WHA numbers. Nilsson was over a point-per-game in his first two seasons, but had horrible luck with injuries. The most notorious was a broken ankle after a Denis Potvin hit, which was the origin of Ranger fans chanting "Potvin Sucks", although Nilsson maintained that a rut in the bad MSG ice was mostly to blame for it. Nilsson ended up suffering a knee injury during the 1981 Canada Cup that ultimately ended his career.
An interesting sidebar to this story was that in the summer of 1981, Bobby Hull was doing an interview. He was asked if he was truly retired, or if he might try one last comeback. Hull responded that the only way he would play again would be if he could go to New York to be reunited with Hedberg and Nilsson. Rangers coach Herb Brooks heard this and invited Hull for a tryout. Hull did play some pre-season games with the Rangers that year, but decided to pack it in.
Anyone here have any memories of Hedberg and Nilsson, or thoughts on their legacy?
