nomorekids said:
because he's proven nothing at an NHL level. For every "sure-thing" prospect, there were guys that were supposed to be great NHLers and never panned out. Did you know Todd Warriner is a former top ten pick? Denis Pederson was a first rounder, as well. There's no reason that he(or Carter, or Phaneuf...or any other highly regarded prospect) can't be patient...come in and make a fair chunk of money to start for the first couple of years...and THEN...if they've earned it...they get their payday. What's the harm in that? Why shouldn't whatever team drafts Crosby be given the right to pay a safe amount of money to START...and give him his due when it's due?
Because that team will make money off of Crosby, one way or the other. Crosby will immediately boost season ticket sales and merchandise sales in just about decent market there is.
Crosby doesn't need to score a goal next season, and he'd be worth every penny of a $1.5 Million contract.
Let's be honest with ourselves here. How many of this year's drafted players have a good shot at starting the season in North America?
Let's see. There's Crosby. And then, hmm. Nope. Crosby. Kopitar? Probably not. Johnson. Nope.
Crosby. And that's about it.
Ask yourself this. Even if there was no rookie cap, how many freshly drafted rookies have we seen in the last 10 years that have the kind of leverage needed to win a big contract?
Not very many. Crosby. Thorton. Kovalchuk. Spezza.
For the most part, guys don't get signed until nearly two years after the draft. At that point, teams have a much better idea of what they are getting and what they should offer.
I don't think a guy like Todd Warriner ever could command a big contract.
There are risks involved, for sure. But at the same time, I think you've gotta give teams the ability to compete with offers from Russian and, for crying out loud, Swiss teams.