honest question - has someone taking a 'hometown discount' ever actually cost another player a single cent? it gets talked about a lot, but for every guy that takes a discount, there are umpteen guys getting more than their worth (and everyone knows it). is there anyone that can be pointed to as losing money? i mean, if there is a team where 'no one gets paid more than (star)' applies, i can see it - but if you're a free agent it doesn't seem hard to avoid that team. unless you want to be there enough that choosing to take less money is worth it. but i can't think of anyone that got paid less because someone else chose a certain deal. the only guys that get less are the ones that listen to agents that think they are worth more than they truly are. miss you, nino - hope your agent grows taste buds on his anus.
even in arbitration, if feels like if a team pointed to a guy that took a discount as a comparable it wouldn't be hard for an agent to present articles and talking heads all saying he was worth more. yes, mr. arbitration man, billy bob brisbois took x.y million and here is the entire hockey community agreeing that was an underpay - my client obviously deserves more.