WHA - Bid for Crosby

[CoupeStanley]

*yawn*


If he's offered 5 million a year from some peanut league, and there's no hockey this coming year, he'll take it.


he could play in the WHA for a few years, light that league up and possibly become a free agent by age 21-22, having shown his stuff in an inferior league where he would at least put up decent numbers. At that point, he could basically name his price.

And sign with his favourite teams...

Hmmm... I like the sound of this

 

[Epsilon]

And sign with his favourite teams...

Hmmm... I like the sound of this

He would still be subject to the NHL draft and the CBA.

 

[sundinfan13]

http://www.worldhockeyassociation.net/news/media_releases/media_051604.htm

"Although it is expected Rimouski Océanic centre Sidney Crosby will be the first player chosen in the WHA Entry Level Draft on July 10, you can expect that Moscow Dynamo star Alexander Ovechkin will not be far behind."



Since when is this true???

 

[Epsilon]

http://www.worldhockeyassociation.net/news/media_releases/media_051604.htm

"Although it is expected Rimouski Océanic centre Sidney Crosby will be the first player chosen in the WHA Entry Level Draft on July 10, you can expect that Moscow Dynamo star Alexander Ovechkin will not be far behind."



Since when is this true???

They can draft anyone they want, it doesn't mean players have an obligation to play there or something. Ovechkin will obviously be in the NHL next season if there is no lockout. Even if not, I doubt any WHA team will pay his salary AND the buyout that would be required to get him out of the RSL.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Maybe Sidney has heard rumors that some 'guy' named "foppa_rules" is spreading rumors and talking smack about him, so he wants to show he can light it up against men as a 17-year-old.


:lol

 

[SwOOsh*]

Come On, I Live In Rimouski... and all you lived far far away from here... so i know what's going on for Sid Crosby better than all of you... if GM say that Crosby will be in Rimouski, he will stay in Rimouski, and he know and all his family know, that WHA is not the right path for his career

:lol That is such a rediculous statement, did stockwizard tell you to say that?

 

[Sweeney]

yes

 

[PhoPhan]

(And on the subject of that $5 million contract that's not subject to the WHA's salary cap, assuming an average ticket price of $30-40, a team would need to attract 3-4,000 extra fans a game to make that money back. If any of their teams does sign a $5 million player, I predict they'll be the one of the first to go belly-up.)

Because a hockey team would only make money on gate sales, right? If there is no NHL next year, they will have a lot of opportunities to make a lot of money right off the bat. Who here owns a current WHA jersey?

 

[Chimaera]

He would still be subject to the NHL draft and the CBA.

If he plays for 3-4 years, he can consider himself undrafted, unless someone would take him anyhow. I'm not sure the stipulations of it, but someone would probably be free to give him a contract, if he never actually entered the draft.

 

[stockwizard*]

Crosby has final say, but he let's his handlers- his agent and parents do a lot of the strategizing.

I can tell you Crosby isn't driven by petty things like a quick monetary gain. He is above those sorts of things. Crosby knows 5 years from now he will be worth millions and millions of dollars.

Crosby is in the gym as we speak getting stronger, perfecting his body and his craft. His mesomorph body is getting stronger by the day.

Ovechkin on the other hand I am sure would jump at the opportunity to make a quick buck. It is his nature. Too bad Crosby will be the first draft pick, and Ovechkin #2. You see Foppa, even the WHA knows who is better and Ovechkin is 2 years older.

You hear me Foppa, there is nothing you can say to stop the phenoms progress. Ovechkin better stay out of his way. The Phenom is coming.

 

[Epsilon]

Crosby has final say, but he let's his handlers- his agent and parents do a lot of the strategizing.

I can tell you Crosby isn't driven by petty things like a quick monetary gain. He is above those sorts of things. Crosby knows 5 years from now he will be worth millions and millions of dollars.

Crosby is in the gym as we speak getting stronger, perfecting his body and his craft. His mesomorph body is getting stronger by the day.

Ovechkin on the other hand I am sure would jump at the opportunity to make a quick buck. It is his nature. Too bad Crosby will be the first draft pick, and Ovechkin #2. You see Foppa, even the WHA knows who is better and Ovechkin is 2 years older.

You hear me Foppa, there is nothing you can say to stop the phenoms progress. Ovechkin better stay out of his way. The Phenom is coming.

This is reaching self-parody levels.

 

[D.Legwand]

About the money needed to break even if Sid C. does play and get 5 mill a year.

Even though centre Sidney Crosby, the top junior player in Canada this season, doesn't turn 17 until August, it is likely WHA teams will make a pitch for the native of Cole Harbour, N.S.



``We'd love to have him,'' said Halifax co-owner John Marshall. ``Yes, we'll be chasing it.''
Toronto's Marshall and Gino Naldini are co-owners of both the Halifax and Toronto franchises.
Marshall estimated his Halifax team would need 7,000 per game to break even at the 10,000 seat Metro Centre. Tickets will cost between $25 and $60 per game, he said.
The rumours are already flying on who will coach and who will play in the league.

Full story here.
http://www.tsn.ca/headlines/main_story.asp?id=87023

 

[Word]

Some of you have touched on this but why is Crosby [or anyone else] who signs with a WHA team. not considered a professional since he is getting paid. Why would he still have to go through the NHL Entry Draft?

 

[Chimaera]

Crosby has final say, but he let's his handlers- his agent and parents do a lot of the strategizing.

I can tell you Crosby isn't driven by petty things like a quick monetary gain. He is above those sorts of things. Crosby knows 5 years from now he will be worth millions and millions of dollars.

Crosby is in the gym as we speak getting stronger, perfecting his body and his craft. His mesomorph body is getting stronger by the day.

Ovechkin on the other hand I am sure would jump at the opportunity to make a quick buck. It is his nature. Too bad Crosby will be the first draft pick, and Ovechkin #2. You see Foppa, even the WHA knows who is better and Ovechkin is 2 years older.

You hear me Foppa, there is nothing you can say to stop the phenoms progress. Ovechkin better stay out of his way. The Phenom is coming.

I'm not sure I should even qualify this idiocy with a response.


But... I'm bored, so here it goes.

Crosby is above monetary gain? What is he, a priest? He obviously needs some money, and unless he's a Saint, I doubt he turns it down. And there is no gurantee that 5 million per he could be making will be there 5 years down the road. That's a lot of money for anyone to turn down. Especially considering you could take it for a few years and go to the NHL if you get tired of it. There's no gurantees in life. Many many players are sidetracked by injuries, underperformance, who knows what else. You can say that Sidney will suceed, and there's no chance of failure, but you're blind if you think that.

He's in the gym at this moment? Sure.... I imagine you're one of the thousands of stalkers in Canada who get a hard on when they hear someone speak his name.

And that statement alone points out the reason why Crosby would be the first pick in a draft. He draws fans more so than some Russian could be able to do in Canada. Crosby is a talented prospect yet, but his cult status is what drives things like that. He is a phenom. But he still has a ways to go to live up to the hype. Just like Ovechkin, Spezza, even Lecavalier still does..


A lot of pressure for a young mans shoulders. For hockeys sake, i hope he succeeds.

 

[Draft Guru]

I think it's about time I weigh in on this subject, since I do know some inside info.

I didn't personally hear this from Pat Brisson (Crosby's agent) but from a guy I know who knows Brisson (I'll leave it at that.) Brisson has told him the chance of Crosby and the WHA right now is 50-50. He still has some doubt that the WHA will even get off the ground, so that is the first stumbling block. He wants to see the WHA get going and get some talent in there so the talent level is actually competitive. He says the WHA wants Crosby extremely bad. They feel they need him in order for the league to get some fans and respect.

If the WHA can lure some NHL talent, money talks. 5 million is 5 million, no matter how you slice it. I can almost guarantee that the Halifax franchise would be willing to sign Crosby for 5 million this year. Obviously he will only sign a one year deal, but he could develop better in the WHA playing against pros and NHLers and make 5 million on top of that. Sure he should make millions in a few years, but what happens if he suffers a career ending injury in junior before he even makes it to the NHL?

I think Crosby in the WHA is more of a possibility than people actually think. A lot of junior-aged players will leave for the WHA for the money, I can guarantee that. My friend's son is definitely willing to leave the CHL for the WHA if they offer him a decent amoutn of money.

So we'll see. Just thought I'd pass along that it is a definite possibility and nothing can be ruled out just yet.

 

[pei fan]

Thanks for a good post Draft Guru to get us back to the topic.I think the real
issue here is the WHA and how legitimate and successful they look at decision
time.I don't think Crosby and his advisor's would take a risk on the league as it
stands now.The original WHA was more developed at this stage where as this
effort really seems to be up in the air.Does anyone know about the kind of
capital that the WHA owners have? I don't recognize the names as having serious
money.Also is there any talk from the WHA about aTV contract possibly with tsn
or ctv ?

 

[stockwizard*]

Listen guys, If this league was already up and running and was established it would be fine for Crosby to take the money and raise his level of competition.
The fact is when I hear things like this league is dependant upon Crosby to sign makes me very disturbed.
The last thing he needs when he start off his pro career is to be embarrased by a league that folds.
You people have to look at this rationally.

 

[Pepperoni Salad]

Why not?

Hi. I'm new here but it seems like a good place to chat about hockey since there are plenty of subjects to talk about. Anyway. Here is what I think about the Crosby/WHA situation.

I think some of you guys are a bit too high on such a young player. Crosby is very talented and one of the best prospect we've seen since years but I can't imagine a GM building his team around such a young player, not knowing if he will even join his team. It would be franchise suicide in my opinion.

You gotta realize, if a GM draft him and is expecting to pay him 5 millions, it means the first player he will draft from the free agent draft will have to get less than 5 millions. What if Crosby decides to stay in the Q? The GM would be stuck with an average player as a franchise player. Kinda risky for a new business don't you think? If in the other hand, if the GM decides to play safe and draft Crosby AND a potential 5 million dollar star from the free agent draft in case Crosby is not interested, he is loosing either way a good draft pick (can't sign both for 5 millions) and hurting his team on the long run. Therefore, I think many teams will be interested in Crosby but not for 5 millions.

As far as the best hockey career decision goes, I don't see why playing with men would be good for Ovechkin but not for Crosby. After all, Gretzky did it and had a hell of a career. Not to mention that Gretzky wasn't very big physically.

By the way, does stockwizard know players personnaly?

 

[gb701]

Listen guys, If this league was already up and running and was established it would be fine for Crosby to take the money and raise his level of competition.
The fact is when I hear things like this league is dependant upon Crosby to sign makes me very disturbed.
The last thing he needs when he start off his pro career is to be embarrased by a league that folds.
You people have to look at this rationally.

I am yet another guy who has stayed out of this thinking that a lot of people are either very good friends of Crosby yet have a complete inability to stay silent on something that affects his interests, or simply don't know what they are talking about. But there are a couple of points that haven't yet been made so:

1. Like was said above, unless Crosby has joined a monastery and taken a vow of poverty, his Agent would be negligent not to look at a potential $5 million for next year. He has as much as said so. So it is a possibility - perhaps 50:50 or perhaps less, but stranger things have happened in sports.

2. For those over about 30 years of age, we will recall that similar offers were made and accepted in the last WHA for the same reasons - a player you might have heard of accepted one to go south earlier than expected (Gretzky signing with a then unheard of Nelson Skalbania). Embarrassment was a potential concern then too, but it was worked out.

3. There are, in fact, a whole host of ways to work it out to protect Crosby - personal services contracts, bonds for payment, guarantees from third parties, etc. etc etc. Unless some of you guys actually have some experience in this, your opinions as to risk, embarrassment, and other issues are not worth very much.

All of this is to say that I am quite sure that Crosby, his family and his professional advisors are quite capable of ensuring that whatever deal he signs is the best deal they think that they can get, and if he does not end up signing one and goes back to Rimouski, or over to Europe, or wherever else he goes next year, that will be because they think in both the short and long term that is the right thing for him to do.

Now, on an entirely different note, imho (and I know it is not worth any more than anyone else's) if anyone actually pays this kid $5 million for next year, you would have to question both his business and his hockey judgment. Return on investment has to be based on the whole league succeeding, and the hockey return will depend on Crosby truly being "the next one". The odds of either can be bettered at a craps table in Vegas.

 

[pei fan]

gb701 I myself doubt anybody in the WHA has the $5,000,000.00 to pay
Crosby but don't kid yourself in thinking there's any other player they could
sign that would generate as much interest and revenue.The kid sold out every
venue in the Q last year including the 15,600 seats at Quebec Ramparts.I was
offered $100 a piece for my tickets and I know people that paid $150 to see
him play in Halifax.The amazing thing is that it just took off as a grass roots
development.The league and the Oceanic were actually totally unprepared to
respond to the public interest.The Oceanic had to go back several times to
reprint Crosby posters and other memorabalia just as an example.At some of
the practices there were over a thousand fans.Lineups for autographs lasted
past midnight on some occassions.

 

[Mizral]

Listen guys, If this league was already up and running and was established it would be fine for Crosby to take the money and raise his level of competition.
The fact is when I hear things like this league is dependant upon Crosby to sign makes me very disturbed.
The last thing he needs when he start off his pro career is to be embarrased by a league that folds.
You people have to look at this rationally.

Yeah. We all know how terrible that worked out for Wayne Gretzky.



Honestly, I think this is a real possibility. He may not play in the WHA forever - just 2-5 perhaps then move on to the NHL.

Everything hinges on the legitimacy of the WHA though. If they can proove to be a legitimate organization and have a schedule ready to go and every team have the appropriate number of players, coaches, managers, etc.., I have no doubt Crosby will be playing in the WHA next season.

 

[stockwizard*]

Yeah. We all know how terrible that worked out for Wayne Gretzky.



Honestly, I think this is a real possibility. He may not play in the WHA forever - just 2-5 perhaps then move on to the NHL.

Everything hinges on the legitimacy of the WHA though. If they can proove to be a legitimate organization and have a schedule ready to go and every team have the appropriate number of players, coaches, managers, etc.., I have no doubt Crosby will be playing in the WHA next season.

Past results are never indicative of future gain. It would be a risk.

 

[Epsilon]

By the way, anyone who is saying he doesn't need the money because in a few years he will be making "millions and millions" needs to pay some attention to the CBA negociations. It's clear that the NHLPA is going to sell out the young guys as much as possible (which I am totally in agreement with) and no rookies are going to be making more than a million a year including bonuses (the rumoured offer had a number of 800 000). And there's not going to be a Sidney Crosby exception in the CBA either.

 

[stockwizard*]

By the way, anyone who is saying he doesn't need the money because in a few years he will be making "millions and millions" needs to pay some attention to the CBA negociations. It's clear that the NHLPA is going to sell out the young guys as much as possible (which I am totally in agreement with) and no rookies are going to be making more than a million a year including bonuses (the rumoured offer had a number of 800 000). And there's not going to be a Sidney Crosby exception in the CBA either.

I said in 5 years. His rookie contract will have expired.

 

[RE-HABS]

Why will he stay in the Q for sure? Hell, especially considering the rookie cap the NHLPA offered (850k, no bonuses), there's no way in hell Crosby would touch $5 million bucks until he's about 23-24 years old, and that's only if he becomes ONE HELL of an NHL'er.

Sounds like a good investment for both sides. The WHA could use a superstar.

How about playing for the "Love of the Game"? Its not all about money, plus he will make tonnes in endorsements. He will make his money, don't worry.

Plus, what kid will grow up and his dream will be to play in the WHA over the NHL? Thats like a College Football player dreaming of playing in the CFL or World Football League over the NFL.

All kids dream big and want to play in the Best League, not the tier below!

Crosby and all other can't miss or high end players will go to the NHL, fringe players and career minor leaguers and NHLers on the decline will go to the WHA...if they ever do drop the puck.

WHA in my opinion is a joke.