9 Year contract offers

[Team Cozens]

As we know, teams that don’t hold a UFA’s Players rights you can only offer a 7 year contact. The current team 8 years. Let’s say a team from Toronto offers Tavares a 91 million dollar 9 year contract. They agree on a one year contract at 15 million and then as his current team tack on a 8 year 9.5 million contract even if the player was injured. Let’s call the first year a “show me” contract. This gives them a very low cap average over the Matthews and Marner years. Is this going to become a new Cap circumventing strategy? Will the league adapt a “string contract” rule that only allows the 2nd contract to max 6 years? Will the average of both contracts come into play at some point?
Fully expecting this strategy to become a hot topic very very soon.

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[Iceman]

How can Islanders sign him to 8 years if Toronto already signed him to a 1 year deal?

 

[Warden of the North]

No player will ever agree to this. Handshake agreements are worth the paper theyre signed on.

 

[Barrie22]

How can Islanders sign him to 8 years if Toronto already signed him to a 1 year deal?

There is nothing in the ops post about the islanders signing him.

Just if its possible for the leafs to sign him to a 9 year contract through doing a 1 year and then 8 year contract type deal.

It is possible just the 2nd contract could not be signed until after january into the 1st contract.

 

[Flukeshot]

I am pretty sure players on 1 year deals cannot extend their contract until Jan 1. So yes a team can sign a free agent to a one year mega deal. But would have to wait a few months before adding the 8 years.

There is a lot of risk involved for the player. A team is not going to offer an 8 yr extension to a significantly injured player.

 

[895]

This has been proposed before.

An up and coming team with lots of cap space can offer a marquee UFA a 1 year max deal. Then have him agree to a longer deal at a lower AAV that will help when they are contending. If they refuse to sign, you can trade them at the deadline for some assets. The team gets the player at a lower AAV for most of the deal. The player gets a huge payday up front. Is that enough to get the player to sign? Maybe not.

So instead of a 8 year /80m deal it would be a 1 year/15mil and 7 year/65mil.

 

[easton117]

Can’t see a high end UFA doing this. That’s a lot of money he’s gambling with if he gets hurt before Jan 1st that first year. Trying to think of a middle tier guy that might. Van Riemsdyk maybe?

Not to mention there’s always a team out there who seems to overpay a guy each year. It’s like clockwork.

 

[Frank Drebin]

No player will ever agree to this. Handshake agreements are worth the paper theyre signed on.

This. A player would never put themselves at that type of risk. Career ending injury during the "show me" year? "you said" you'd pay me 65 million dollars. Good luck with that.

Anything more than a handshake agreement is circumvention. Won't ever happen.

 

[Iceman]

There is nothing in the ops post about the islanders signing him.

Just if its possible for the leafs to sign him to a 9 year contract through doing a 1 year and then 8 year contract type deal.

It is possible just the 2nd contract could not be signed until after january into the 1st contract.

Yes? But this is just another way to spin those 12+ year deals with extra year at the end. You just give him the extra money you don’t wanna offer in the 8 year deal in that 1 year deal when you still have cap space but I’m not sure what would make that some brand new magic trick.

Besides, can Toronto offer 8 years?

 

[rent free]

It would be an example of cap circumvention but I doubt the league will do anything about it. Superstar free agents would never agree to signing those deals though.

 

[llamateizer]

I don't see that happen

July 1st - signs 1 year, 15 mil
November - career ending injury.


And why would Tavares signs for 9.5 mil?
He should get around 11-12 mil

 

[rent free]

Yes? But this is just another way to spin those 12+ year deals with extra year at the end. You just give him the extra money you don’t wanna offer in the 8 year deal in that 1 year deal when you still have cap space but I’m not sure what would make that some brand new magic trick.

Besides, can Toronto offer 8 years?

They can offer him 8 years if they sign him to 1 year and give him an extension during his 1 year contract.

 

[PK Cronin]

Why not sign for the $15 million mega one year deal, then screw that team over and go for a higher AAV with another team for 7 years instead?

 

[mouser]

I am pretty sure players on 1 year deals cannot extend their contract until Jan 1. So yes a team can sign a free agent to a one year mega deal. But would have to wait a few months before adding the 8 years.

There is a lot of risk involved for the player. A team is not going to offer an 8 yr extension to a significantly injured player.

It's even longer in this case because to sign an 8 year contract the player needs to have been on the team since the most recent TDL. So end of February.

 

[Shakey Rustie]

An agreement to agree is not a contract.

 

[Anglesmith]

If the two parties did agree to do this, then it would be de facto a 9-year contract, which is therefore circumvention.

 

[SI90]

It’s possible but unlikely. Don’t think a player would risk it.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

A player is unlikely to do this, a team is even less likely to do this.

The only thing that's likely is the NHL squashes it and then takes your 1st round pick.

... And then gives it back.

 

[Rorschach]

Agents will team up with the NHLPA to go against any 1 year contracts.

 

[TheMalkinEra]

9 year contract is this some kind of joke. Tavares is not gonna be the same player at the end of that contract.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

This is what I do in NHL 18

 

[nturn06]

As we know, teams that don’t hold a UFA’s Players rights you can only offer a 7 year contact. The current team 8 years. Let’s say a team from Toronto offers Tavares a 91 million dollar 9 year contract. They agree on a one year contract at 15 million and then as his current team tack on a 8 year 9.5 million contract even if the player was injured. Let’s call the first year a “show me” contract. This gives them a very low cap average over the Matthews and Marner years. Is this going to become a new Cap circumventing strategy? Will the league adapt a “string contract” rule that only allows the 2nd contract to max 6 years? Will the average of both contracts come into play at some point?
Fully expecting this strategy to become a hot topic very very soon.

And what stops Tavares from signing the 1 year contract for 15 mils, and then change his mind on the extension and sign on the open market for 10-12 mils per year?

 

[tony d]

8 yr. deals are to long as it is, no need to have 9 yr. contracts.

 

[AvatarAang]

Do you really want to give a GM like Chiarelli/Bergevin the ability to sign players to 9 years instead of 8?

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Never gonna happen. I know Leafs fans desperately want to see if they can puzzle out a way to get Tavares long term at a cheap caphit but no player agent in their right mind would recommend their client sign a deal like this.