Free Agency: Round 1 Results

Mar 1, 2002
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As a moderator here, and one who needs to follow the rules of not just posting "Q F T" after a post which you agree 100%, I will simply say:

Yea, what Drew said.

:)
 

Fan.At

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Based on this I DO NOT want to hear or see a single thread on how the league has to increase revenues further. :pullhair:
GM's are their own worse enemies and then cry that the Admin team has to make changes to bail their bankrupt teams out.

i completely agree, but i don't think you can apply that to all gms. some try to be reasonable
 

Mandaou

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The Fuss

Looking over the salaries offered there's only a handful of offers that appear on the extreme side. Yes, there's the Schubert, Brodeur, Khabibulin, Nolan, Carter offers but the other offers are within reason and there is even cases for some of the players above. I'll only speak about some of my signings so far.

Schubert is a RFA, if the offer was not on the high end then Laurens would not have passed.

I negotiated with Reggie on Brodeur and offered what I thought was reasonable and way above what he was making on the NHL. Reggie passed because he felt he could get well over $7mil for him. He was right. The Bulin "Holes in the" Wall and Kolzig received big offers but in Kolzig's case he was second on my list and if I lost out on Brodeur than I wanted to make sure I signed Kolz, who I thought was the next best goalie out there and had the best season outside of Brodeur as far as free agents go and I certainly couldn't go into the season with James Howard as my #1. Don't really know if that was the case with the commish and his signing but if you have a major need for a goalie, you have to pay. What's the average of the top 15 starting goalies in the NHL? I'm sure its somewhere around $4 million.

It's like the NHL. Some teams have needs so they overpay. Then there's the idiotic teams like the Oilers, who went nuts after losing out on Nylander. I don't think we really had someone go nuts in our FA bidding and all in all it was pretty reasonable. I don't have the figures in front of me now but I would think the average offers last year were higher.

My take. Let the fury continue.
 

Andrew Chang-Sang

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A few things:

1. Great job Nick on getting this done so quickly....

2. Washington will match Atlanta's offer on G Pascal LeClaire. I've sent Reggie an email as such as well. In the spirit of friendly competition, Atlanta is not my favorite city right now :p:

3. Geez....thought I actually lowballed on Carter based on what I've seen historically in this league. I personally like the guy as a player and to SPG's point, the fact he can't seem to catch on with an NHL team baffles me when alot worse players seem to have....
 

Vaive-Alive

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Mar 3, 2004
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Looking over the salaries offered there's only a handful of offers that appear on the extreme side. Yes, there's the Schubert, Brodeur, Khabibulin, Nolan, Carter offers but the other offers are within reason and there is even cases for some of the players above. I'll only speak about some of my signings so far.

Schubert is a RFA, if the offer was not on the high end then Laurens would not have passed.

I negotiated with Reggie on Brodeur and offered what I thought was reasonable and way above what he was making on the NHL. Reggie passed because he felt he could get well over $7mil for him. He was right. The Bulin "Holes in the" Wall and Kolzig received big offers but in Kolzig's case he was second on my list and if I lost out on Brodeur than I wanted to make sure I signed Kolz, who I thought was the next best goalie out there and had the best season outside of Brodeur as far as free agents go and I certainly couldn't go into the season with James Howard as my #1. Don't really know if that was the case with the commish and his signing but if you have a major need for a goalie, you have to pay. What's the average of the top 15 starting goalies in the NHL? I'm sure its somewhere around $4 million.

It's like the NHL. Some teams have needs so they overpay. Then there's the idiotic teams like the Oilers, who went nuts after losing out on Nylander. I don't think we really had someone go nuts in our FA bidding and all in all it was pretty reasonable. I don't have the figures in front of me now but I would think the average offers last year were higher.

My take. Let the fury continue.

I am on the fence on this after the first round. These numbers - based on my recollection - are not as frightful as what has occurred in the past. However, UFA isn't over yet so we'll see what the final bids hit - some are going steep - but to Claudio's point, some players do have substantial contracts in the NHL, and there is a limited supply of top-end talent in our league driving the bidding dollars higher. A team's needs have to be met either through drafting, trade or free agency. Drafting won't necessarily meet a teams immediate needs. Trading is only possible with the right assets. That leaves free agency as the only open alternative to all teams. Throw in quality player supply issues and you've got high bids to contend with - but not quite as high this year or so it appears to me.

I agree with Drew that GM's are often their own worst enemies. Ultimately, GM's should be fiscally responsible. But GM's also need to be competitive. I won't go so far as saying that there aren't any revenue issues in this league, but knowing that revenue will likely be tight - people should try and stay within their means. Thats not easy - even with endorsements ( substantial costs just to field a team able to make some of the tier 2 and 3 targets ). Perhaps the 8M spent on Brodeur will pay for itself when the team hits it's goaltending endorsement targets. Hell, they could make money if they manage to make the playoffs because of his stellar play. So the cost-benefit analysis isn't all doom and gloom for high salary UFAs. However, there are always risks in this simulated hockey world...

2 cents

Kruegs
 

Ohio Jones

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3. Geez....thought I actually lowballed on Carter based on what I've seen historically in this league. I personally like the guy as a player and to SPG's point, the fact he can't seem to catch on with an NHL team baffles me when alot worse players seem to have....


It's never been publicly confirmed, but it's said to have something to do with the baggage he's rumoured to bring along with him to each new city. Shame, if it's true - hopefully someone can get him some help.
 

Ville Isopaa

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I doubt 8m for one of maybe the top 5 goalies all time can be considered overpaying. After all atleast 3 GM's tought it was perfectly ok. Or 5m for a top 6 forward or a star defenseman. It's the long term +2m bids on 3rd-4th liners(to name a few Sanderson, Carter and Bates), 3rd pair or depth defensemen(to name a few Greene, Martinek and Boynton), etc. that can be a problem in the long run..
 

Vaive-Alive

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I doubt 8m for one of maybe the top 5 goalies all time can be considered overpaying. After all atleast 3 GM's tought it was perfectly ok. Or 5m for a top 6 forward or a star defenseman. It's the long term +2m bids on 3rd-4th liners(to name a few Sanderson, Carter and Bates), 3rd pair or depth defensemen(to name a few Greene, Martinek and Boynton), etc. that can be a problem in the long run..

2 year on Sanderson :). Not long term.

Thanks,

GM Kruegs
 

Mandaou

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2m +

Greene is a 2nd rd pick whom the Oilers expect to replace Smith's icetime, toughness and leadership. It's rare that a guy like that makes it to UFA at his age. I jumped all over that one. I even considered a $2.5mil contract to make sure I got him. Maybe his development will stop, I'm not sure but I've just locked up a potential shut down defenseman for 4 years entering the prime of his career.

We'll see at the end of the season if its a good deal.



I doubt 8m for one of maybe the top 5 goalies all time can be considered overpaying. After all atleast 3 GM's tought it was perfectly ok. Or 5m for a top 6 forward or a star defenseman. It's the long term +2m bids on 3rd-4th liners(to name a few Sanderson, Carter and Bates), 3rd pair or depth defensemen(to name a few Greene, Martinek and Boynton), etc. that can be a problem in the long run..
 

SPG

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A few signings that should be void...

Ryan Duncan Phil $ 875,000 2 - Has not left school
David Jones VAN $ 800,000 2 - on DET's minor roster
David McKee Phil $ 575,000 2 - on VAN's minor roster
Mark Dekanich Pho $ 500,000 3 - Has not left school
Erik Condra Pho $ 500,000 3 - Has not left school

And a question on one more...
Jerome Samson MINN $ 450,000 3

Samson is a 19 y/o CHLer. Is he eligible for a contract?

The Matt Greene signing should be fine... he was a pending RFA who was not qualified by LA, making him a UFA.
 

Mandaou

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Apologies

My apologies for the invalid college offers. To be perfectly honest, I thought eligibility was determined by age. :shakehead
 
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MatthewFlames

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A few signings that should be void...

Ryan Duncan Phil $ 875,000 2 - Has not left school
David Jones VAN $ 800,000 2 - on DET's minor roster
David McKee Phil $ 575,000 2 - on VAN's minor roster
Mark Dekanich Pho $ 500,000 3 - Has not left school
Erik Condra Pho $ 500,000 3 - Has not left school

And a question on one more...
Jerome Samson MINN $ 450,000 3

Samson is a 19 y/o CHLer. Is he eligible for a contract?

The Matt Greene signing should be fine... he was a pending RFA who was not qualified by LA, making him a UFA.

Also.... Tomas Surovy (Euro) is signed by St. Louis, but he is actually on the Kings prospect list.
 
Mar 1, 2002
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And a question on one more...
Jerome Samson MINN $ 450,000 3

Samson is a 19 y/o CHLer. Is he eligible for a contract?

The Matt Greene signing should be fine... he was a pending RFA who was not qualified by LA, making him a UFA.

Samson was an '06 (actually attended the 2006 draft and wasn't drafted all day) who was signed by the Hurricanes last month and impressed in rookie camp. He will be an AHL'er this year.
 

Dr.Sens(e)

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There is a grey area in our eligibility criteria for CHLers, which has lead to some confusion re players like Samson. We state the player needs to have a birthday of '87 or earlier, yet also has to be 20 years old, when in fact there are 19 year olds right now who have passed through two drafts and were in fact born in '87. Maybe Drew, Douglas or Matt can comment on what the specifics should be.

What's interesting to me is teams are willing to pay $2MM to $4MM for players rated between 71 and 75 because they have some past name recognition, but there are several players rated 69 - 71 who didn't receive an offer much above the league minimum, at least a bonafide non-conditional one. An interesting development.

Perhaps the best value out there were the Belfour and CuJo signings. Between 1.2 and $1.4 million for guys who have very solid ratings and can still do a credible job as a 1A back-up seems to me as pretty good value, although I guess not too many teams are thinking they'll win the cup with those guys.

To me, the middle of the pack guys got overpaid this year, but that might just be due to the fact there were less elite level allstars to be had. Supply and demand basically, as teams with a top line void had to reset their sites on the Straka's and Murray's, let alone the Satan's and Carter's (none of whom are 80 rated or higher, I might add).

In terms of revenue generation, what we are seeing is the bi-product of the revenue bail-out the league did. Several GM's voiced how unfair it was to have no extra revenue coming in because they had mismanaged their team in past (despite the fact they don't have near the expenses regular teams have) and now most have simply turned around and spent the extra money in line with the higher cap. To be honest, I don't think many teams are thinking about profit and loss at this time of year, but rather where they are with respect to the cap (versus setting their own). Unless the guy is well over 80 rated, you can't anticipate he's going to generate the revenue back you spend on him, so teams better have the bank balance to withstand some losses. Buyer beware, as in past years.
 

Default101

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i completely agree, but i don't think you can apply that to all gms. some try to be reasonable

i second that motion im digging my own hole by picking up guys like naslund and fedorov, which im going to have to find a battle plan for that, but i feel by the end of the offseason wether it be them or so meone else i think things will get worked out, but when i took over this team i believe it was 3M in debt with a pro salary of 26M... i had 23M to work with to fill a roster and keep it over 70OV, whcih was very difficult, i had to pick up guys like gerber to even things out, and trade players for a lower draft pick that they were worth along with 1M to keep the team going. so maybe if anything you could have a safe amount of cash that a team will be guarenteed in the future to make sure that new GMs dont have to take over destroyed team wtih no cash to recover with, im not saying this so taht i, or someone else that is already active in the league that took over a bad team can get a reprive, rather that people in the future that take over these teams can be put in a functioning situation.
 

Brock

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I doubt 8m for one of maybe the top 5 goalies all time can be considered overpaying. After all atleast 3 GM's tought it was perfectly ok. Or 5m for a top 6 forward or a star defenseman. It's the long term +2m bids on 3rd-4th liners(to name a few Sanderson, Carter and Bates), 3rd pair or depth defensemen(to name a few Greene, Martinek and Boynton), etc. that can be a problem in the long run..

I can speak for myself with Martinek and to me 1.8 million for Martinek could end up being a great signing. It's a gamble, but before he got injured in New York last year, Martinek was the Islanders top defenseman and really primed for a breakout season. Hes expected back and is also expected to be a top 3 defenseman on a playoff team. His ratings in the DVHL are also very generous and set him up to be a perfect compliment to my current defense. The last few years, the Stanley Cup Champions of the HFNHL have had a defense core that could skate and that could move the puck. We'll see how it works out.

As for Greene, I wholeheartedly agree with Claudio on this one and think it was a great signing. Not to often you see a guy like Greene hit the open market. Perhaps it was a little higher than I would have gone (I believe i offered 1.5), but Greene is a young, physical, shutdown defenseman whos just coming into the prime of his career. The way I see it is that if Greene doesn't pan out and ends up just being a 5-7 guy, than he could be waivable and his salary number not taking an effect on Claudio's cap. Greene isnt an offensive player, and thus if he doesn't develop into that shutdown role, his rating will likely never be high enough to allow him to be counted towards Claudio's cap hit.
 

Andrew Chang-Sang

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I doubt 8m for one of maybe the top 5 goalies all time can be considered overpaying. After all atleast 3 GM's tought it was perfectly ok. Or 5m for a top 6 forward or a star defenseman. It's the long term +2m bids on 3rd-4th liners(to name a few Sanderson, Carter and Bates), 3rd pair or depth defensemen(to name a few Greene, Martinek and Boynton), etc. that can be a problem in the long run..

Funny enough I have Carter projected as a 2nd liner....
 

Default101

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There is a grey area in our eligibility criteria for CHLers, which has lead to some confusion re players like Samson. We state the player needs to have a birthday of '87 or earlier, yet also has to be 20 years old, when in fact there are 19 year olds right now who have passed through two drafts and were in fact born in '87.

From my understanding on the subject anyone with an 87 birthdate is an Overager in the CHL and is eligible to be picked up via pro contract. its not like the draft where you have to be 18 by a certian date once you are passed over in your final year of the draft (this year its Jan 1st, 1987) then any NHL team can immediately sign the player, and i thought thats how it was done here as well, reguardless of wether or not they are 19 they will be 20 at years end and the CHL classifes them as Overage-20 year olds, but thats just my opinion on this clearly i cant say where the league stands on the subject. Werent the Donati twins picked up last year dispite the fact that their birthdate was October 17th 1986
 

HFNHL Red Wings

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My apologies for the invalid college offers. To be perfectly honest, I thought eligibility was determined by age. :shakehead

It is age except for guys in College or Euro

Eligible age for NA players (not in college) for this FA period is anyone with a birthdate of earlier than 01/01/88. Anyone with a birth date later than that is still technically draft eligible.
 

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