indigobuffalo
Portage and Main
Some good Leaf related stuff this week, thought I'd share:
Just thought the contract stuff was interesting, and shows how the Leafs are really finding every way they can to use their financial might to gain edges over the opposition.
I wonder how similarly the Solar Bears of the ECHL are paid in relation to league average...
I'll say this too... Anyone wondering why this season is going so poorly, so far... Look at 28.
This isn't unique to Rielly. There is a steep learning curve in place, and Babcock is okay sacrificing wins in the short term to be able to instill the system and get players to ingrain it and react instinctively within the system rather than having to think it.
ELLIOTTE FRIEDMAN
OCTOBER 27, 2015, 12:34 PM
When I was a cub reporter covering the NBA’s Toronto Raptors in 1995-96, Brendan Malone, the Raptors first head coach, gave me some great insight into team politics.
“The most important people on the team are your best four players and your four players who play the least,†he said.
“Why?†I asked.
“If those eight guys buy into what you’re doing, everyone in the middle buys in, too,†he said. “If not, you’re in trouble, because you’ve got a lot of guys who aren’t on-board.†(This is the heavily edited version of Malone’s actual quote. He could “blue streak†with the best of them.)
I’ve asked hockey coaches if the analogy works for this sport. Because the rosters are larger, it’s an inexact comparison. But most agree the theory is sound.
Malone’s story popped into my head last week while doing research into American Hockey League salaries. One executive asked if I’d heard about Justin Johnson.
Johnson is a 34-year-old forward, an 11-year-pro who joined the Toronto Marlies after a season with the ECHL’s Alaska Aces. He’s played two NHL games, both for the Islanders in the 2013-14 season, where, by all accounts, he was a very popular teammate at their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.
Sixteen different forwards have played for the Marlies in just seven games. That’s a roster nightmare, because you know those who sit are grumbling.
“There’s a logjam there, so they wanted a veteran with good habits who won’t cause a problem,†Johnson’s agent, Jeff Helperl, said last week. “Yes, he wants to play, but also do the things the Marlies are looking for. Justin’s biggest selling point is his character.â€
It’s also likely the Marlies wanted someone to protect their youth in case opponents started running at them. It’s tough to say for sure, because assistant GM Kyle Dubas, who negotiated with Helperl, is in media jail.
The interesting thing is how the team and the agent designed this contract. The structure is very different, with a couple of agents and executives saying they’d never seen anything like it before. Johnson’s salary and signing bonus are normal, in American funds.
What stands out are the bonuses.
Johnson gets:
*$5,000 (these are in Canadian dollars) for every Marlie who scores 20 goals
*$5,000 for every Marlie who reaches 50 points
*$2,500 based on the success of the power play and penalty kill
*$2,500 for everyone who plays 10 games with the Marlies and 15 with the Maple Leafs
“Initially, it was more elaborate than what it ended up being,†Helperl said. “It took a month to finish.â€
He wouldn’t go into it, but a couple of sources indicated other bonuses were rejected.
In the NHL, the only players who qualify for bonuses are rookies on their entry-level deals; players who have missed significant time due to injury; and over-35s. But this structure? Don’t even try.
It’s unique. Team bonuses? Absolutely. A player benefitting from the individual performance of a teammate? Definitely new. It’s going to be copied, for sure.
1. My interest in AHL salaries piqued when Toronto signed Andrew Campbell to a contract worth $250,000 this season and $400,000 next season. That’s a terrific amount at that level. Commissioner Dave Andrews stresses it is a developmental league, but each team has room for five veterans (those who have played at least 260 professional games) with the potential of one other exemption.
Andrews won’t discuss the finances, but, according to one source, there are more than 50 players above $250,000, with Michael Leighton at $450,000. Ten seasons ago, there was nobody. The average salary (not counting those on NHL contracts) is creeping towards $100,000. The biggest challenge may be western expansion since living in California can be expensive, but the overall rise in salaries says very good things about the growth of the AHL.
Andrews and Larry Landon, executive director of the Professional Hockey Players’ Association, have done it without labour problems, too.
28. Interesting thinking from Mike Babcock when he revealed Jake Gardiner was out of the lineup. Toronto’s coach said he would put Morgan Rielly on the power play, but didn’t want to. Why not?
“Because I want him concentrating on other things.â€
Rielly filled in the blanks.
“When the puck is going up the ice, am I there supporting it? In our zone, am I boxing out the opposing forwards? Or, if someone is coming out of the corner with the puck and gives it to someone else, am I preventing him from getting to the net? That’s the kind of thing he wants me worrying about.â€
29. After Babcock demanded better from Jonathan Bernier, the goalie was asked if he would change his preparation or routine leading into games. Bernier would not say. Then, he was very good in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Sabres last Wednesday. So I followed up. Bernier smiled and said, “No†in a way that made me unsure if he was serious or was politely saying, “none of your business.â€
Whatever the case, he couldn’t keep the momentum, with a 5-3 loss in Montreal. James Reimer was in net for Monday’s home defeat to the Coyotes. It’s still anyone’s net.
Just thought the contract stuff was interesting, and shows how the Leafs are really finding every way they can to use their financial might to gain edges over the opposition.
I wonder how similarly the Solar Bears of the ECHL are paid in relation to league average...
I'll say this too... Anyone wondering why this season is going so poorly, so far... Look at 28.
This isn't unique to Rielly. There is a steep learning curve in place, and Babcock is okay sacrificing wins in the short term to be able to instill the system and get players to ingrain it and react instinctively within the system rather than having to think it.
