News Article: Hard for Lundqvist to "picture myself playing elsewhere"

[BobMarleyNYR]

Not sure what you think makes those cities all 'better' than Pittsburgh. If you put elite goaltending on the Penguins they would be scary good.

Spen d time in the Pitts, you'll see why it's the Pitts... they have the Steelers and Pens, yet not a huge sports market... pretty deprressed, like Buffalo...Philly and MTL are better in every way... Detroit and Toronto and the twin cities are big-time hockey towns...

IMO, if the Isles had Hank, they'd have beaten Pittsburgh in the Playoffs in 5. If the Pens get him, I really think the team will get top-heavy and not win a cup for 10-15 yeas.

 

[gravey9]

Hank wants to be known as one of the greatest goalies in NHL history. He needs a ring or two to be listed among the Roys and Brodeurs. He will go where needs to go for that. As cultured as he is, he is way too competitive to worry about "Fashion" or "Architecture." He can just as easily move back to NYC at 41 when he retires. This is about the cup.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Dancing around the issue.

Pittsburgh is not New York. Period. Yes, you can live like a king in either city, or many, many other cities, if you make millions of dollars a year. But, if you're interested in fashion, for example, Pittsburgh isn't New York. If you're interested in film, Pitt isn't New York. If you're interested in architecture, Pitt isn't New York.

The fact is, none none of us know what is most important to Hank. If you're a regular joe, making 10 million dollars and living in a cave sounds nice. But, if you have every city with an NHL team open to you, and are used to living in New York, and you care about cultural things that New York has in spades and other cities lack, the differences are meaningful.

Funny, I'm 99.97% sure that Lundqvist's goal is to win a Stanley Cup (or two or three) during his career in the NHL. Fortunately, he seems to believe that the Ranger organization can do it with his help. But, if he has doubts about the Ranger organization achieving that objective with him, leaving New York will be an afterthought in the calculations.

 

[Baby Punisher]

How was 1994 any different?

Well right off the top of my head there was no free agency drama with Richter.

 

[Tawnos]

Funny, I'm 99.97% sure that Lundqvist's goal is to win a Stanley Cup (or two or three) during his career in the NHL. Fortunately, he seems to believe that the Ranger organization can do it with his help. But, if he has doubts about the Ranger organization achieving that objective with him, leaving New York will be an afterthought in the calculations.

You're confusing career goals with life goals. Not everyone sees those two things the same way. At least, I think that was the point the poster you quoted was trying to make.

Sometimes, those career goals can take a backseat to life goals.

 

[Baby Punisher]

Since when are these things ever easy. Player always wants MORE than what his team wishes to give him. Then negotiations start...

Agent: Glad you can meet with me. We are looking for a max contract, we believe Lundqvist has proven himself to be a top player in the league and he is deserving of such a deal.

Sather: I agree with most of what your saying but quite frankly it is not that easy. No one is more deserving of such a deal than Hank. However, To give Lundqvist that kind of contract will acquire us to lose out on other quality players that can help us reach our ultimate goal in making the playoffs and winning the Stanley Cup. Now we want Lundqvist on the forefront of such a dream but you must understand that with the salary cap this is not an easy task. We will have to sacrifice many players that make our team into the competitive team it is today.

Agent: I understand. Well we wish to get a long term deal while being paid as the #1 goalie in the league.

Sather: Understandable. But look at the top Stanley Cup winning goalies in previous years. None have near Lundqvists contract and that helps there teams continue their ongoing success. We wish to give you a long term contract but it must be for 7 million. We will like to add in extra bonuses and *under the money* table to help with the losses in your desired sum.

Agent: That will not due. Lundqvist is need of this money especially in a city like NYC. Now my client has worked extremely hard for this day and he deserves an honest deal. 7.5 to insist he is the number one paid goalie in the league and a max contract or we will look at other options...

Sather: We simply cannot do this. We believe in a balanced team. 7.2 million.

Agent: Same contract as Pekka Rinne.

Sather: Deal...




Include that with weeks of phone conversations, and non stop bickering and weeks of back and forth. Volatile

I think it goes more like this;

AGENT: Max deal

Sather: no

Agent: MAX DEAL

Sather: NO

Agent: Max deal or we walk

Sather: I'm trading you're client to the Calgary flames. Best of luck to him. **CLICK** (sound of Sather hanging up phone)

Agent: Hello, Glen?? Mr Sather?? Are you there sir?? HELLO! (Rapid busy signal, than dial tone)

 

[aufheben]

Lundqvist will be a Ranger. He will retire as a Ranger.

I can't help but read anything you say as fact, so I will take it as so!

 

[Baby Punisher]

No, I'm sure I would be comfortable there.

This guy, though?

By the time he is done playing Hockey Lundqvist should be cast as he next James Bond.

 

[RangerBoy]

I can't help but read anything you say as fact, so I will take it as so!

You really believe the Rangers will not re-sign Lundqvist or that he will leave? The Rangers will pay him. The Red Wings have never paid their goaltenders big dollars. They just signed Jimmy Howard long term at a good number. The Wings came this-close to beating the Hawks in the playoffs. They didn't lose because of Howard. The Hawks paid Niemi and Crawford peanuts when they won. They aren't paying big dollars for a goalie. Pittsburgh? The Rangers division rival? Lundqvist is playing for a division rival? Pittsburgh is handing out after rich contract? Letang took less to stay in Pittsburgh because they couldn't afford more than $7.25M. That's a lot of money but he could have gotten $8M-$9M next summer as a free agent. That $7.25M was at the top range of the Penguins budget for Letang. They were looking at $6.5M-$7M.

Not you specifically but too many people here view the Rangers as the bubonic plague where players don't want to play here and/or are looking to flee at the first chance they get.

 

[GAGLine]

Well right off the top of my head there was no free agency drama with Richter.

Outside of this thread, where is this drama? That's right, it doesn't exist.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I think it goes more like this;

AGENT: Max deal

Sather: no

Agent: MAX DEAL

Sather: NO

Agent: Max deal or we walk

Sather: I'm trading you're client to the Calgary flames. Best of luck to him. **CLICK** (sound of Sather hanging up phone)

Agent: Hello, Glen?? Mr Sather?? Are you there sir?? HELLO! (Rapid busy signal, than dial tone)

Here is another possibility:

Agent: At the end of the season we'll be starting the bidding with other teams at $9 million per year for max years...which for you, Glen, means eight years.

Sather: Well don't forget, New York is the fashion capital of North America, so Hank can wear better clothes if he signs with us. That has to count for something.

Agent: This isn't an internet forum...let's be serious here.

Sather: OK we'll go to $9.5 million for eight years, but since I have to get Stepan signed before this season starts, do me a favor...you and Hank make it seem like we're actually having difficulty negotiating this.

Agent: Done.

 

[DarkHorse]

So, there's this team that doesn't have a starting goaltender signed for next year, and they have one of the top five players in the NHL, a young, promising roster and they have all the salary cap needed for a max cap deal, and Lundqvist wouldn't have to move.

Leverage: Lundqvist.

 

[and 99 others]

its hard for me to picture lundqvist anywhere else - can somebody write an article about that?

 

[aufheben]

You really believe the Rangers will not re-sign Lundqvist or that he will leave? The Rangers will pay him. The Red Wings have never paid their goaltenders big dollars. They just signed Jimmy Howard long term at a good number. The Wings came this-close to beating the Hawks in the playoffs. They didn't lose because of Howard. The Hawks paid Niemi and Crawford peanuts when they won. They aren't paying big dollars for a goalie. Pittsburgh? The Rangers division rival? Lundqvist is playing for a division rival? Pittsburgh is handing out after rich contract? Letang took less to stay in Pittsburgh because they couldn't afford more than $7.25M. That's a lot of money but he could have gotten $8M-$9M next summer as a free agent. That $7.25M was at the top range of the Penguins budget for Letang. They were looking at $6.5M-$7M.

Not you specifically but too many people here view the Rangers as the bubonic plague where players don't want to play here and/or are looking to flee at the first chance they get.

No I don't think he's leaving either.

 

[Thirty One]

You really believe the Rangers will not re-sign Lundqvist or that he will leave?

How on earth did you get that from what he said?

 

[haveandare]

Funny, I'm 99.97% sure that Lundqvist's goal is to win a Stanley Cup (or two or three) during his career in the NHL. Fortunately, he seems to believe that the Ranger organization can do it with his help. But, if he has doubts about the Ranger organization achieving that objective with him, leaving New York will be an afterthought in the calculations.

Well, I'm 99.97% sure that you or I don't know what Hank's goals are and how winning a cup stacks up against other priorities. You're making assumptions about what he wants. I'm just stating that the differences between NYC and Pittsburgh, for example, are actually pretty huge depending on what one is interested in and what one wants to live around. I don't know if those differences mean much to Hank, but they're there. Saying the cities are the same because everyone can live well with money everywhere (which was the idea I was responding to) makes me wonder how much time people have spent in different places.

 

[Thirty One]

99.97% still expresses more uncertainty than most posters on this site do....

 

[Jersey Girl]

Well, I'm 99.97% sure that you or I don't know what Hank's goals are and how winning a cup stacks up against other priorities. You're making assumptions about what he wants. I'm just stating that the differences between NYC and Pittsburgh, for example, are actually pretty huge depending on what one is interested in and what one wants to live around. I don't know if those differences mean much to Hank, but they're there. Saying the cities are the same because everyone can live well with money everywhere (which was the idea I was responding to) makes me wonder how much time people have spent in different places.

Anyone who thinks Pittsburgh is just this cruddy factory city is incorrect. And whoever said Pittsburgh is not a big-time sports city has no idea what they're talking about.

All of which is superfluous to the subject at hand. NOBODY knows exactly what Hank's criteria for where he'll sign is (regardless of the people here who like to sound like experts and want to speak for Hank), but if he's like virtually every other professional athlete who has become a free agent, it'll be mostly about money, with the chance to win a championship and where he raises his family possible variables as well.

 

[haveandare]

Anyone who thinks Pittsburgh is just this cruddy factory city is incorrect. And whoever said Pittsburgh is not a big-time sports city has no idea what they're talking about.

All of which is superfluous to the subject at hand. NOBODY knows exactly what Hank's criteria for where he'll sign is (regardless of the people here who like to sound like experts and want to speak for Hank), but if he's like virtually every other professional athlete who has become a free agent, it'll be mostly about money, with the chance to win a championship and where he raises his family possible variables as well.

I don't think it's a cruddy factory city or a bad city for sports, but I know it's very, very different from New York, and I could understand why a pay bump may not close the gap between those two places for everyone, depending on what they care about.

I agree with you. Nobody knows what Hank wants. In all likelihood, he wants good money and a chance to win more than anything else, but that doesn't mean that other things don't play a factor.

At the end of the day, I think he's going to stay. NYR are built pretty well for the future. There are a handful of teams that are more "sure things" than they are, but nothing is ever certain in the NHL and New York has a ton of perks that Hank seems to really enjoy.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I don't think it's a cruddy factory city or a bad city for sports, but I know it's very, very different from New York, and I could understand why a pay bump may not close the gap between those two places for everyone, depending on what they care about.

I agree with you. Nobody knows what Hank wants. In all likelihood, he wants good money and a chance to win more than anything else, but that doesn't mean that other things don't play a factor.

At the end of the day, I think he's going to stay. NYR are built pretty well for the future. There are a handful of teams that are more "sure things" than they are, but nothing is ever certain in the NHL and New York has a ton of perks that Hank seems to really enjoy.

Honestly it's Hank in Brooklyn that scares me the most. Seeing him in a team-that-shall-not-be-named jersey would send me over the edge.

That said, what we see so often is free agents in all sports following the money, and Sather is known for over-spending on free agents. Seems to be a perfect combo.

But when we start talking about fashion as a factor in free agency...yikes...the offseason can't end soon enough!

 

[haveandare]

Honestly it's Hank in Brooklyn that scares me the most. Seeing him in a team-that-shall-not-be-named jersey would send me over the edge.

That said, what we see so often is free agents in all sports following the money, and Sather is known for over-spending on free agents. Seems to be a perfect combo.

But when we start talking about fashion as a factor in free agency...yikes...the offseason can't end soon enough!

Concerning him in BK, I think NYR are farther ahead of them in terms of team building. I'm sure not everyone agrees with me, but that's my feeling. Also, I'm sure Hank knows that would be a huge slap in the face to the organization that brought him from late draft pick to Vezina winner.

You're right, Sather is known for giving free agents in their 30s too much money. In this case, it may actually be the best course of action though. Hank IS the team, and has been for a while. If goalies being captain weren't unusual, Hank would likely have been the captain of this team a few years ago. There is no question of his ability to play in New York or to play well with this specific group of guys. He's also still at his peak and has slowed no signs of slowing down.

I don't think it's as simple as something like fashion being a factor, as much as I think there are a bunch of things about NYC in particular that Hank seems to really appreciate, and those things aren't found to the same degree in many other places with NHL teams. I don't think those things all together are his first priority, but I think that they likely play a role.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Well, I'm 99.97% sure that you or I don't know what Hank's goals are and how winning a cup stacks up against other priorities. You're making assumptions about what he wants. I'm just stating that the differences between NYC and Pittsburgh, for example, are actually pretty huge depending on what one is interested in and what one wants to live around. I don't know if those differences mean much to Hank, but they're there. Saying the cities are the same because everyone can live well with money everywhere (which was the idea I was responding to) makes me wonder how much time people have spent in different places.

This is a world-class hockey player we're talking about--who's already won a championship in his home country and an Olympic Gold Medal. One who has stated any number of times that his remaining goal is to win a Stanley Cup. Do you really think spending a couple of years in another city would be an obstacle?

And just for record, I've lived and traveled widely.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

You're confusing career goals with life goals. Not everyone sees those two things the same way. At least, I think that was the point the poster you quoted was trying to make.

Sometimes, those career goals can take a backseat to life goals.

Do you really think career goals--in this case, one of the best goaltenders in the world winning a Stanley Cup--take a backseat to life goals?

 

[Baby Punisher]

Honestly it's Hank in Brooklyn that scares me the most. Seeing him in a team-that-shall-not-be-named jersey would send me over the edge.

That said, what we see so often is free agents in all sports following the money, and Sather is known for over-spending on free agents. Seems to be a perfect combo.

But when we start talking about fashion as a factor in free agency...yikes...the offseason can't end soon enough!

Brooklyn is still considered NY. It could happen. Hank get;s everythig he wants. Money, power, young team with a bona fide superstar, access to Manhattan etc. He really could have his cake & eat it too.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Except more than half of the hockey fans in the NYC area would hate him. I think it's the one team Lundqvist wouldn't go near.