Kane One
Moderator
The only way he could earn his contract is wait until the cap goes up drastically and every third line player makes that much.
To add more fuel to the fire, the Leafs may have soured relations with Franson because of this
That's a good point - ultimately, it's the limited supply that creates artificial demand.
In the 1970s, one of baseball's maverick owners (Charlie Finley) offered the proposal that every player become a free agent every year. The other owners turned it down, but Charlie was right (and ahead of his time) - if there's one David Clarkson on the market, then everyone needs him. If there are 20 David Clarksons on the market? Then you can move on to the next one - if the products are (largely) interchangeable, then the scarcity doesn't exist.
Players such as Crosby and Ovechkin would still get paid in such a system, but the vast majority of players would lose out big time. The players' lawyers (namely Marvin Miller) realized that this would be bad, but also that the owners would never let it happen.
Few players can actually live up to their contracts, especially UFA's. If every player was a free agent every summer, you might get a more accurate picture. But free agency as it exists is a limited supply, and seemingly decreasing each season, with a demand that grows for multiple reasons.
A guy like Clarkson was in the right place at the right time. A 30 goal year in 11-12, 15 goals in 48 games last year(about a 25 goal pace), one of the better UFA's available last summer, and born in Toronto. A hometown guy, the summer after a lockout, with a team coming off a bad playoff loss, but at the same time a team that finally made it back to the playoffs and has some positive momentum going for it. All it takes is one owner willing to spend money.
Real estate is all about location. Free agency is all about timing.
That's a good point - ultimately, it's the limited supply that creates artificial demand.
In the 1970s, one of baseball's maverick owners (Charlie Finley) offered the proposal that every player become a free agent every year. The other owners turned it down, but Charlie was right (and ahead of his time) - if there's one David Clarkson on the market, then everyone needs him. If there are 20 David Clarksons on the market? Then you can move on to the next one - if the products are (largely) interchangeable, then the scarcity doesn't exist.
Players such as Crosby and Ovechkin would still get paid in such a system, but the vast majority of players would lose out big time. The players' lawyers (namely Marvin Miller) realized that this would be bad, but also that the owners would never let it happen.
This would never work. The teams would never go for it. The NHL and all other sports leagues depend on fans identifying with the team. If the players turned over en masse every year, that would be lost. Bye bye fans.
Also, he players would never go for it. It would be a much bigger boon to teams than to players. No team is getting stuck with a ridiculous long term contrast that overpays players by huge amounts. No more player security. One injury an your career is down the tubes.