Is Brian Gionta proof that there should be some job security for older players in the NHL?

[Its a Trap]

Gionta didn’t sign a contract this year so that he could play in the olympics........

 

[Hivemind]

But that's the whole problem. Brian Gionta still wanted to play hockey in the NHL this season, but nobody would give him a contract before the season started.

This is the opposite of the truth. Multiple teams made contract offers to Gionta, but he turned them down so he could participate in the Olympics

 

[Price is Wright]

I like Gionta, but he was in the league for years and made millions of dollars.

If a GM wants to go with a younger player who can grow in the organization over him, he has that right.

Plenty of places for people to play pro hockey in the world.

 

[GKJ]

There's plenty of older players who's been forced out of the League after one bad season, a lot of those guys could make a comeback if they were given a chance. For example Olli Jokinen should still be in the NHL. OJ was battling injuries in his last season, but played through them and had a bad season. And poof, he was out of the NHL, despite being just as capable of playing in the NHL as Thornton and Marleau.

Olli Jokinen was deteriorating for 3 years, and then Nashville tried to put him at wing (more likely because Laviolette's conditioning standards didn't allow Jokinen to stay at center), and obviously did very little, to the point where they would rather dump his contract rather than sit in the press box. When you're that age, your 'veteran experience' should have provided you with the savvy and versatility to adapt your role on the team. Maybe he could have gotten another chance, but there was reasons why he didn't. There is nothing to suggest that 2-3 years after being out of the league, he should be handed a spot.

 

[RageQuit77]

^

Now Olli Jokinen is building hockey in Florida... from the beginnings.

Occasional color commentator in tournaments... and all.

The most underrated Finnish NHL-hockey player of few decades.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Gionta didn’t sign a contract this year so that he could play in the olympics........

.....where he was absolutely terrible. Good on him for producing at the NHL level though.

 

[Not Sure]

I don't think you can REQUIRE teams to have players of a certain age. But if you truly wanted to do something like you propose. You could incentivice teams by making a player of a certain age or above CAP exempt (up to a million dollars). Therefore, a team could sign a veteran player for 1mil and not have it count towards the CAP. The roster limit would still prevent teams from completely loading up with CAP free vets.

They already give teams incentive to sign older player by allowing them to use bonuses. A player like Iginla can sign for 750k and have 4 million in structured bonuses that don't count against the cap unless he hits them, problem is guys who are used to guaranteed money like guaranteed money.

 

[belair]

He would have been signed were he willing to re-locate. The Oilers would've given him an offer, no doubt.

 

[PuckSeparator]

Yes, and the best barometer to use when implementing this type of rule is a 2 game sample by 39 year old Gionta where he put up a PPG percentage that he never actually maintained throughout any season in his career.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Gionta chose not to sign before the season because he wanted to play in the Olympics.

 

[TOGuy14]

Something something small sample size.

Too early to tell if this is a trend, also no way to know if his body would had help up for an entire NHL campaign, it is nice to join late season wth fresher legs

 

[Spazkat]

This makes me think that the NHL is in need of a way to protect older players job opportunities, so that teams don't replace them with young talentless plugs who'll never end up as regular NHL:ers anyway, just to save a few bucks. So having a system were every NHL team must employ atleast 1 player over the age of say 38 or 39, might be a good way for useful older players to still find a job in the NHL, if they want to play. This way the superstars have a way to add to their legacies without a risk of getting kicked out of the League before they're actually done. And with hockey getting less physical and training and neutrition taking big steps forward, there will be plenty of 38+ year old players who could still be impactful NHL players.

There are so many problems with this I don't know where to start. Are you saying that all they have to do is want to play and some team should be literally forced to sign them? Also, with the "save a few bucks" comments you seem to be implying teams should be forced to pay them more than league minimum.

You used Doan as an example. A player who was milking a 4.5 million dollar retirement contract when he wasn't worth anywhere near that amount, and then acted all put out when the team didn't want to re-sign him. He all but refused to move to go to another team. Do you really think the Yotes were obligated to keep giving him a contract as long as he wanted one?

Older players decline. They are frequently the last ones to accept that it has happened and are not amenable to accepting a lesser role and the much smaller contracts that accompany it.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Bruins fans , has Gionta been any good? I know he has 3 points in 2 games but how does he look on the ice

I know iginla is absolutely DONE he should just stop it's pretty bad

 

[GKJ]

They'd have better security if they do a form of what the NBA does. Have a Veteran league minimum salary that doesn't count against the salary cap.

I think you’re on the right path here. The rules are structured to penalize a team for taking a chance that doesn’t necessarily work out. And it’s been easy enough to get out of 1-year contracts by not reporting to the minors and such. But just make it a clean getaway, mutually terminate a contract, let a guy get out of his deal and try his hand elsewhere with a contender. Especially with no roster limit post-deadline.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

How about giving a kid the chance to make his dreams come true, something 99.9% of people never even come close to accomplishing?

Older players have mostly had their time and made their money. When their time is up, they should be going out with dignity and perhaps into a management/auxiliary role in the league if they still want to be around the game.

 

[uncleben]

They'd have better security if they do a form of what the NBA does. Have a Veteran league minimum salary that doesn't count against the salary cap.

That's the direction I was headed as well, though not fully exempt

Modify the 35+ rule (which I may even suggest raising slightly to 36 or 37), such that veterans of this age who sign are cap exempt from the first portion of their contract equal to a minimum salary contract less $375,000. (This is just a number I picked as its one already used in the CBA; it could just as easily be $100,000 or $500,000, etc.)

To clarify what I mean with some exmaples, the league minimum this year is $650,000, if a vet under this rule signed at $650,000, the cap hit would only be $375,00.
If a vet signed for $1,000,000, then their cap hit would be:
$1,000,000-($650,000-$100,000)=$725,000
Or a vet signing for $2,000,000 in 2021 (league minimum that year already set for $750,000) would be a cap hit of:
2,000,000-(750,000-375,000)=$1,625,000

(Under this rule, so as not to create any loopholes or negative cap hits, a buried vet contract would be calculated using the full cap hit, without the vet bonus applied.)



For the argument that protecting these players is virtually "unprotecting" younger players, I would also suggest the following (and this is something I think they should do anyway):
Expand the game roster from 20 players (18 skaters + 2 goalies) to 21 playes (19 skaters + 2 goalies).
This puts an extra player on the bench at all times, just like there's an extra goalie. Coaches would be able to use this player to rotate and roll different line combos, as a specialty player (PP only, PK only, shootout), as injury insurance in case some one else gets injured - however they see fit.

 

[NDiesel]

Bruins fans , has Gionta been any good? I know he has 3 points in 2 games but how does he look on the ice

I know iginla is absolutely DONE he should just stop it's pretty bad

He's been very good. Small sample obviously but he still belongs in the NHL.

 

[GellMann]

I'm almost positive Gionta would only take offers from one or two teams, and his plan otherwise was to not play so that he could go to the Olympics. I bet if this wasn't the case that someone would have grabbed him on a cheap deal.

 

[3rdLiner]

Bruins fans , has Gionta been any good? I know he has 3 points in 2 games but how does he look on the ice

I know iginla is absolutely DONE he should just stop it's pretty bad

Actually yeah, passing the eye test so far. He's still really good at getting involved in the offensive zone, he was weird chemistry with Backes/heinen.

Dont notice him on defense which is good I guess.

 

[gumgum]

gionta’s been ok, but you have to have reservations about his ability to play a full-time role for an entire season rather than, in essence, a depth forward for a playoff run. gionta has really only drawn into the lineup due to injuries to bergeron and heinen recently.

 

[Voight]

Iginla wasn't that impressive last season but I agree he should have had an NHL job this year. Thought Vegas would gave been a good fit.

 

[Jamin]

Im still waiting for that list of 31 old NHl players deserving of a spot. OP got called out, said it would be an easy list, listed 3 or 4 names and disappeared.

 

[BruinsFan37]

Iggy had hip surgery in November, after it was apparent that no team was going to sign him in his current state. If he had undergone surgery in April after the Kings season had finished he would have had all summer to recover -- and a team might taken a chance on him. As it was, the first time he's seen skating is four days before the trade deadline -- that isn't going to work. I like Iggy, but he really didn't think through what he needed to do to have a shot in the NHL this year.

Gionta has been fine thus far as a 4th liner, if he brings some knowledge/experience to the Bruins' exceedingly young team -- great, but he shouldn't be an everyday player at this point.

 

[MMC]

Wasn't Gionta given contract offers before the season but decided he wanted to play in the Olympics?

 

[RebuildinVan]

Its professional sports, theyre fully aware they have a limited time to play.