Salary Offsets

[Stephen]

I find it interesting that for the second year in a row, the Leafs have gone out and signed a $1 million/1 year reclamation type player to put on the wing. Last year, Mason Raymond was brought in to bring in a bit of scoring pop and speed and provided a lot of value in that role. Today, they went out and brought in former power winger David Booth.

On the face of things, it's a really insignificant occurrence, but is it possible that this is a specific and ongoing budgeting move to offset the David Clarkson contract by bringing in an NHL body to offset the imbalance in his deal?

Individually, David Clarkson makes $5,250,000 a year, which is a minor disaster even if he's scoring 15-20 goals.

However if you look at that contract as a $5.25 million + $1 million pairing, suddenly you have two third line guys who make an average of roughly $3.125 million, which is Joel Ward/Chris Kelly territory.

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[Daisy Jane]

hm. that could make a lot of sense.

 

[Teeder9]

Except that Ward and Kelly are both better players. I wish there was a way to feel good about this

 

[Stephen]

Except that Ward and Kelly are both better players. I wish there was a way to feel good about this

I don't necessarily feel good about it, it just looks like in order to accommodate a really overpaid player, they've gone out and specifically targeted a very underpaid player (Raymond) and are re-visiting the recipe again. For the record, I'm not a fan of Booth, but it's like they're trying a budget Clarkson in that spot.

 

[Banic]

I think its a matter of trying to provide the best possible team under the cap. If it wasn't Clarkson being overpaid, it would be someone else, or a combo of people. This year we got Kontiola, Santa and Booth on all short team low risk deals. Its definitely to do with fitting under the cap, which is in effect related to the Clarkson (and to a lesser extent, Phaneuf) Contract. With the new cap system each year there seems to be some tweeners, like MacArthur (also a reclamation project before Clarkson) Connolly (a failed experiment) who can be a low risk signing. Some work out, some don't but its a good way of trying to add depth.

 

[Teeder9]

I don't necessarily feel good about it, it just looks like in order to accommodate a really overpaid player, they've gone out and specifically targeted a very underpaid player (Raymond) and are re-visiting the recipe again. For the record, I'm not a fan of Booth, but it's like they're trying a budget Clarkson in that spot.

I understood your premise. It just seems like a sad state of affairs. It worked last year, but if Booth can't pot 10 goals and delves deeper into his post concussion abyss, then the only bright spot is he's gone after this season. Personally, Leivo should have been given the role.

 

[rdawg1234]

We have three project players this season in Santorelli, Kontiola and Booth, no idea what any of them are gonna be able to bring for us, Santo had a good year last year, but can he be consistent? Can booth get somewhat to his old self? Can kontiola translate to the NHL?

If they all get back to form, we are going to be a very competitive team IMO.

 

[Teeder9]

We have three project players this season in Santorelli, Kontiola and Booth, no idea what any of them are gonna be able to bring for us, Santo had a good year last year, but can he be consistent? Can booth get somewhat to his old self? Can kontiola translate to the NHL?

If they all get back to form, we are going to be a very competitive team IMO.

Are we? How much better than the players they replaced can they be?

 

[seanlinden]

It's not a case of "We have Clarkson @ 5.25, so we need a $1m guy on the other wing". It's a case of "We have Clarkson @ 5.25, plus Kessel @ 8, Lupul at $5.25 and JvR at $4.25, so the rest of our wingers have to be pretty cheap".

 

[mokspeed]

These guys coming in at 1yr/1mil deals are low risk, med-high reward signings. CMac and MayRay both worked very well. If Booth struggles, send him down to the AHL and call-up someone else - let him walk at the end of the season. Same goes for the others on 1-yr deals.

 

[rojac]

I think this is going to be the way of the league. The top half of your players will take up a good portion of the cap room while the bottom half works for next to nothing. This is a result of term limits on contracts forcing high-end players to get their big money over fewer years.

 

[Diatomic]

I think this is going to be the way of the league. The top half of your players will take up a good portion of the cap room while the bottom half works for next to nothing. This is a result of term limits on contracts forcing high-end players to get their big money over fewer years.

Agreed. Funny though how feisty little Komarov is making pretty good money while every other bottom 6ers on the team is making peanuts.

 

[ConnorTO]

clarkson has to score more than 50 points a season to be worth his money...

i mean kadri scored 50 points and hes getting paid like ****

 

[ACC1224]

clarkson has to score more than 50 points a season to be worth his money...

i mean kadri scored 50 points and hes getting paid like ****

Kadri has never been UFA.

 

[Mess]

I think the whole concept of cap management is to find offsetting contracts to provide balance and competitiveness. This isn't just contained to bad contracts like Clarkson either.. Kessel and Phaneuf type contracts need balancing contracts as well for example.

Teams have star players making top dollar and to ice a competitive team they need offsetting cheap contracts which are usually young ELC contracts of their prospect system, which is why the entry draft is mission critical to NHL success and the #1 team building resource.

Leafs seem to be going out and signing a bunch of vets 28-30 years old and filling out their roster accordingly, unfortunately its because their prospect system doesn't have Booth, Santorelli or Kontiola types in it to use as offsets and team depth.

 

[jmart21]

This is the definition of "making the pieces fit".

It's a term that gets thrown around all the time by GMs and seems to come off as one of those hockey clichés ("just gotta battle for pucks" "all 4 lines firing" etc etc) but there is actually so much truth to it.

It really is all about making the pieces fit. There is no accepted going rate for a No3 dman or a No2 RW, or a No3 C. Every team is different and every player is different. You pay more for a Phaneuf than some might like, but you offset that with two (maybe 3) very cheap, productive ELCs in Gardiner, Rielly and maybe a Granberg type guy.

It's all about making the pieces fit.

 

[SprDaVE]

No idea why this is related to Clarkson.

The team just wants to find players that would provide good depth at a low cost. Best bang for your buck. Every team does this no matter how good or bad a certain player is overpaid.

 

[Parkdale]

When Nonis was interviewed after he became GM, I recall him relating that one of the most important challenge he had was to "get it right" with the long term high cap contracts. I took that to mean that the high ticket players had to contribute commensarate to their paycheques. And here we are after the Clarkson and Phaneuf contracts.....

 

[MJ65]

This is a new era in hockey (Cap space) - The bulk of the Cap space is spent on 1st two forward line and you top D and the rest of the roster is filled with rookies or the cheap contracts (like Booth, Santa etc.), it really has nothing to do with Clarkson's contract (even though he is not the 2nd line forward in my opinion and still getting 5m plus)