Should players be more wary of the contracts they sign?

[Nick Hansen]

Am looking at this guy named Jonathan Woes over at the Blackhawks forum, and man he is getting destroyed in there. Deservedly so, I'd say, he is nowhere the level you'd expect from that contract. Not just about points either, he's not the same player he used to be simply. Will his reputation be destroyed by the time he retires? It's like seven years away.


Any way, back to the title. Should they?

Click to read more...

 

[end]

Players should be wary about their game taking a big step back, not that they convinced a man to give them millions of dollars for past accomplishments. The problem with Jonathan Toews is his play, not his contract. They would be happy to pay 10 million dollars for another three Cups, they're not happy to pay for what they've been given lately.

 

[Nick Hansen]

Players should be wary about their game taking a big step back, not that they convinced a man to give them millions of dollars for past accomplishments. The problem with Jonathan Toews is his play, not his contract. They would be happy to pay 10 million dollars for another three Cups, they're not happy to pay for what they've been given lately.

Right, and his reputation will be destroyed by the end of the contract. Is it worth it?

 

[Jozay]

You think he gives a shit about his reputation and what people are saying when he's taking care of himself and his family with that $10.5 million a year he's getting?

 

[Nick Hansen]

You think he gives a **** about his reputation and what people are saying when he's taking care of himself and his family with that $10.5 million a year he's getting?

Would he have problems taking care of himself and his fambly with say 9.0M a year? I think it is the jump over 10 million dollars that make people so critical. 9M a year, and people wouldn't have cared nearly as much. But now his reputation is in the process of being destroyed. Sad.

 

[Jarey Curry]

Would he have problems taking care of himself and his fambly with say 9.0M a year? I think it is the jump over 10 million dollars that make people so critical. 9M a year, and people wouldn't have cared nearly as much. But now his reputation is in the process of being destroyed. Sad.

Water under the bridge? You really think your statement applies when his career is over and Blackhawks ice his jersey? Didn't think so.

 

[Brock Radunske]

Sometimes I wonder how players careers would change if they took contracts that they deserved rather than what was offered.

Clarkson always stands out for this.
If he had of signed for top-end 3rd liner money in NJ (3 mil), he might still be in the league and contributing but he went over his head and now his career is over.

Dustin Penner is another example.

 

[Pookie]

Kind of an interesting premise.

The player should be the one to set his market value?

In sport, where confidence is everything, do you really want players to think and promote that they won't be as good in the future?

Would you give back part of your salary because you knew that you might not perform as well in the upcoming year?

 

[tny760]

hate to break it to you but jonathan toews is not reading the chicago blackhawks subforum on hfboards. sure these guys are gonna catch wind of the general idea that people are unimpressed with their play but as i like to say about twitter, your opinions aren't that important.

 

[CF84]

I thought this thread was going to be about McDavid and how long he will be stuck with the Oilers.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

I doubt any of the players care. If they can't handle the criticism they'll wipe their tears with $100 bills.

 

[boredmale]

Don't you mean should NHL Teams/Gms? If I am an NHL 4th liner and some guy offers me 5M a year for 5 years why wouldn't I take that money

 

[mja]

I've actually wondered about this in the past. Those guys who sign contracts that everyone instantaneously knows are bad? Yeah, they rarely work out well for the players' careers. There are definitely guys out there who would have been better off inking less expensive contracts. Now, before anyone starts going on about how they're still millionaires and all, money isn't everything and I imagine a guy like Dave Clarkson probably has some major regrets.

But it's a difficult situation. You have a very short window to earn your money, and the natural inclination would be to maximize your earnings, as your career could be over in the blink of an eye.

 

[trick9]

Talking about Toews, put it this way. He should have made 10.5 million per year through years 2007-2015, and then after that move back to the numbers he was actually making those years.

Besides with guy like Toews, he can always clog rings in his earns and ignore those people.

 

[Beville]

Yes...

But hey, $10 million is still $10 million. They don’t care about what they do.

 

[Kale Hulls]

Can't blame him for taking the money, blame GMs for giving it to players who can't perform at a level that would justify those fat paychecks.

 

[Baxterman]

Right, and his reputation will be destroyed by the end of the contract. Is it worth it?

His reputation will be just fine except maybe with a fw bitter losers that can't get over it.

The vast majority of hockey fans will remember him for the 3 Cups, WJHC Gold, Olympic Gold, World Cup win etc.

When he is going into the HHOF people won't give a crap what his contract was.

 

[King'sPawn]

No. He is a normal person who, rightfully, is looking out for his best interest.

The owners do the same thing when they set a budget, and GMs do the same when they engage in contract negotiations with players, so they can get the best contracts to protect their own jobs.

 

[LeafChief]

Is this a bash Toews thread? He won them 3 cups. He deserves every penny.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

You guys can talk shit about me all day on the internet and in the papers for the rest of my life if I'm getting paid millions to play the game I love. You can even desecrate my gravestone if it makes you feel any better, I've hooked my family up for potentially generations.

Sometimes I wonder how players careers would change if they took contracts that they deserved rather than what was offered.

Clarkson always stands out for this.
If he had of signed for top-end 3rd liner money in NJ (3 mil), he might still be in the league and contributing but he went over his head and now his career is over.

Dustin Penner is another example.

Wrong.

You think these guys aren't playing because of their previous contracts?

Clarkson isn't playing because of a chronic back issue.

Dustin Penner isn't playing because he just stopped giving a shit about hockey and his contract was far from the worst thing in the world anyway.

Have a better example of a guy whose actual career was ruined by taking a 'more than they deserve' contract? Because I practically guarantee each one you select will be a player who just isn't good enough to hack it in the league anymore. You'll just remember them more vividly because they got a big payday once rather than an average player who plays 1-2 years then disappears to Europe or something.

 

[ClydeLee]

If you want to determine the psychology and implications it may have for a players choice... You can consider what if Kane and Toews didn't sign those extensions at the time, and into the 2015 playoffs they were looming UFAs. Does that impact their play or performance of a cup win? Winning the 3rd cup with that deal inked and signed is a reason I don't think he should second guess even though it's too large and hurting the team.

 

[Foppberg]

He's getting an 8 figure paycheque, I doubt he's losing much sleep over it.

 

[Nick Hansen]

I've actually wondered about this in the past. Those guys who sign contracts that everyone instantaneously knows are bad? Yeah, they rarely work out well for the players' careers. There are definitely guys out there who would have been better off inking less expensive contracts. Now, before anyone starts going on about how they're still millionaires and all, money isn't everything and I imagine a guy like Dave Clarkson probably has some major regrets.

But it's a difficult situation. You have a very short window to earn your money, and the natural inclination would be to maximize your earnings, as your career could be over in the blink of an eye.

Agreed, it's very difficult. Think of a guy like Carey Price, he's always had a lot of pressure on him but that contract just maximized it through the roof. He's good again now, but that short period of time where he was awful...how fun was that really? I am curious to see how things will look for him in year 4/5 and forward.

Part of why we love all the old legends is because nobody gave a crap about what they earned. It didn't matter. But today with cap it is a huge part of fans discussion about their teams.

 

[Barrie22]

I've actually wondered about this in the past. Those guys who sign contracts that everyone instantaneously knows are bad? Yeah, they rarely work out well for the players' careers. There are definitely guys out there who would have been better off inking less expensive contracts. Now, before anyone starts going on about how they're still millionaires and all, money isn't everything and I imagine a guy like Dave Clarkson probably has some major regrets.

But it's a difficult situation. You have a very short window to earn your money, and the natural inclination would be to maximize your earnings, as your career could be over in the blink of an eye.

Why would he have regrets? Its not his fault he got offered that contract.

 

[JT Kreider]

Yeah it's crazy to look back on all the big money long term UFA signings and outside a select few, they've all been huge failures and guys have fallen off so quickly.

Specifically guys like Horton, Clarkson, Clowe, Bolland. These guys barely made it halfway through the life of their contract before LTIR.

Redden and Richards were bought out long before they had a chance to finish out their contracts. Drury was totally broken down and could have given the Rangers some problems with buying him out.

Gomez was given a massive contract and then two years later was viewed as expendable and traded. That's a very quick turn around.

Parise in Minnesota is definitely a situation to keep an eye on. He's suffered some very significant injuries in the past few years and isn't even halfway through his contract.