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A TSN.ca article (with files from the Star Tribune of Minneapolis) dated 6/19 states that Manny Fernandez is "available at a price", but Wild GM Doug Risebrough "is not ready to give him away".
Adds Risebrough:
I don't necessarily believe that the circumstances are there to warrant me from doing anything other than maximizing the value."
Peter Kalus and a 4th rounder don't exactly seem like "maximum value" for Manny Fernandez (who only made $3.75mil last year).
Why would Risebrough have such a change of heart so quickly? I'd venture a guess that with the rise in the cap Risebrough was given the go-ahead to try and land a key free agent tomorrow.
Dumping $3.75 million (or whatever Fernandez will count for in '07-'08 cap room) might not seem like a ton, but for a small-market team like Minnesota it's enough room to land a quality 2nd-tier guy.
Big win for the Bruins. But not a loss for the Wild - especially if they are able to land the FA they want in the coming days. They still have Backstrom...
So, how long until the players start losing salary back to the league/clubs via escrow? Probably not much longer.
To go from $39mil to $50mil in 2 years is quite a jump. Each year the free agents get more, each year the arbitration awards go up and the fans get outraged.
But there's no need. As soon as salaries are above a certain percentage of revenue, all top-tier players will make the same amount of money, with the rest that they are contracted to going back to the league.
It's likely this will happen in '07-'08 or maybe '08-'09. When it does, I think we will finally see the real beauty of the CBA. All of the top-tier talent will be spread out across the league - more so than now - because they will all make the same money no matter where they go.
Even the Predators HAVE to spend $34.3 million this year, and that's a good thing for the league.
After their surprising beat-down at the hands of the Senators, I thought the Sabres could re-sign the Centre duo of Briere and Drury.
I figured they didn't have big concerns outside of the duo in terms of free agents and they could be had for an average $6mil/year. But that was assuming the Sabres were going to spend up to the new cap ($48-50 mil) with the constant sell-outs, highest TV ratings in the league, and merchandise selling out as soon as it's stocked. Add to that the fact the Sabres are so close to winning that Briere and Drury would work it out for another two years for a chance at the cup.
I was wrong.
Buffalo is still a small-market town, current revenues notwithstanding. They can't afford to pay up to the cap and they won't. They didn't get to their current situation by being foolish.
But, I suppose it could be argued they may have been foolish for not paying Briere what he wanted last year - 5 years at $5mil. He got $5mil in arbitration anyway and they just offered him the same deal he wanted twelve months ago. He wanted it in '06, but it wasn't enough in '07.
So, instead of doing like the Oilers did with Hemsky and the Flyers did with Timmonen - signing a long-term deal that seems a bit inflated now, but by the end of the deal will be a bargain for the team - they now have to overpay even more or be without a top center.
He will certainly get at least $6mil/year in free agency. Some will say he's not worth it, but to me, 1 point per game in each of the last two playoffs and 95 points this past season is certainly worth what Federov, R.Blake, and Redden made this past year.
12 cups between the 4 HHOF class of 2007 inductees.
Francis - 2
MacInnis - 1
Messier - 6
Stevens - 3
What a class! One of the best 4-somes to be inducted.
It seems apparent that current NHL owners want nothing to do with Jim Balsillie and the way he conducts private business in clear view of the public. How else would you explain Craig Leipold accepting an offer of $50 million less for his team to another owner who has similar intentions to relocate the franchise?
He rubbed Mario Lemieux, the Penguins' front office, Gary Bettman, and more than a few owners the wrong way during the failed bid for the Penguins six months ago. He sold seat licenses to an arena before even having a formal agreement to buy the Preds, let alone a clear path to relocate them.
But, there may be another explanation as well...
Last week at the NHL draft, Bob McKenzie broke the news that Balsillie's bid for the Preds was off until further notice because Leipold didn't see any progress in the way of a deal. Balsillie didn't act fast enough and that allowed William "Boots" DelBaggio to step in and get the team at clearance price. Craig Leipold is very, very eager to sell and Balsillie thought his feet-dragging wouldn't be a problem at the price he was intending to pay.
Perhaps his time would have been better served getting the deal done with Leipold rather than Hamilton and Copps Coliseum.
The fact remains that Balsillie isn't well regarded around the league after the two failed purchases. Perhaps, down the road, if Balsillie plays his cards right he could be in line to win an expansion franchise for Southern Ontario. But the owners are careful of who they let into their fraternity - and this guy will have a lot of bad 1st (and 2nd) impressions to overcome should that day come.
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