NHL Free Agency Opens With Bang As Hawks Ink Hossa For 12 Years
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Hossa's 12-Year, $62.8M Deal The Largest
On The First Day Of NHL Free Agency |
The Blackhawks on the opening day of free agency Wednesday signed RW Marian Hossa to a 12-year, $62.8M deal, but the contract "makes you wonder" if Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon "has completely lost sight of the team's future," according to Allan Muir of SI.com. The contracts of Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews, RW Patrick Kane and D Duncan Keith "all expire after next season," and it "looks like Tallon has painted himself into a very tight corner" with the Hossa deal. It is "hard to envision this contract as anything but an albatross for the franchise in the future." Muir: "So much for dreams of fiscal restraint" (SI.com, 7/1). In Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom wrote the deal "seems ridiculous because Hossa doesn't figure to play until he's 42." How the deal "affects Tallon's ability to finagle the salary cap to keep Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews long-term remains to be seen," but if the Blackhawks "win the Stanley Cup in the next year or two, no one will care" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 7/1). In Illinois, Barry Rozner writes the Hossa deal is a "huge statement to Hawks fans that the club wants to win it all in 2010," but looming are "serious salary-cap issues" (Illinois DAILY HERALD, 7/2). In Chicago, Chris Kuc notes the Hossa deal is a "salary-cap hit of just more than $5[M] per season." Tallon said that the contract "doesn't jeopardize the future of core players" Toews, Kane and Keith. Tallon: "We took that into consideration. The type of contract Marian has agreed to will not influence our core" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/2). Meanwhile, in Detroit, Ted Kulfan reports Hossa "hinted that if there weren't a salary cap, he probably would" have re-signed with the Red Wings. But with the Red Wings "up against the salary-cap ceiling, a return was going to be highly improbable" (DETROIT NEWS, 7/2). Red Wings GM Ken Holland: "We had no cap space. We made an offer, as much as we could offer" (DETROIT NEWS, 7/2).
FREE AGENT FRENZY: In Toronto, Kevin McGran writes Hossa's signing was the "biggest deal in a day of big deals" when GMs "spent more than $360[M] in less than 12 hours ... despite the salary cap and a recession." Thrashers GM Don Waddell: "Everybody's talking about the economy and so forth, but everybody's got needs to help their hockey team. I'm not surprised by how many deals were made [Wednesday]. But I'm surprised by the money every year. That's what free agency is." McGran notes the Canadiens "committed about $100[M] to players in an attempt to tread water," including Monday's trade with the Rangers for C Scott Gomez, who is due $7.35M per year over the next five seasons (TORONTO STAR, 7/2). In Denver, Adrian Dater writes, "Every year, there are several teams that leave a trail of disbelief around the league at the money they've lavished on free agents." The Lightning Wednesday signed free agent D Mattias Ohlund to a seven-year, $26.25M deal. Dater: "Never heard of Ohlund? You're not alone" (DENVER POST, 7/2). And in Columbus, Bob Hunter writes the Blue Jackets' signing of C Sami Pahlsson to a three-year, $7.95M deal shows that "maybe this 'times are tough' hockey stuff isn't exactly as it appears" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 7/2).
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Sedin Twins Take Less Money
To Remain In Vancouver |
SOME RESTRAINT SHOWN: In Boston, Stephen Harris writes there was a "hint ... of fiscal sanity" on Wednesday when NHL free agency started. While there were a "couple of eyebrow-raising deals around the league, general managers generally were somewhat less inclined to hand out crazy money to unrestricted free agents" (BOSTON HERALD, 7/2). SI.com's Muir noted the Canucks Wednesday re-signed LW Daniel Sedin and C Henrik Sedin to five-year deals worth an average of $6.1M annually, but the Sedins "took significantly less than what they might have earned on the open market." With compensation to the Sedins' comparables "averaging in the neighborhood" of $7.5M, the Canucks "got off cheap." Agents "may try to play it off as a hometown discount, but [it's] probably more accurate to say this was a deal that reflected the realities of the current economic downturn and recognized the likelihood of a lower cap number in the coming years." Muir: "Just as important: the Canucks managed those savings without having to commit to the 8-to-10-year term that has become a staple of recent superstar negotiations. Easy to see how this could emerge as a trendsetter for other deals in the coming days" (SI.com, 7/1).
OPEN SEASON: In Dallas, Tim Cowlishaw writes of NBA free agency, "I don't like the fact that the doors opened for free agents Wednesday, but no player can officially sign until next Wednesday. Does it really take the league office that long to figure out salary cap issues as they relate to contracts? Give me the NHL, which throws open the free-agency doors and starts swinging" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/2).
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