SUMMER 2007 - RAFFI TORRES
-26 years old
-RFA
-1 year from UFA
-NHL Salary cap: 50.3M
-Signs 3 year contract.
CAP HIT: 2.25M
ANNUAL SALARIES: 1.600 2.400 2.750
SPRING 2008 - TRENT HUNTER
-27 years old
-Pending UFA in summer of 2008
-NHL Salary cap expected to rise to ~54-55M
-Signs 5 year contract
-CAP HIT: 10M
-ANNUAL SALARIES across the board: 2.000M
Comparable players, both strong EV players, same point total range.
Lowe paid Torres more, whom gave up less UFA years (2) than Hunter did (5). At least I could live with 2.25M over 5 years - you have an asset who is being paid relatively less each year with respect to a rising salary cap - making the asset easier to trade. Instead, you lose his rights in just 3 years - exactly the same mistake Lowe made in the Horcoff extension. The worst part of it is Torres earning 2.750M in the final year of the contract. That figure will be the starting point in the next round of negotiations.
Bad, bad, BAD!
So - is it poor negotiation skills on Kevin Lowe's part?
Inquiring minds want to know.
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3 comments:
That might be Raffi's starting number for negotiations. Given his performance the last couple of years (ok, not his fault he's hurt this year, but this wasn't shaping up to be different from last), Lowe would be an idiot not to say "yeah, it's a cut, think you can get better elsewhere?"
He's not *that* dumb. Is he?
The problem with that is, Raffi is a UFA in 3 years, and Lowe has little leverage
I see a trend where players are looking for longer term contracts and willing to give up inflation dollars to get them.
Problem is that this trend has only started to take place, in a recognizable fashion, this year.
If Lowe made a mistake, and I am not saying he did, then it may have been in not exploring a longer term.
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