Le protezioni, per esempio, certamente hanno avute la stanza della protezione corteggiare uno Scott Gomez o un Chris Drury, hanno avute McPhee hanno desiderato a. But I suspect that part of the GM’s thinking in pursuing Michael Nylander instead was the day of contract reckoning for his star Russians, his captain, and his no. 1 netminder, next summer.

Likely it will take an extraordinary set of circumstances to radically realign the education/experience criteria for sports managers. But we in D.C. encountered such a set this week, and from where I sit we benefited big-time from our guy bearing a legally trained contracts savvy and sophistication.

If memory serves, the Caps have not merely McPhee the JD at work on these matters but a full-time “cap-ologist.” Does Edmonton?

The other storyline attendant to this mess out West is the renewed concern (that was supposed to be alleviated by Bettman’s new CBA) that hockey once again has cultivated “haves” and “have nots” when it comes to competing for player services. Bettman’s new and “improved” CBA was supposed to minimize if not eliminate altogether small-market clubs getting clubbed every July by the big-city bullies. In the last 12 months or so Lowe has witnessed defections by Chris Pronger, Ryan  Smyth, and to a lesser (but perhaps more troubling) degree, Michael Nylander. And we all know where the big unrestricted names went last Sunday and Monday.

It’s a sobering reminder: in a very real sense today’s sports are more about big dollars than big wins, and with so much lucre at stake, owners I think are very well advised to have the lawyer class way high up in an organization’s decision-making process.

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Posted at 10:34 am. Filed under Edmonton Oilers, Front Office, George McPhee, Washington Capitals.
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The Nylander Saga Continues
July’s Much-Needed Hockey Fix

7 Comments

  1. Tyler wrote:

    A lawyer high-up in the org? F that. How about a GM with a reputation for beating up members of other teams’ front offices? I mean, who’s gonna mess with a GM(GM) like that?

    Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 11:38 am | Permalink
  2. Muddapucker wrote:

    The only comment that I would make is that it is entirely possible that Nylander’s agent did as he was instructed. The rug may have got jerked out from under him as well.

    What would the agent do? Criticize the hand that feeds him or just try and ride out the storm. He has probably lost a lot of credibility throughout the league and it might not even been his fault.

    The agent is going to be the big loser in this, along with Lowe. The difference is Lowe should probably known that a committment wasn’t a contract.

    The agent on the other hand might have been instructed by Nylander to do exactly what he did.

    That agent is going to have a tough time landing clients and dealing with clubs after this. He may have lost his livelihood. If he deserved it fine, if did what he was told to do only to have his client backout and leave him holding the bag, that is unfortunate.

    Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 1:23 pm | Permalink
  3. Josh wrote:

    You mentioned Edmonton and the defection of ‘Jason Smith’. While Ryan Smyth was traded due to his impending free agency… and Jason Smith was dealt to the Flyers as part of the Joni Pitkanen deal… So it looks like you were unintentionally correct on both counts!

    Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 2:10 pm | Permalink
  4. Josh wrote:

    Sorry - I missed the typo referring to your typo… You referred to “Jason Smyth” in the article

    Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 2:11 pm | Permalink
  5. KM wrote:

    I do believe you make a mistake there. GMGM was under the guidance of that Pat Quinn, not Brian Burke.

    Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 6:10 pm | Permalink
  6. Doug wrote:

    Another well-written and informative piece. Cap fans are blessed with 4 or 5 superb web cites and blog spots. I visit your pages daily.
    v/r
    Doug

    Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 9:27 pm | Permalink
  7. Caps Nut wrote:

    Well if you take a look at the current CBA, you need a law degree to be able to navigate your way through it.

    As these things become more and more complex, I think you’ll see more and more GM’s and upper management types with law degrees.

    Friday, July 6, 2007 at 9:50 am | Permalink

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