TSN has the grizzly details. But BB didn't relinquish his young power forward Dustin Penner quietly: ". . . this is the second time this year in my opinion Edmonton have offered a grossly inflated salary for a player, and it impacts on all 30 teams and I think it's an act of desperation by a general manager who is fighting to keep his job."
7 Comments on "Lowe Blow: This Man Is Not Happy"
#1
Posted by DebCapsFan, August 2, 2007 9:38 PM
I think it's a bad sign for salaries in the future. How much do you pay for a guy's potential? And length is tricky too. You never know what will happen to a player, especially playing a sport as physical as hockey.
#2
Posted by Doug, August 3, 2007 1:55 AM
This is not a good thing for the league as a whole. One rogue GM has way too much power; Vanek was outlandishly over-salaried, but the Sabres could not give up, having lost their top 2 guys to free agency. You can see the difference with Anaheim; they retained many pieces of their team and are near the salary cap; they did the predictable and smart thing by taking the draft choices. Hockey outcome should be decided in the rink and not by the businessmen. Let's hope sanity prevails; moreover, let's hope agents don't pursue "Vanek" type of terms for non-superstar talents.
v/r
Doug
#3
Posted by usiel, August 3, 2007 4:49 PM
I don't see as much doom and gloom. Penner is a gamble at that salary. What if the Oilers strike gold and he really turns into a player worth that salary. Also Edmonton had to do something to get some players since they could attract much in free agency.
#4
Posted by Murshawursha, August 3, 2007 4:53 PM
"I'm not in the business of trying to make friends. Never have, never will be... It's not a priority to mend this fence."
I hope Lowe isn't planning on trying to make any trades anytime soon...
#5
Posted by pucksandbooks, August 3, 2007 4:59 PM
usiel, I'm surprised at you. "What if" the Oil strike gold with Penner? What if he's Oleg Kvasha? Or Dainius Zubrus? Is the NHL on a platform of popularity and fiscal stability such as to be doling out "What if" contracts to players with 40 games in the Bigs? How soon we seem to forget '04-'05.
#6
Posted by exwhaler, August 3, 2007 7:09 PM
My hope is that the league (i.e., arbitrators) see this contract as an anomoly brought on by the circumstances (namely, that's its an inflated RFA offer designed to pull a player away from another team). I'd hate to think that this contract would be used as a comparable in negotiations....
#7
Posted by pepper, August 3, 2007 10:31 PM
I think its a bit of an anomaly, after what happened with Pronger, then Smyth, and Nylander. In Lowe's case, I suppose he figured that was the only way to get a talented free agent to Edmonton - someone who has a long enough career ahead of him to later play in what he perceives as a more desirable location (and presumably has no wife objecting to living there or family obligations).
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