So, rumors are finally a-buzz that Marc Staal and the Rangers should reach an agreement soon. Word is that it should be wrapped up by Friday, which is awesome, because that is when training camp starts. The main sticking point of these negotiations, so you understand, is length. Staal is currently 23 and has been on NHL contracts for 3 years so far, which means he will reach unrestricted free agency in 4 years (age 27 or 7 years of contracts, whichever comes first). Until that time, he is under restricted free agency to the Rangers. Starting next season, and for the remaining whole of that restricted free agency, Staal will be eligible for salary arbitration.
The Rangers want to lock Staal up for a number of years, into his unrestricted free agency, when salary arbitration will no longer be a factor. They and Staal both feel that arbitration would give him a huge salary boost, rightly so. So, we can probably expect Staal's salary to end up somewhat higher than those of comparable players (people point at Bobby Ryan for being in a similar offseason situation earlier, as well as comparable defensemen like Ryan Suter and Shea Weber). Sather went on record just yesterday as saying, "we have made Staal a pretty lucrative offer, and I don't think we're very far apart." So, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see Staal on a 4+ year contract at $5 million per. And apparently, I wouldn't be surprised if that happens in the next two days.
In other news, the NHL has officially decided to fine the Devils for attempting this Kovalchuk contract. Look: I hate the Devils as much as the next guy. That's not even true. I hate the Devils like a zabillion times more than the next guy, unless the next guy is Dennis the Fireman who sits in section 423. But this is stupid. The CBA, agreed upon by both the NHL and NHLPA, allows for a contract like this. The contract was rejected by reasonable means, and then another one was put forth. The whole thing points out that there are flaws in the CBA, but it resolved largely as it should have.
So where the fuck does the NHL get off fining the Devils for this?!? They're being charged $3 million, a third-round pick next draft, and a first-round pick sometime in the next four drafts (to be determined by the Devils). And this is all retribution for what, exactly? Signing a player to a perfectly legal contract under the admittedly terrible CBA and getting that contract voided? I've said here that I agree with Richard Bloch's ruling in the arbitration, and I do - the Kovalchuk contract absolutely violated the spirit of the CBA. But you're gonna tell me that the Devils, in even attempting to submit a contract like this, were somehow breaking some sort of rule? What, exactly, do the Devils deserve punishment for here?
I'll tell you: it's for making the NHL look foolish. The insane oligarchy of the NHL doesn't like looking like it made any mistake, whether that mistake is employing awful officials or signing an agreement with loopholes. Bettman et al, as is their wont, took this whole Kovalchuk thing personally, and they decided to strike back personally. I'm not saying there's not some part of me that's excited about the goddamn Devils losing a first-round pick, but it's really not just. The NHL wanted to flex its muscles one more time after reaching a balanced agreement didn't leave them feeling powerful enough, and they enacted this penalty because they could.
Or does anyone believe there would have been a fine if the team in question were the model franchise Penguins, or my beloved Coyotes, instead?
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