Island Nucklehead wrote:Zedlee wrote:I dont' like giving raises and 4 year deals to players whose best years are behind them.
Did they get a raise?
They signed $12.2M combined against a cap of $56.8M or 21.4% of the teams cap.
Next year they are $14M combined against a cap of $71.1M or 19.6% of the teams cap.
Quite honestly I am not a fan of the Sedins in this new NHL. I was leary of them before the lockout of 2004, and warmed up to them slowly as they developed into the players they were at the end of 2011-12. During the shortened 2012-13 season I began to wonder if they were worth re-signing as it seemed that opposing teams had figured them out and they were becoming less effective. They have done nothing to change that opinion this season.
However, the numbers you posted there Island are eye opening and I had not thought to look at their contracts as percentages of total team cap. When one considers that they are now earning a lesser percentage of our overall cap, and that the salary cap will likely go up yet again for 2015-16, their contracts don't look all that bad. Essentially Gillis just gained 1.8% (possibly more down the road) in cap room by re-signing a pair of top 6 forwards to 4 year terms. Looking at things in that light, I don't care if they start scoring at 60 point pace if Gillis can find a couple of players to skate with Kesler on a top line.
The way Kassian is starting to develop, particularly his playmaking ability, coupled with the chemistry he appears to be developing with Kesler, I think that finding a winger in the mold of Evander Kane would more than offset the "decline" of the Sedins.
So pipe dream away.....say we get Kane.
Kane-Kesler-Kassian $12.25M (being generous and giving Kassian $2M on like a 3 year deal)
Sedin-Sedin-Burrows $16.5M (face it folks, nobody gels with the Sedins like Bur, they have missed him)
That's could be a pretty deadly top 6.....and it would cost us $28.75M 40% of our cap.
Figure another $18M for our top 4 defensemen, there's another 25% of our cap. (Obviously one of our current top 5 gets moved and I'm saying Edler goes and Tanev stays at around $3.5+M).
Leaves 35% of our cap for goaltenders, 6 forwards, and 2 defensemen, plus parts.
Well even if Luongo hangs around for another couple of years, between him and Eddie there goes 9% more. So now down to 26% of our total cap to fill out the roster.
So roughly $17M left to fill out 8 player spots. That's actually pretty easily done if we are going the route that Gillis has preached and start injecting youth into the lineup because we can probably allocate $6M to the 4th line, and that would buy a pretty stellar 4th line, another $5M to the bottom pairing, and then use youngsters on entry level deals to round out 3 other spots plus parts.
Factor in an growing cap ceiling and things don't look all that bad at all.
