Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Maple Leaf salary fun facts

Here's a couple of loose ends from last week's Mid-Season Value Ranking post. While putting the post together, I did some research into the Leafs' current contract and salary cap commitments. I learned a couple of things that I found interesting.

Fun fact #1: The Leafs highest paid forward is Jason Blake, thanks to his Contract of Eternal Damnation™. Next on the list is recent FA signing Nik Hagman. Do you know which Leaf forward is their third highest paid?

No, not Antropov. No, not Poni. Not even Stempy. Give up? It's this guy.

Fun fact #2: Unlike many teams, the Leafs don't have much in the way of long-term contracts. In fact, as of today the team only has a cap commitment to one player beyond 2012. Can you name him? Answer: this guy.

Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, this.




12 comments:

  1. Oh my God. Did you read the comments on that JFJ video?!? That's the real story.

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  2. Tucker for 5 more years...brutal. According to Cap Central, Stempy and Bell are tied for 3rd at $2.5M (Bell does not count against the cap).

    LT

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  3. Re: Stempy, his cap hit this year is $2.5M but I believe his actual salary is lower.

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  4. I did know about Bell being third when I was trying to figure out if the Leafs could still afford Sundin:

    Mark Bell seems awfully out of place as the 3rd highest paid forward on the team. Based on his statistics and troubled history, Mark is Mr. Expendable. Sending him down to the minors would free up 2.16-million in cap space, bringing the amount available to Sundin up to 7.56 million, or roughly, the amount Montreal is offering.

    So the Leafs are still in the Sundin sweepstakes. I'm not suggesting the Leafs want to give up on Mark Bell and cut him loose after all he's been through, but that's plan B
    .

    Whoops. Plan "A". Fixed.

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  5. As Bell's salary doesn't count against the cap and he plays for a different team, can he really be considered the third highest paid Leaf forward?

    That Tucker contract from JFJ was brutal. Looking at his numbers in Colorado, I think he's a safe bet to be the first NHLer to be bought-out twice.

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  6. As Bell's salary doesn't count against the cap and he plays for a different team, can he really be considered the third highest paid Leaf forward?

    Why not? When MLSE writes the paychecks, he still gets one from them.

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  7. Doesn't it make sense to at least give Bell a shot this year at some point?

    His contract is expiring, they're paying him anyways, I don't see the point of hoarding cap space just for this season. I guess he has to pass waivers on the way up, but so what? Even if he somehow gets picked up, what's the downside to trying?

    Is it ridiculous to think he could score a few goals, make a few hits, and some contending team tosses a 4th round pick at Burke to take him for a playoff run? Isn't that better than just letting him play out the string on the Marlies?

    The only thing I can figure is there must be a grudge between him and Wilson from San Jose.

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  8. Doesn't it make sense to at least give Bell a shot this year at some point?

    It could. I wonder what he's like in the dressing room. There seemed to be a real push to clear out any of the bad attitudes from last year's squad. If Bell was one of them, we'll probably never see him again.

    Is it ridiculous to think he could score a few goals, make a few hits, and some contending team tosses a 4th round pick at Burke to take him for a playoff run?

    Probably.

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  9. I hear the 'bad attitude' argument all the time, but really, isn't it about building the best hockey team rather than a really nice bunch of guys? If Mark Bell's 'bad attitude' over the next 30 games is going to negatively affect the careers of our young players to the point that Bell is better off not even being in the locker room...well, I have to question the mental toughness of those young players.

    Bell was in jail last off-season, started the season suspended, and suffered a really bad injury. Even with those three things going against him, he still had the best Leaf play of the year when he KO'd Alfredsson.

    I'm just sayin'; the guy at least is big, has scored 20 goals in the NHL, and he doesn't have a history of hitting people from behind. Those are three things you can't say about Ryan Hollweg, and we traded a 5th round pick for him.

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  10. I hear the 'bad attitude' argument all the time, but really, isn't it about building the best hockey team rather than a really nice bunch of guys?

    Well, it's not really about building the best hockey team. At least not this year. And Bell is a goner at the end of the season, so he's not part of the long-term plan.

    The best reason to bring him up might be his toughness -- he could help prevent guys like Grabs and Stajan from getting killed out there. You'd have to think he'd be better than Hollweg or Deveaux in that role, as long as he stayed away from Lucic.

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  11. I think Bad Attitude matters a great deal. In particular punishing a bad attitude.

    It isnt about mental oughness, it is about equity. And if you are the guy who is putting in the extra work and someone is being cynical, yappy and uncooperative then how does it affect your attitude over the long run.

    Absolutely attitude matters. More than talent? I guess it all depends, but I given that Hickey is a team sport then other than the goalie I dont think anybody is that talented to be able to carry such an attitude.

    None of this, btw, says Bell has an attitude. Maybe he still has other issues...who knows.

    But it was a good reason to ditch Tucker, mcCabe and Raycroft, regardless of their performance.

    It is easier and more enjoyable to get a team to work together if there isnt dissension and "attitude", just like any workplace.

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