bears857299: diabecktic:
EPN18: Hossa got a front loaded 12 year deal for around 62 mil (58 paid in the first 8 years) or about 5.2 mil a year. Thats damn cheap considering the Habs would probably have offered him in the 7.5 mil range.
Does anyone know how this will affect their salary cap for the next few years? As long as they retain Kane, Toews, and Kieth, I don't care too much about what else is done. Though I'll hate to see Havlat leave, Hossa is definately an upgrade over him in terms of both points and health. I just hope they keep "the big 3" for the foreseeable future. At ~$5.2 million a season, Hossa seems like a good deal - if they can keep the other key players, that is.
I know many people knock the deals like this (DiPietro, for instance), but has it occured to anyone that the Wings did similar deals for Franzen/Zetterberg BECAUSE they were designed to be more "cap-friendly?"
It's actually pretty cap friendly. As I understand it(and don't take this as law) the cap number of this deal is only the average amount of money he'd make a year in this deal instead of what he actually makes. And if he retires as a Hawk, since he signed the deal before he's 35 all his money would come off the cap.
I think they'll be ok with signing Kane, Toews, and Keith next year if they get creative with the cap like they did with Hossa and/or get some hometown discounts.
I just pray that's the case. This team could really be something special for a long, long time if they keep some of those key pieces in place.
"That's the beauty of argument. If you argue correctly, you're never wrong."
-Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) in "Thank You For Smoking"