With the chaos that Ilya Kovalchuk's lifetime deal with the Devils has seemingly caused in the early goings of this NHL season, it seems appropriate to examine the productivity of the exclusive members of the lifetime contract club.
It seems that once or twice a season a new contract signing makes fans, the lowly serfs of the NHL caste system, say to their friends, spouses, or random passerby, "WOW! I wish I had just a day's worth of that player's salary!"
What is not to love about having 15 years to not worry about contract negotiations? That's guaranteed salary for the length of the contract. It assures your family that likelihood of movement from a city is exceptionally low. It also locks up your services, so that the franchise you play for can build a team around you.
But what happens when injury occurs, or the contract a player signs is so cost prohibitive that they have to move established players to get under the salary cap. Or, your play just simply declines quickly.
It seems that more often than not, organizations that commit large amounts of time and monetary resources to a single player, are watching their well laid p ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Russell McKenzie
NHL: How Long-Term Contracts Are Killing Teams
October 27th, 2010 by Russell McKenzie Leave a reply »
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