Offer Sheet Oddities and The Panther Connection
Al Cimaglia | Jul 16, 2010 | Comments 40
A few weeks ago Stan Bowman seemed to be on course to complete his off season salary cap challenge. No doubt the Blackhawks weren’t going to be as deep but there appeared to be enough talent left to compete for the Western Conference crown. That was the case before the Sharks issued an offer sheet to Niklas Hjalmarsson.
Without Hjalmarsson, making the playoffs would have been an uphill battle. Losing another very good defenseman would have made a big difference to the Blackhawks. Hjalmarsson couldn’t effectively be replaced by anyone inside the organization. There were not many other choices around the NHL either, Bowman realized the same and matched the Sharks offers sheet.
There could have been a strong likelihood both Hjalmarsson’s and Niemi’s agents were dragging their feet on agreeing to contract extensions. As one bright connected hockey guy told me, if you could smell an offer sheet possibility so could their agents. The Niemi camp waited until the eleventh hour to apply for arbitration, his hearing is now set for July 29. Shortly after Niemi’s arbitration became a possibility Doug Wilson made his move.
Wilson waited until after Niemi filed for arbitration. In that way the Hawks wouldn’t be able to make an easy decision on Niemi’s contract. If Niemi would have received a large offer sheet the Hawks could have focused all of their resources on re-signing Hjalmarsson. Wilson gave himself a slight chance of capturing a very good young defender.
The timing of San Jose’s bold offer sheet, although calculated, was curious. Wilson’s had to know down deep he wasn’t getting Hjalmarsson. His attempt to snatch the young Chicago defender could have been solely intended to inflict more salary cap pain. Was Wilson’s realistic mission to cause the Hawks to trade a player they would have been otherwise able to retain?
Even though his club wouldn’t directly benefit, the Sharks GM was helping to weaken one of his main rivals. Maybe Wilson’s actions will benefit another franchise more than his own.
My question to Wilson would be..…Why didn’t you wait until Niemi was signed to a contract extension before writing the offer sheet?
The word was around Niemi was Chicago’s first priority because he had already filed for arbitration. There were whispers Bowman was very close to signing Niemi before Hjalmarsson received an offer sheet. Now Bowman has time and a few options.
If the Blackhawks get very lucky they could retain both Hjalmarsson and Niemi for no more than they would have before the offer sheet. After the $14 million contract extension to Hjalmarsson the Hawks are more likely to be hard pressed to re-sign Niemi without making another trade. But at least Bowman has the chance an arbitration ruling will be in his favor not Niemi’s.
So Wilson’s timing was a bit odd and so was the Blackhawks early reply. As soon as prospect camp was complete the Hawks GM announced Hjalmarsson would remain in Chicago.
As is often the case with salary cap situations, there are many questions without apparent answers and no way to get replies from the involved parties.
My question for Bowman would be…. Why not wait a few more days to match the offer sheet and leave San Jose uncertain of their next move?
It would have made sense to hold the Sharks up for awhile longer. Why make it easier on them?
Maybe Bowman wanted to get the speculation out of the way because he was already trying to open up more salary cap space by exploring trade opportunities. It still doesn’t make sense to rush to give the Sharks front office notice ahead of the seven day deadline.
If what I am hearing is correct the Hawks are trying to move Brian Campbell more so than anyone of the seven untouchables. (Bolland, Hossa, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, Sharp and Toews)
I have reason to believe the Hawks and Panthers have discussed a deal involving Campbell.
Dale Tallon has been biding his time. His time could be now considering Hjalmarsson received a huge raise. It feels like Tallon won’t let the whole summer pass without making a deal with his former assistant.
Tallon has the cap space and possibly Campbell would agree to go to sunny Florida to work for his former boss. Campbell has a no movement clause. Supposedly Campbell’s contract requires him to list eight clubs which Bowman could negotiate a trade.
It wouldn’t be difficult to list eight teams which either didn’t have the cap space, or would have no interest in Campbell’s services. Although one has to wonder if Florida, Buffalo and Toronto aren’t high up on Campbell’s list. Maybe there are other teams he could be talked into playing for like Colorado or even the Islanders.
If Panther defenseman Bryan McCabe was shipped to Chicago in exchange for Campbell the Hawks would gain close to $1.5 million in cap space. Most important is McCabe’s hefty contract expires after the upcoming season. Tallon would make a splash and the Hawks get back an offensive minded defenseman to help them for one season.
The 35 year old McCabe may not fit into the long range plans for the Panthers. Campbell is only 31 years old and could be an important rebuilding piece for Tallon.
If Bowman had to pick a contract to dump, Campbell’s would be first choice after Cristobal Huet’s. There is some chance Campbell could be dealt, compared to no chance for Huet. If not put into a corner Bowman would probably not look to deal Campbell.
The biggest loser in the latest salary cap drama could be Niemi, as Hjalmarsson probably received about an additional $1 million dollars because of the offer sheet. The same amount may not come off of Niemi’s deal but he might have to roll the dice and hope for a friendly arbitrator.
Niemi doesn’t have a long resume. For every justification Niemi should be awarded a contract of $3 million or more there are two reasons why he should get paid closer to $2 million.
Maybe Bowman has already made a call to Jose Theodore or Marty Turco. A back-up plan would be a good idea as Corey Crawford might need a veteran mentor. The Hawks could be hard pressed to sign Niemi without making a meaningful salary dumping trade.
Hjalmarsson’s only real leverage in contract negotiations was if another team wrote an offer sheet. I wonder if the Hawks took his re-signing too casually or if Hjalmarsson’s agent played the Chicago front office to perfection.
In hindsight it would have been wise for the Hawks to strongly press to re-sign Hjalmarsson as soon as the Sharks inked free agent goal keeper Antero Niittymaki. Up until then the Sharks were the most logical Western Conference destination for Niemi if he was to leave Chicago by way of an offer sheet.
In the past it seemed odd while during offer sheet haggling the teams chatted. In this day and age that type of behavior could be cause for a claim of collusion. In other instances the end result would be the acquiring team would get the player via trade instead of by an offer sheet.
It would seem the sought after player wouldn’t have the same opportunity to sign as large of a contract extension if acquired by trade. At the very least there would be lawyers eagerly awaiting the chance to prove their client wasn’t allowed a fair shot at the best possible contract. It would seem franchises weren’t really competing with each other.
In the case of the Hjalmarsson’s offer sheet, my whispers indicate the Hawks front office had no prior contact beforehand with the Sharks. Maybe this dilemma was more painful because the Chicago brain trust didn’t see it coming. Then again Bowman had to realize the possibility, although he might have thought there would have been some forewarning. In this offer sheet drama a trade to settle matters wasn’t likely.
Did the Hawks young GM get caught off guard?
No matter what, Wilson has hurt the Hawks and there probably is no chance of retribution coming for a long time.
Wilson chose to come in with a four year offer for Hjalmarsson. He could have written the offer sheet for more money per year but with a shorter term. More likely the Hawks would have passed and taken the draft picks if that were the case. But cap space is also precious for the Sharks.
Now the challenge will be to retain both Hjalmarsson and Niemi without being forced to trade another important team member.
If the Hawks go to arbitration and Niemi is awarded a contract in excess of $3 million they probably won’t be able to keep both players without another salary dump. If they did choose to re-sign Niemi someone off the untouchable list would have to go. Probably not Bowman’s first option but these are desperate times.
Unless a trade was manufactured and agreed to by Brian Campbell the most likely to be dealt could be Patrick Sharp. The trade of Sharp would be a last resort for Bowman. Campbell’s departure makes more sense and he wasn’t one of the seven untouchables…. (Bolland, Hossa, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, Sharp and Toews)
The other salary cap saving options would boil down to players who are earning only about $1 dollars. Those cap casualty choices are very difficult to make also.
Troy Brouwer, Tomas Kopecky and Marty Reasoner are veterans which could be replaced by minimum salary players. In some ways those players are the last Bowman would want to trade because their contracts are fairly valued. To save around $1 million in cap space two of the three would have to depart.
It still is uncertain what Wilson gained besides making the Hawks squirm and making a few enemies.
If Wilson’s real mission was to acquire Niemi he could have written an offer sheet on him. The Niemi camp gave everyone all the time they could before signing up for arbitration.
The offer sheet for Hjalmarsson wasn’t a shocker but the timing of Wilson and in some ways Bowman was curious. Maybe the end game for everyone involved will surface soon enough.
It could be the Chicago heat and humidity has blurred my thinking.
But if the Hawks do end up making a significant trade with Tallon’s Panthers, maybe the answers were in Florida all along.
Al’ Shots
The agent speak coming from the Niemi camp reminds a little of the Marty Havlat negotiations….we all remember how that turned out.
There is no way the Hawks will sign Niemi to a long term mega contract…front loading isn’t the issue. Even if they were to agree on a five year $15 million dollar deal the cap hit is going to be $3 million no matter how much Niemi receives early on.
If the Hawks wanted to pay Niemi $3 million they could most likely sign him for two or three years and be done with it….Niemi’s haggling is is about not overpaying and over committing to a player who hasn’t played in 50 NHL games yet.
I think Niemi will continue to improve but the Hawks aren’t going to bend over backwards to keep him.
Reported contract signings not confirmed on the Hawks website….??
Igor Makarov has missed the last few prospects camps and seemed to be off the Blackhawks radar. But surprise, surprise the former 33rd overall pick in the 2006 entry draft supposedly has signed a $552,500 two year contract.
Makarov has signed a reasonable contract which will enable him to play with the big club this season. It will be interesting to watch Makarov in training camp. When I last saw him he looked to have potential. I figured he didn’t want to leave Russia but now he could help the Hawks this season. The young right winger is only 22 years old.
As expected Jack Skille signed a deal for about half of his bonus heavy entry level contract, reports indicate. Skille could finally get a chance to stick in Chicago as he too is reasonably priced.
I am still not sure where Skille will fit in, but if not Tallon was always one of his biggest fans.
The Hawks will have some young hungry players competing for jobs.
It is not a coincidence Skille signed a cap friendly, $600,000 one year contract only one day after Makarov agreed to come back to the States.
blackhawkswin@comacst.net
Filed Under: Al Cimaglia • Chicago Blackhawks • Featured • Featured Rumors
Hey Al – good stuff
Does the arbitrator have to choose between a contract number the Hawks give versus one that Niemi gives (an either/or scenario) or can the arbitrator pick whatever number they deem fair?
An either/or situation would give hope that Niemi could come in closer to 2M per which would be great, especially on a 2 year deal.
Al, thanks for sorting out some very complex issues and questions.
The whole Doug Wilson episode will remain a puzzling one.
As for the prospects of a trade with the Panthers, Brian Campbell would certainly be a strong acquistion for Tallon. He’s a dynamic and marketable player.
With the salaries going haywire again (Gonchar’s $5.5 million deal and Mikko Koivu’s new 6.75 cap hit, not to mention whatever Kovalchuk gets), Campbell’s salary doesn’t seem so far out of line.
In terms of d-men, Chara’s hit is $7.5, Bouwmeester $6.68, Phaneuf $6.5–none of them have much playoff pedigree, and none have won a Stanley Cup.
We all saw how valuable Campbell was to the Hawks when he was injured by Ovechkin. Otherwise, Campbell hardly misses games, and at 31 years of age, Soupy’s easily got seven good years ahead of him, if not more.
Bryan McCabe, an ex-Hawk, in return is credible. McCabe brings a strong presence and lots of experience–and, as you point out, a one year contract.
Could it happen? We’ll see soon enough.
No either or…arbitrator picks…
I think that is exactly what the Hawks are hoping for…a slight bump over Anderson and Quick’s $1.8.
Thinking more about it, it makes even greater sense for the Hawks to try for a 1 year deal with the arbitrator and not have to factor in buying Niemi’s first year as a UFA (11-12). This way they could quite possibly get the 2M or so cap hit they need to keep basically everyone else (except Reasoner or Kopecky – I’d keep the latter and have Dowell as your 4th centre).
Next year they’ll have the 4M in bonuses removed and probably another 2M in an elevated cap limit to sign not only Niemi (providing he has a good year) but also Seabrook and Brouwer.
I think they will try for two years so not to go through this again next summer.
If Niemi plays well for 2 more years he will deserve a big raise..and will get it one way or the other.
But if you go for 2 years the cap hit will be higher than a 1 year you’d think which may mean another trade.
It’ll be interesting – what if Niemi wins big say 3M or over do the Hawks walk away or accept it and trade Niemi (it would be hard to get good value at that point you’d think) or trade someone else?
Also Niemi and Zito have to wonder if the Hawks walk away who will sign Niemi at 3M plus?- he may not have an NHL team next year under that scenario. It may suit all parties to get a deal done before arbitration – I’m hoping Niemi gives a little now to get more down the road. If he stays with the Hawks for 2 – 3 more years his stats will look pretty darn good at the end of that time I would think. Then he could really cash in.
The arbitrator will award his value the cap hit doesn’t change…
$7 mill for two years is a cap hit of $3.5…same as if he was awarded $3.5 for one season.
The problem is who can Niemi be compared to…If the arbitrator looks at Anderson and Quick the Hawks will get lucky.
If he compares him to someone like Halak or Leclaire then the arbitartor is discounting the fact Niemi has a shorter track record.
If I’m Nimei I wouldn’t want to take the chance on arbitration….His agent keeps talking like he is $4 mill player..
At this point that is a bloated number.
$2.5 mill is a huge raise and almost 40% more than Anderson and Quick… both have longer track records than Niemi.
If I’m Bowman….I go to arbitration and shoot for 2 yrs….If it comes in too high then you have to trade Niemi or someone else.
I can’t see giving him a long term deal for over $ 3 mill per yr.
Did Anderson and Quick sign their current deals as RFAs? The only accepted comparables are those that were also signed as RFAs.
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Great blog, Al, and a very interesting scenario you propose with the Panthers. It actually makes some sense. I actually like the deal and what we would lose in puck-mobility we may gain with physicality and a strong PP presence from McCabe. Bryan might also have an NMC in his contract. As I recall the trade from the Leafs was held up for a long time because of one.
I think SB may have to throw in a player besides Campbell and that player could be a newly signed Skille as you allude to.
This all makes a ton of sense.
I think McCabe may have one but I don’t think he would mind coming back here now… for a year.
Not exactly sure who the players in the deal were…
But I would bet the Hawks have talked to the Pantheres about Campbell.
Campbell and Skille for McCabe would be an interesting trade. Hadn’t considered it.
Do you think the Hawks would get anything more out of a deal like that? Also, who would replace Campbell long term – Vishy or Lalonde?
The Hawks would get out from under Campbell’s long term contract primarily….and allow them to sign Niemi without trading a Sharp, Bolland or a reasonably price player.
McCabe would help the offense somewhat….and there are a couple of young defenders which could use more time.
Tallon would get a player or two he could build around…Campbell would help the Panthers score more goals.
I figured as much but with the way Stan robbed the NHL last month, I was wondering what more he could get. I believe the cap relief would be worth it, provided we see progression in the younger players. If not, it’s back to the FA market.
People keep blaming Wilson/Sharks over and over again but the crux of the matter re Hjal remains: the PLAYER has to sign the offer sheet. Wilson might’ve made the offer, but Hjalmarsson had to accept it. So, the Sharks made the bid, but Hjal signing is what forced the Hawks to act.
http://proicehockey.about.com/od/nhlfreeagents/a/nhl_free_agents_2.htm
I am not sure it you are implying I am blaming Wilson…far from true…Not blaming anyone really…Just trying to figure out the real end game…cuz the chances of Wilson snagging Hammer was about 20% or less.
As far as Hammer signing the offer sheet…
He made $666,000 last season…Unless he suffered a serious brain injury over the summer he couldn’t pass up an almost $3 million raise.
No, just saying in general that people keep saying it’s “Wilson’s fault”. Hjal’s agent outright said it was a good offer and how can you resist that?
As an RFA, are players supposed to notify their current team before, or only after, they sign an offer sheet? Based on the reactions we saw, it seemed like the offer sheet took the Hawks completely by surprise – thus forcing the Hawks to match or give him up as a player.
They would notify after it was presented to them. But the only time a player wouldn’t sign an offer sheet…
Is if it was from a team he didn’t want to play for….usually the team making the offer knows ahaed of time if the player doesn’t want to play there.
The other instance would be if the player feels he can do better than the proposed offer sheet.
The Hawks weren’t going to pay Hammer $3.5 mill per year for three years without being forced to…Hammer and his agent were praying for an offer sheet and they couldn’t hesitate to sign such a huge increase.
I can’t recall a case where a player didn’t sign the offer sheet presented to him.
Still going to be a long summer. Having nothing to go on but my intuitive gut, I still think another big salary trade is coming.
I think the free agent market will be pretty slow all summer, even after Kovy signs.
When the Hawks can finally shed Huet’s salary off the books, there might be some decent bargains around (Satan/Guerin type for the third line etc).
Al,
Enjoy your work. Here is what it looks like to me.
Skille = Ladd
Stalberg = Versteeg
Bickell = Byufuglien
Hendry = Sopel
Makarov = Burish
Reasoner = Madden
Dowell = Fraser
Beach = Eager
I am assuming Hendry will be resigned at a number that is cap friendly because I have not heard that he is generating much interest. The lack of interest in him has surprised me. He seems like a solid third pairing d-man or an excellent seventh.
Don’t know much about John Scott. Can he move his feet well he enough to be a net presence guy on the pp?
It looks to me like they are trying to replace Buff by committee with Beach, Scott and Bickell.
Unloading Campbell on the Panthers seems like a pipe dream. Would Tallon make that mistake twice?
What do you think?
Other than Dower = Fraser I would think you meant <
Not sure abourt the Makarov and Beach comparisons….I doubt Beach makes the team out of camp…just a gut feeling.
The guy that really can’t be replaced is Ladd…no one has his all around game.
If Skille could play defense 75% as well as Ladd he would have stayed up in Chicago awhile ago…somehow.
I think Anderson was an RFA but not sure.
Actually the comparables which can be used are from any player except those that signed a contract as a UFA.
So Quick would be a comparable.
Thanks for clarifying Al.
I’m wondering if Anderson signed as a UFA last summer when he went from Fla. to Colorado. I can’t recall – it could have been a trade.
i think Anderson was a UFA…so Quick would be the one the Hawks would look to…
The problem is there aren’t any comparables for a Cup winning RFA with less than 50 NHL games.
So if Quick and Halak are the comparables – here are some pertinent stats
Career NHL games regular season
Quick – 119
Halak – 99
Niemi – 42
09/10 SV PCT and 09/10 playoffs SV PCT
Quick – .907 (in 72 games) and .880 (in 6 games)
Halak – .924 (in 45 games) and .920 (in 18 games)
Niemi – .912 (in 39 games) and .910 (in 22 games)
09/10 GAA and Won/Lost/Tie
Quick – 2.54 and 39-24-7
Halak – 2.40 and 26-13-5
Niemi – 2.25 and 26-7-4
Clearly Niemi has an edge in W/L record and GAA but the argument can be made that those stats as much or more a team stat as individual
SV PCT on the other hand is a better measure of a goalie’s individual performance and there Halak has a significant edge over the other two including last year’s playoffs.
Considering that Halak’s first year of his new contract pays him 2.75 and Quick 1.9 (his salary actually goes down in each subsequent contract year) Niemi should fall in the middle, arguably closer to Quick based on SV PCT.
However let’s give Niemi his due for winning the Cup and just split the difference between 1.9 and 2.75 and you get 2.325.
My guess is Zito is knows all this and is bluffing hoping the Hawks will blink and give his client 3M or such but Stan will hold the line and on July 28 Zito will relent (knowing the arbitration could easily go against Niemi) and Niemi will sign for 2.35 or 2.4 for 2 years.
What do you think?
I will have a blog up tomorrow with Niemi’s contract value as I see it.
Interesting read Al
Personally, I give Bowman a B+ so far this off season. I think he has done an exceptional job bringing in prospects to develop.
The one issue I have is if Campbell does indeed get traded, I’d bring that grade down just slightly because Buff or Ladd might have been saved.
Maybe that is hindsight though
I was thinking of a trade scenerio for Campbell the other day with Edmonton involving Sheldon Souray. The two obvious issues is that Campbell may be willing to goto Florida over Edmonton lol.. and as you say McCabe’ contract ends after this season where Souray has two more years
I would give Bowman a high grade too but as I wrote it is difficult to connect the dots with the Hammer offer sheet.
They traded the players they knew they must and had an easy time doing so it appears…After the Niemi saga comes to a close the next move could be one they didn’t want to make or would have a difficult time putting together.
If Campbell goes anywhere from here it probably would be east not west.
Al, all excellent comments on this thread…Bowman has actually done rather well considering how “everybody knew” that Chicago would need to make severe budget cuts.
Bowman is also anticipating a hard-fought battle between the NHLPA led by Fehr, and the owners…
By reducing the Hawks salary mass now, and loading up on first and second rounders he may be positioning the Hawks to be competitive even if the salary cap gets lowered.
The Avs’ Greg Sherman is setting the new trend. As Colorado has shown–and will show–young guns can get it done.
Bowman is in that mould of New Wave GMs who are cost-conscious and value-conscious.
And winning a Cup in his rookie year isn’t too bad.
To date, my feelings on Bowman are a little mixed.
From the standpoint of player personnel/cap management, I don’t really see how Bowman could do much better. The Byfugien trade was a real masterpiece. The Versteeg trade, not so much. However, Burke is under much more scrutiny than Dudley. In other words, Burke didn’t have the luxury of overpaying for Versteeg in terms of talent or trading away picks, given some of his previous trades. Furthermore, the Leafs weren’t exactly stocked with players that the Hawks would even want.
Matching the Sharks’ offer to Hjalmarsson may prove to be a mistake, but Wilson appears to have set the price right at the “magic” number. That is, Wilson’s offer was low enough to force Bowman to match, but high enough to compund the team’s cap problems. The real consequence of the Hjalmarsson signing will likely be felt in the contract that Seabrook will demand (and deserve) in twelve months.
From a public relations standpoint, Bowman bugs me a little. Bluntly, Bowman lies. They may be lies that he thinks have some strategic value in negotiations, but only a fool would believe some of them. For example, Bowman stated after the Byfuglien trade that he had straightened out the cap issues. Anyone who knew the first thing about the team and its payroll could see right through that one. Perhaps Bowman was only concerned with addressing the ire of the hockey illiterates (i.e. the entire Chicago sports media), but it still rankles.
@General Sosabowski…of course you must know by now that being an NHL GM is a game of “liars’ poker”.
Would you rather have Dale “heart on my sleeve, and I’ll spend whatever it takes” Tallon?
A lie that no one believes serves no purpose, and it only undermines the liar’s credibility in the future. As Al pointed out, there were better ways to handle that situation.
I’m all for “managing” negotiations, but not when it falls in the category of peeing in my ear and telling me it’s raining. For an analagous situation, please consult Al “I invented the internet” Gore.
General> I appreciate your desire for transparency, but NHL GMs–at least the ones who are winners–rarely show their cards.
That said, Fred Shero probably does the best job of masking his intentions while managing expectations.
At the other end of the spectrum, one has Brian Burke.
Stan may have stumbled (in your eyes) with the way he expressed himself, but he’s getting the job done so far…and he has, after all, helped bring the Cup to Chicago…so IMO he earns a pass.
Well General I hope you aren’t throwing me in the mix of Chicago hockey illiterates…
Bowman is a good speaker but in the case you brought up he should have dodged the question a bit more…he usually doesn’t get caught saying too much.
I think the Hawks got a lot for Versteeg…considering Stalberg will make the team out of camp. Despite what Burke or the Toronto media says that was 3 for 1 trade.
Sweatt wasn’t anyone the Hawks wanted to keep…he could have been signed to a post collogiate contract for small money and not ever been a cap consequuence next year.
The next trade…if there has to be one, will be much more difficult.
I didn’t realize you were based in Chicago. For some reason, I thought you were an “International Man of Mystery” like Dave Morris…
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Toronto had anything better to offer than Stalberg when we’re talking in terms of “value for money.” Toronto has a few “bad” contracts on the book as well. I am not privy to Burke’s status with ownership, but the Leafs’ fans have virtually no patience left for the man. Considering all of these relevant factors, it wasn’t a bad trade, but it wasn’t in the same league as the Byfuglien deal.
As far as Hammer goes they had to match…no question.
Seabrook won’t expect to make more than Keith..they will work things out as he is already earning $3.5…Seabrook will get about $1.5 million raise.
If you lose too much on defense, then Niemi has less value in goal. I would have to agree, if that is your line of thinking.
Since I live outside the WGN Chicago broadcast area, I am somewhat limited by the number of games I watched this season. However, it seemed to me that whenever the defense had a bad night, Niemi got shelled. He can win the occasional game on his own, but like virtually all NHL goalies in the current scoring environment, he can’t do it consistently. With all of the rule changes and the current cap ceiling, I’m not sure if any goalie in the league right now is worth much more than $3 million.
Bowman IMO has done a brilliant job this off-season with the possible exception of not seeing the Hammer offer sheet coming but who is to say that would have made a difference anyway if he had. A lot of people think well he should have signed Hammer sooner, well it takes two to tango. Hammer and his agent played it smart and were rewarded – just like in hockey you have to give credit to a good goal. Bowman did the right thing and matched. I agree that Wilson probably assumed the Hawks would match, again credit where credit is due. Bowman has stickhandled through this mess so far getting much more in return than most of us expected. Again credit where it’s due.
I give him a solid A to this point.