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MurderOnIce wrote:Groins are always a problem this time of year. I will tell you though Fisher's health scares me as does Alfie's. I am thinking that I might gamble on the contract thing and see if he plays 70. Ouch I feel the eggs hitting my virtual house and the toilet paper wrapping my virtual car... I am just saying if he doesn't play 70 games we get a top 5 player for $3.8M for two more years!!!
I love Alfie more than most, if you divorce yourself from the emotional side of it, the cap hit of another $7M contract would kill us next year (if that is what his agent is looking for) and we could avoid all that. If he plays 70 games this year have the contract waiting but if not don't spend the money. Give him his money eventually with a cushy front office job for big $$$ but this cap hit would keep us from getting a better #1 goalie next year.
Ideally, I'd have the contract rewritten with new options, to run through for four or five more years, but I don't think options are allowed any more. Maybe the answer is something like Ovechkin's - a series of one or two year contracts, which are predicated on him passing a physical (or some other easily attainable marker). If he retires, he simply doesn't show, thus the contract is voided. The way I see it, it's like a player option, without writing it that way. The only thing is that he'd have to agree that he'd voluntarily step down if he wasn't helping the team (as if...), thus protecting the team. A verbal contract, or even a written one, could allow him to step right into management on retirement, with a bonus based on age. He could then take a hometown discount on the players contract, knowing he'll make it up on the management signing bonus.
