Rusty Gull
Jun 26, 2009, 5:04 PM
Unbelievable. :koko: The Canucks are within days of getting rid of the Sedin twins in favour of some fly-by-night free agent. :hell:
It's time for Vancouver residents to rise up against this potential development. We don't want another Sundin... we want... the SEDINS. They are class acts who work hard every night, put points on the board, and best of all, NEVER COMPLAIN OR WHINE. What the hell is Gilles thinking???:shrug:
Here's what Ed Willes of the Province had to say recently...
Willes: Free agents not the way to success
Let's get one thing out of the way before we dig into this subject.
The Sedins are replaceable. We know this because virtually every player in every sport is replaceable. The Edmonton Oilers shook the hockey world to its very foundation 21 years ago when they traded Wayne Gretzky. Two years after trading the most prolific player in the game's history, they won the Stanley Cup.
If the Oilers could afford to lose Gretzky, it stands to reason the Canucks can afford to lose the twins.
But the issue isn't whether the Canucks will collapse if they fail to sign the Sedins. The issue is whether they will be better positioned to win the Stanley Cup if they don't sign the twins. That, after all, is supposed to be the goal here and, to that end, things become pretty clear.
If the recent history of the NHL has taught us anything, it's that any attempt to assemble core players through free agency is a loser's game. This was true in the pre-cap world when the Detroits, New Jerseys and Colorados were largely home-grown enterprises. It's certainly true in the salary-cap world, where it's a given that free agency represents the most inefficient, and dangerous, method of team-building.
Teams might be able to fill one or two holes in their lineups by dipping into the free-agent pool.
But no one in their right mind would try to sign their best players that way.
I mean, there might be cheaper options than the twins on July 1. There might even be flashier ones. But if Mike Gillis is serious about building an organization around the core values of character and integrity, as he's said repeatedly he is, he will make this deal.
This point is so obvious, it hardly needs making.
The twins offer consistency, durability and reliability and they offer it at a very high level. They also work harder than farmers, they're career Canucks and, last season, Daniel was 14th in the NHL in scoring and Henrik was 15th.
In short, they represent those very values Gillis has espoused since he took over. The problem is the players who represent those values don't come cheaply and Gillis is clearly reluctant to meet the twins' asking price.
But, again, what are his options?
He can throw money at Marian Gaborik or Marian Hossa -- this summer's two biggest names -- and that might work. It could also blow up in his face. Since the lockout, Gaborik has played 65, 48, 77 and 17 games in the regular season. Hossa, for his part, was last seen disappearing in the Stanley Cup final and you might give him a pass if that was the only time he's failed to rise to the occasion.
But it isn't. Not by a long shot.
Would you want to risk the future of your franchise on such players?
Furthermore, it's not like the Sedins are being unreasonable. The 13 players who finished ahead of them in the scoring race averaged about six million a season in salary. Eric Staal, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Henrik Zetterberg, Dany Heatley, Hossa and Patrick Marleau all finished well below them and all made more than six million.
The fact is the Sedins have earned a place among the game's very best players and should be compensated as such. It means Gillis will have to move out of his comfort zone. It means he'll have to come up with a creative solution to this negotiation. But there are solutions.
Detroit, for example, signed Zetterberg and Johan Franzen to long-term, front-end-loaded extensions this season. Zetterberg's contract is of particular interest here because the Wings centre signed a 12-year extension for $73 million, which results in a $6.083 million cap hit for the Wings.
The Wings, in turn, have maintained the flexibility to keep their marvelous team together.
The twins have presented a similar deal to the Canucks, in which they would be paid $63 million apiece over 12 years. The Sedins would get the bulk of their money upfront. The potential $5-million-plus cap hit would give Gillis a great deal of flexibility moving forward.
It would seem to be a workable compromise for both sides.
And if Gillis doesn't see it that way, he has a problem on his hands. He'll never be able to replace the qualities the Sedins offer on the open market.
E-mail: ewilles@theprovince.com
It's time for Vancouver residents to rise up against this potential development. We don't want another Sundin... we want... the SEDINS. They are class acts who work hard every night, put points on the board, and best of all, NEVER COMPLAIN OR WHINE. What the hell is Gilles thinking???:shrug:
Here's what Ed Willes of the Province had to say recently...
Willes: Free agents not the way to success
Let's get one thing out of the way before we dig into this subject.
The Sedins are replaceable. We know this because virtually every player in every sport is replaceable. The Edmonton Oilers shook the hockey world to its very foundation 21 years ago when they traded Wayne Gretzky. Two years after trading the most prolific player in the game's history, they won the Stanley Cup.
If the Oilers could afford to lose Gretzky, it stands to reason the Canucks can afford to lose the twins.
But the issue isn't whether the Canucks will collapse if they fail to sign the Sedins. The issue is whether they will be better positioned to win the Stanley Cup if they don't sign the twins. That, after all, is supposed to be the goal here and, to that end, things become pretty clear.
If the recent history of the NHL has taught us anything, it's that any attempt to assemble core players through free agency is a loser's game. This was true in the pre-cap world when the Detroits, New Jerseys and Colorados were largely home-grown enterprises. It's certainly true in the salary-cap world, where it's a given that free agency represents the most inefficient, and dangerous, method of team-building.
Teams might be able to fill one or two holes in their lineups by dipping into the free-agent pool.
But no one in their right mind would try to sign their best players that way.
I mean, there might be cheaper options than the twins on July 1. There might even be flashier ones. But if Mike Gillis is serious about building an organization around the core values of character and integrity, as he's said repeatedly he is, he will make this deal.
This point is so obvious, it hardly needs making.
The twins offer consistency, durability and reliability and they offer it at a very high level. They also work harder than farmers, they're career Canucks and, last season, Daniel was 14th in the NHL in scoring and Henrik was 15th.
In short, they represent those very values Gillis has espoused since he took over. The problem is the players who represent those values don't come cheaply and Gillis is clearly reluctant to meet the twins' asking price.
But, again, what are his options?
He can throw money at Marian Gaborik or Marian Hossa -- this summer's two biggest names -- and that might work. It could also blow up in his face. Since the lockout, Gaborik has played 65, 48, 77 and 17 games in the regular season. Hossa, for his part, was last seen disappearing in the Stanley Cup final and you might give him a pass if that was the only time he's failed to rise to the occasion.
But it isn't. Not by a long shot.
Would you want to risk the future of your franchise on such players?
Furthermore, it's not like the Sedins are being unreasonable. The 13 players who finished ahead of them in the scoring race averaged about six million a season in salary. Eric Staal, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Henrik Zetterberg, Dany Heatley, Hossa and Patrick Marleau all finished well below them and all made more than six million.
The fact is the Sedins have earned a place among the game's very best players and should be compensated as such. It means Gillis will have to move out of his comfort zone. It means he'll have to come up with a creative solution to this negotiation. But there are solutions.
Detroit, for example, signed Zetterberg and Johan Franzen to long-term, front-end-loaded extensions this season. Zetterberg's contract is of particular interest here because the Wings centre signed a 12-year extension for $73 million, which results in a $6.083 million cap hit for the Wings.
The Wings, in turn, have maintained the flexibility to keep their marvelous team together.
The twins have presented a similar deal to the Canucks, in which they would be paid $63 million apiece over 12 years. The Sedins would get the bulk of their money upfront. The potential $5-million-plus cap hit would give Gillis a great deal of flexibility moving forward.
It would seem to be a workable compromise for both sides.
And if Gillis doesn't see it that way, he has a problem on his hands. He'll never be able to replace the qualities the Sedins offer on the open market.
E-mail: ewilles@theprovince.com