One By One

That's one thing about the New York Rangers - they're never, ever afraid to overpay.

They overpaid for Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, and wildly overpaid for Wade Redden to the tune of $6.5 million per season. The Rangers paid Michal Rozsival $6 million and $7 million the last two years, although, to be fair, his cap hit is somewhat less at $5 million per campaign because he gets $7 million in total the next two seasons. Still, fabulous numbers for a stay-at-home blueliner who has never topped 40 points in an NHL season and had three goals and 20 assists a year ago.

Now comes the news that restricted free agent Marc Staal has agreed to terms on a five-year, $19.875 million deal, one that will take him one year into unrestricted free agency before he can negotiate again.

Too much for your basic stay-at-home defenceman? A smart deal to lock up a 23-year-old core asset? A deal that should scare the heck out of the Maple Leafs, with Luke Schenn likely to be comparing himself to Staal when his contract expires in July?

With the NHL, it's always difficult trying to compare apples and apples, let alone apples and oranges. Anaheim signs Bobby Ryan to a deal that's roughly 25 per cent more than Staal's, but Ryan is a 30-goal scorer with potential to score 50. There are so few of those kinds of scorers that its hard not to imagine that the price differential between the players should be greater.

Moreover, Staal had no real leverage with the Rangers. No offer sheet or a realistic expectation of one. No rival league. No arbitration rights.

But they paid up anyway, ostensibly to lock Staal up and obviously believing there's greater upside to his game, particularly his offensive game, than has been demonstrated so far.

Hey, he may have Rozsival-like potential.

Out of all the restricted types that were still unsigned into late August, you could argue that Staal made out the best based on his numbers and game. One by one, almost all have trickled in. Sam Gagner. Andrew Cogliano, Peter Mueller. Chris Stewart. Carey Price. Niclas Bergfors.

Only James Neal and Matt Niskanen of the Dallas Stars are left, and while GM Joe Nieuwendyk says deals are "close" with both players, its possible neither will be on the ice when the Stars open camp in Prince Edward Island on Saturday. Both made less than $900,000 last season, and if the Stars were inclined, they could play hardball with the twosome just as Edmonton did with Cogliano in giving him only a $1 million deal.and Atlanta did with Bergfors, who will make $900,000 on a one-year deal.

Or the Stars could go the other way and demonstrate the largesse (optimism?) of the Rangers.  (Ed. Note: Thursday evening the Stars signed both Neal and Niskanen to two-year-deals.)

Comments

[Geoff Read]

I hate to say this as a hockey fan who came of age in the 1980s, but Glen Sather should've retired years ago. Sadly, he's drifting into Mike Milbury territory, vying for the title of worst GM in NHL history.

[John]

Your attempt to compare RFA contracts based on point totals is not sensible. Staal is a rock solid stay at home defenseman who, at 23, has a great opportunity to grow into a top defenseman in the league. True, he'll probably never put up great offensive numbers, but as long as he is a shut-down defenseman, he is well worth the money. Brooks Orpik makes a few hundrew thousand dollars less that Staal and scored twice least season, does that make him overpaid also?

If you watched the Rangers, specifically in their Atlantic division games when they play guys like Crosby, Richards, Parise, you would perhaps have a better idea of why Staal is well worth this contract.

[Matt]

You obviously don't watch ANY Ranger games if you think Staal is overpaid. Luke Schenn is no where near what Staal is now. Maybe in a few years but I doubt it as he won't get the opportunity with all of the other defensemen already there taking big minutes.

Staal had the most points at even strength of ANY defenseman in the NHL. When he starts to get PP time(which may be coming soon) he will put up even more points and even still, 27 points is nothing to scoff at when he has to play against the other teams best players every night.

Staal is the Rangers #1 defenseman, the type of player any team would LOVE to have. Do some research into the type of player next time instead of blindly throwing shit onto the wall and hoping it sticks.

[Nick Castelluccio]

Mr. Cox needs to focus his attention to his leafs gross overpayment for mediocre and faltering talent

Komisarek @ $4.5m
Phaneuf @ $6.5m (last 2 seasons 32p)
Beachemin @ $3.8m
Bozak @ $3.8m for 8g?
How can we ever forget Jeff Finger for $3.5m?

Looks like you have your hands full here.

[RS]

Staal had 8 goals, 19 assists last year That's just the start of where you failed.

Luke Schenn is not a comparable. He's played the weakest comp among the Leafs Dmen, and only had 17 points. So less offense, less defense. For that, the Leafs are already paying $2.975m.

Sather's done alot of dumb stuff. This contract cannot be seen as one of them.

[Jeremy Agran]

This article just really makes no sense. It completely ignores Staal's value to the club and his likely to get even better skill. There's not a Ranger fan you'll find (though we're critical of all contracts) that would consider this an overpayment as opposed to an obvious deal.

So that makes me curious as to whether you actually believe your own words or if you merely type them for sake of reaction. Do you actually believe what you wrote and stand behind it? The conclusions seem so opposite to what the obvious reaction to the contract is that it's hard to believe that you even believe what you wrote. It makes me want to test it out actually.

So having that said, are you up for a public bet? I will publicly here and now firmly stand behind my beliefs and declare with binding force that by the end of the third year of his contract, it will be undeniable that the contract was a great deal for us and that calling it an overpayment would be considered ludicrous. I will put up one thousand dollars cash, $1000 binding to that statement, that I shall lose to YOU if that statement is shown to be wrong. Will you put up the same for your position? Will you do so publicly?

I stand before you to challenge you to a $1000 bet on your premise. Do you believe your words? Do you believe them enough to stand behind them with cash? To put your money where your mouth is? $1000. If by the end of the 3rd year of the contract it is shown to be an overpayment, the money is yours. If instead it is obvious to even you that it was a great deal for us, then the money is mine.

Do you believe what you write or is it just nonsensical drivel that you write intentionally knowing it's wrong but for sake of reaction? I'd like to know. And I'd like to know if you stand behind it with the confidence that I stand behind my position. With enough confidence to throw a grand cash on the table. So will you, good sir, oblige me?

[Brett]

I think you are off your rocker with this one, Damien. You are the only hockey guy living on this planet that thinks that Staal was overpaid. He is a stutdown D that the Rangers just got at a major discount.

[pld459666]

Out of all the restricted types that were still unsigned into late August, you could argue that Staal made out the best based on his numbers and game. One by one, almost all have trickled in. Sam Gagner. Andrew Cogliano, Peter Mueller. Chris Stewart. Carey Price. Niclas Bergfors.

None of them are nearly as vaulable as Marc Staal...Not a one and for the most part, I wouldn't trade Staal for any combination of any two of those guys mentioned.

[ostrich_lover]

I dont think 4 million is a lot to pay for a defenseman of Staals ilk. A lot of people seem to underestimate the kind of impact a 30 minute defenseman who can control a game can have. If Schen can be as good as Marc Staal - he might even be better - he would be worth 4 million no problem.

[holden_cox]

you're crazy Damien! you're comparing apples and a fruit that doesn't taste good but people keep saying is fantastic! Marc Staal logs 25+ minutes a game and plays on NYR's top defensive pair. Schenn slumped big time last season and resides in the 5th or 6th spot on the current Leafs depth chart after Phaneuf, Beaumechin, Kaberle, and Komisarek. heck maybe even Gunnarsson this season.
Schenn will be lucky to get a deal worth 2.5M a season.

[Big B]

Overpay, for real? Basic stay-at-home defenseman? I don't care if he ever scores 40 points, he is worth $4m for his shutdown defense. His D and his points are only going to get better, but even right now he woould be a top pair defender on most teams in the league. To prove that point in the most extreme example, there are probably only a handful of defensemen that shut down Alex Ovechkin as well as Staal last year, or even in his sophomore effort the year before. I would bet you that at the end of this 5 year contract, even you with all of your bias, will look back at this as a great deal.

[Anthony Mastantuoni]

Wow, I don't where to start. I guess i could start by pointing out how Steve Zipay of Newsady (and The Hockey news) wrote that about 30 defenseman in the NHL make more than Staal's average cap hit of $3.975 million per year.

I could also point out that while Staal did not have the leverage of an offer sheet, the Rangers did have to pay to "buy out" some of Staal's UFA time and his salary arbitration time - which anyone connected with baseball will tell you is what really drives up salaries.

Damien, you fail to realize that contacts like Staal's is that they do not occur in a vacuum. Staal's contract is built on the outcomes of previous negotiations and deals. You know like the four year/$14 million the Toronto Maple Leafs gave to Jeff Finger.

[Kyle Durham]

I agree that Schenn may look at Staal and compare himself to that amount, but Brian Burke is a fierce negotiater and will try to get schenn signed for Kulemin or Gustavsson money. Schenn still needs his breakout impact year to be worth more.

[Arhtur Bailey]

Regarding Marc Staal and the Rangers... it would be interesting to see when the contracts of brothers Jordan and Eric Staal are up, and if their free agency might be playing a role in New York's gamble. It would be great to get all 3 of them on one team (I am sure their familiarity and competitive spirit would shine). I wonder if Carolina might have the upper hand, already having Eric (who won a cup with them) and the 4th Staal brother, Jared signed to an entry level contract. Even if Jared is not in the same skill bracket as the other 3, already having two Staals should make Carolina an interesting destination for Jordan and Marc.

[Phil]

You're nuts dude. The Rangers paid Staal EXACTLY what he's worth.

[Andy Petrovitch]

Overpriced? Ryan Suter ($3.5 mil) makes similar money for his defensive play, and has neither the projected potential or pedigree of Staal. Interestingly, no one in the Canadian media seems to point fingers at those "free spending" Predators. As a relevant aside, Robin Regehr is older, makes $4 million, and has lesser stats (2-15-17, +2) than Staal (8-19-27, +11). Matt Carle makes similar money for similar stats, as well.

Even as a Ranger fan myself, I won't even begin to justify Redden (blech!) or Roszival, but Staal's deal is NOT one of those situations. He's now signed right through his prime years for a cap-friendly deal, making this one of the few moments where Slats did something right, contract wise.

[Eric Z]

You really did mix apples and oranges. Price is a forward who are judged by scoring and Staal who is on defense and is judged not by his Norris Trophy candidacy (which is solely judged by offensive numbers(see Green)) but his plus/ minus, stopping power, blocked shots, etc. Stall is a shutdown defensemen, which is rarely celebrated in today's NHL of flash over substance. He is pitted against the top line of the NHL. Watch highlights of Ovie, Crosby and the rest of the "elite" forwards stopped at the blue line or on their tookkas after meeting Staal. This is what he is getting paid for. Do you watch hockey or just report based on the AP reports?

[Jeff]

Now a days you get paid on potential, not what you have done. Its the system and it is sad.

[Darryl]

Whether or not he's worth it, I'm tired of hearing how it's going to affect everyone else. Teams have the right not to overpay and just because there are a few Mike Milbury's in the league doesn't meant the rest of the lemmings need to follow suit. There's too much comparison of what everyone else gets instead of being paid for performance.

[ducks]

Most of the players in the league have no desire to come down the wall against Staal. Ovi doesn't mind, but Staal doesn't back up from him either. He will get a little bigger, a little stronger, and hopefully a tad meaner. I think he is captain's material. He just needs to speak up more. He's a little shy when it comes from that. Then again, many guys lead by example.

[Rob]

Doug McLean yesterday on the FAN590 suggested this was a relative "bargain" for the Rangers. As for Schenn, he is not comparable to Stall. Period.

[earthworm77]

The Rangers got off easy on Staals deal. 5 yrs, he will be in his prime in two. One of the better stay at home rock solid guys, and someday might be the best,

[paulo]

everybody seems to miss the point teams have very little leverage anymore why pay out more than you have to. should the Leafs pay Shenn more cause that dumb ass in NY did I think not but most Gms will

[Matt B]

I'm with Damien. Staal is now overpaid. Maybe not by much but he's certainly not worth that as an RFA. This column was more of an indictment of Sather who doesn't seem to have a backbone when it comes to handing out contracts. And I think that's the crux of Damien's argument: the Rangers didn't need to pay him this much, at least not yet. And no stay-at-home defenseman is worth that much ( I would include Komisarek in that category as well).

More entertaining is those dumping on Cox as if he said Schenn was worth the same money as Staal. No, just that Luke's agent will try to use Staal's salary as a reference point for negotiation. I doubt that'll get too far with Burke, thankfully. Pay Schenn $2-million for 2 years and cut him loose if he doesn't perform up t expectation.

And if Doug McLean is saying this is a steal, then I'm definitely siding with Damien.

[bill d]

Staal to Schenn are not equals, not even close. Staal did not have a miserable first two years with the Rangers as Schenn has with the Leafs. Burke did Schenn a disservice by not allowing him time to mature and get comfortable with the higher level of hockey played in the pros. If Schenn can command the same money as Staal because the Leafs think he is Staal's equal, then Burke is nuttier than a fruitcake.