The Buyout and Beyond

When Darcy Tucker hung 'em up last week after a good NHL career - between 2002 and 2006, he was pound-for-pound the toughest character in the game, and a scorer - it naturally brought focus upon the fact the Leafs are still paying for his 2008 buyout.

Yep. Four more years, with a $1 million cap hit. It doesn't exactly strangle the club, but it doesn't help, either, and at some point might block the club from acquiring a player at the trade deadline it might otherwise want to acquire.

But this much is also true. The Leafs thought Tucker was finished as a viable NHLer when they bought him out, and they were right. Incoming head coach Ron Wilson suggested Tucker had been worn down by all those years of banging and crashing, and wasn't effective anymore. Two non-descript years in Colorado proved that to be correct.

Indeed, while the usefulness of the buyout provision in the CBA can be debated, the Leafs have yet to mis-fire on a player when they figured that player was no longer able to play at a level commensurate with their contract. Not exactly an achievement to brag about, but there it is.

When Tie Domi was bought out in '06, he realized his career was over and he retired the following September. The Leafs also bought out the final year of Ed Belfour's contract that spring, and after one forgettable year in Florida - Belfour's numbers actually weren't bad - the former all-star headed off to Europe and hasn't played in the NHL since.

In 2008, along with Tucker, the Leafs bought out another goalie, Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft is now on his third team in three years and nobody has seen fit to use him as a starter.

The negative side of these stories, of course, is that the Leafs initially gave each of the players a lucrative new contract before realizing - too late - they couldn't play at that level.

But when buyout time came, the right decision was made, although these ongoing cap charges are tough to swallow. That is, unless you're the New York Islanders, who are still using Alexei Yashin's buyout as a cap charge that allows them to raise their payroll past the minimum $43.4 million "floor." Now that's a different approach.

The last bad contract the Leafs signed was in the summer of '08 - right after buying out Tucker and Raycroft - when journeyman defenceman Jeff Finger was inexplicably awarded a four-year deal for $3.5 million per season that still has two years to run.

Otherwise, the next most contentious would be Dion Phaneuf ($6.5 million per, four more years), Mike Komisarek ($4.5 million per, four more years) and winger Colby Armstrong ($3 million per, three more years.)

Phaneuf's deal was signed in Calgary, while GM Brian Burke gave Komisarek and Armstrong their contracts. We'll see how they play out.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[mark]

This blog should really be titles "The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same". None of the 3 players mentioned should be locked in at those kinds of dollars. I really like Burke being aggressive (and to be honest, he has tried every possible route to rebuild..so credit should be given for creativity), but cleaning house only to bring in other teams bad deals will likely turn out to be short sighted. As always with the Leafs..only time will tell.

[Dan Thorek]

re: Mark - Burke "has tried every possible route to rebuild"?? Seriously, there is a single way to rebuild: Pittsburgh, Washington, Kings etc... Through the draft. Period. Burke was put into a seriously difficult position with a team-management corporation unwilling to do it the right way. Therefore, he has settled for a maintenance approach: sign and trade for a consistent level of mediocrity.

[Moe Green]

The worse your team, the worse the management, the worse the city - the more you have to pay. Leafs are in a rebuilding phase. Guys like Komisarek or Armstrong aren't going there to win the cup - so it's gonna cost to attract them. Combine that with the city itself - Toronto is a nice city but it's no Los Angeles, Miami, Tampa Bay, New York - and it's a tough sell. Look at the trouble Edmonton and Calgary are having attracting big names to the team. Unless you are from one of the big market, great weather teams in the USA, you are always going to overpay for your multi-million dollar talent. Even worse if you have a coach like Ron Wilson who doesn't exactly respect his players. Yeah, and Wilson would rather be in Carolina or some other year round golfing state, and Burke wants to be in Boston. He took the job in Toronto not because he respects the franchise, or the city; he just wants to be closer to his family. How moving. It's tough being a Canadian team. I am surprised no one has written a serious "elephant in the room"- sized story about this ugly fact yet.

[Moe Green]

Part two of my previous post. I love Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. I am a Canadian living in the USA. I love Montreal and its food, it's frenchness it's city Markets. I love Toronto for it's walkability, St Lawrence Market and Kensington. I love Vancouver for everything BUT the weather. That goes for Toronto and Montreal too. But if I was rich, I mean hockey-player rich, I would far prefer living by the beach in: San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami or Tampa Bay. Year round great weather, golf. Great schools, hospitals, day care - if you re rich. That's the problem. If you are getting a $5 million dollar contract, and you have a $5 million dollar wife and family you want a $5 million dollar lifestyle. Why do you think Gretzky lives in Phoenix - HE's a proud Canadian. Or Cliff Fletcher - he's Canadian too. It cuz Pheonix is a better place to live if you are rich. You can ski whenever you want in Aspen or Whister, but you'll usually choose to live in San Diego if you can.

[Matt B]

Moe: Toronto is a much better city than LA, Miami, Tampa. Attracting players here has nothing to do with the city itself. It offers much more than the above cities in terms of culture and the livability. Yes, it's sunny in those places but there is NOTHING to do in Miami or TB besides go to the beach. LA has glitz, but that is mostly for tourists.

[Darryl]

I lived in L.A. for a year and you can have it. There is no more overated place in the world then Hollywood. Toronto has never had problems attracting good talent but the dipsticks who run MLSE have transformed this francise into a laughing stock and why would anyone want to play for that? Change the organization culture and you make this a very desireable place to play and live again.

[Tomas C]

Hey Moe, you dummy, Toronto is the 4th or 5th largest market in North America!!! Plus for hockey players Toronto and Montral are the premier places to play. Most pro athlete's want to play where their sport matters. IE AJ Burnett wanting to play in New York Jonas Gustavnsen wanting to play in Toronto rather than Dallas, California etc

[RA]

Agree with Matt B. Its not the city itself, its the playing atmosphere. Some players like to play in LA, Miami, or San fran because they can live a normal life and go through a 10 game slump without the media recommending they hang up their skates. Leaf fans and leaf media need to chill out. The same can be said for Montreal.

[Cranky]

Moe Schmoe...Most of these professional athletes pack up and head where ever home is for the off season anyways. During the season I serioulsy doubt you would spot Joe Thornton and Dany Heatly hanging out on the beach in Cali enjoying the weather. Sure its warmer and more comfortable, but Steven Stamkos goes home to train near for the summer. A guy like Gretzky lives in the USA becuase his wife is from there, and his children are too..I would say more a family man then anything else. Fletcher is an old snowbird which explains his residence. From what I see, most NHLers play where the money is...Kovy to Jersey is a prime example...great team, great management...not a great city, great paycheque and could've gone to LA. Dont suggest that if the weather is good players will take a pay cut...Lecalvalier didnt!

[mark]

Debating the relative merits of a city of destination for an NHL player is somewhat ludicrous. If Toronto overpays (and I'm not ready to concede they do) it's because of two things: our crappy tax situation compared to the US and the history of mismangement that is MLSE. It has zero to do with Toronto as a city. Also, Dan Thorek... you can't deny Burke's creativity in trying to stock the shelves. Trades, Restricted and Unrestricted Free Agents, US College prospects and (despite the ongoing griping about the Kessel trade) draft picks. Personally, I believe the success of this franchise this year should be measured almost as much by the success of the Marlies as by the Leafs.

[Conn Smythe]

'Seriously, there is a single way to rebuild: Pittsburgh, Washington, Kings etc... Through the draft.' Well Dan, only one of those teams that you have mentioned has won a Stanley Cup, and you could argue that the Pens only won the Stanley Cup because they finished in the lower part of the league for a good 5 years.

[johnnyk]

I don't think 26 year-old studs earning $5 mil a year care too much about culture.
My guess is they are more into babes (Florida, SoCal), hot cars, nightlife, having a shot at the cup and nice weather. Toronto is a lot of things but sexy it ain't.

[Moe Green]

See, here's the thing. I love Canada, I love Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver. Great cities. Not so much Edmonton and Calgary. I'm a normal guy. But even I appreciate the beaches and ocean, the warm weather and model/actresses at the beach. Can you imagine a 25 year old multimillionaire-moron. Yes Kovy chose NJ over LA. It happens. He's a Russian. Who knows. But if Crosby or OV or Stamkos are so in love with Toronto, Montreal then why aren't they playing here? I'm sure Burke would make room for them when their contracts expired. You think Crosby or Stamkos are gonna be Leafs? My guess is that they like it where they are. If they didn't they'd sign here. They are rich and America is a great place if you're rich. Better than Canada. And let's not downplay the impact of wives and kids. What wife wants to live in Edmonton when she can shop at the West Edmonton Mall when she could be shopping on Rodeo Drive and have her kids attend the finest private schools money can buy? Oh yeah, Canada and even Sweden are fantastic places in summer. But the winter... that's a different story. Canada needs it's own Hawaii!

[Steve C]

Moe, you must be a baseball fan or something. It does not work the same way with hockey. Toronto, Montreal, and MSG are the places where every hockey player would like (if they have the guts) to play at some point in their career. When you've reached the highest level (NHL) it's only natural you'd want to challenge yourself one step further: to play for the biggest markets in the game. Miami (!?) as a preferred hockey destination? Wow.