Hemsky's Deal Isn't As bad as you think
Posted 1:54 AM ET | Comments 5
I understand why people don’t like the Hemsky contract; it’s a lot of money for an oft injured underperforming player. The thing that you have to remember is it's a short term deal for less than open market value. Additionally it puts the Oilers in a good cap situation going forward. Eberle, Hall and Paajarvi come out of ELC next summer where the Oil already have cap space plus Nick Khabibulins 3.75 coming off the books. It is expected that Hall and Eberle should come in between 5-7 million per. Where Paajarvi is depends on the next 14 months but I expect that it should be between 1 and 3 million per.
RNH and Hemsky are both off the books the following summer, so Hemsky's expiring contract (or deadline trade) will be put on top of Nuge's ELC to resign him. Expect Nuge's contract to be similar to Hall and Eberle. The following season (2014-15) is the final year of Horcoff's whale of a contract. That cap space they can use to resign their 1-5 overall pick from this year and any other prospects needing renewal, leaving some space for free agency. Although there are some holes in the roster, most notably in goal and on defense, there are a few goaltending and several defensive prospects coming down the pipes. Expect Their Line-up to look something like this:
Hall-RNH-Eberle
Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky
Smyth-Horcoff-Hartikanen/Jones/UFA
Eager-Belanger- Hartikanen/Jones/UFA
Lander
Whitney-Gilbert
Petry-Smid
Potter-Sutton
Insert Name Here
Dubnyk
Khabibulin(if not Dealt)/Danis/UFA(maybe Harding)
Not all that bad of a grouping. There is also the fact that their 1st round pick from this year (likely between 1st and 5th) will be in this group as well. Solidifying the Oilers Top 6 Forwards without giving up any assets, getting in a bidding war, or mortgaging the future was a wise, though typically conservative move by Tambo. Obviously the deal wasn’t there that the Oilers wanted, and if Hemsky doesn’t pan out there is another opportunity to move him in the next 2 years. So all in all good move Tambo, kudos
RNH and Hemsky are both off the books the following summer, so Hemsky's expiring contract (or deadline trade) will be put on top of Nuge's ELC to resign him. Expect Nuge's contract to be similar to Hall and Eberle. The following season (2014-15) is the final year of Horcoff's whale of a contract. That cap space they can use to resign their 1-5 overall pick from this year and any other prospects needing renewal, leaving some space for free agency. Although there are some holes in the roster, most notably in goal and on defense, there are a few goaltending and several defensive prospects coming down the pipes. Expect Their Line-up to look something like this:
Hall-RNH-Eberle
Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky
Smyth-Horcoff-Hartikanen/Jones/UFA
Eager-Belanger- Hartikanen/Jones/UFA
Lander
Whitney-Gilbert
Petry-Smid
Potter-Sutton
Insert Name Here
Dubnyk
Khabibulin(if not Dealt)/Danis/UFA(maybe Harding)
Not all that bad of a grouping. There is also the fact that their 1st round pick from this year (likely between 1st and 5th) will be in this group as well. Solidifying the Oilers Top 6 Forwards without giving up any assets, getting in a bidding war, or mortgaging the future was a wise, though typically conservative move by Tambo. Obviously the deal wasn’t there that the Oilers wanted, and if Hemsky doesn’t pan out there is another opportunity to move him in the next 2 years. So all in all good move Tambo, kudos
The bottom line is that a 2 year deal is pretty low risk who cares if katz overpaid a bit.
Exactly, if he doesn't work out they don't really lose anything but cash. If he does play like he has until this year he will be a bargain or a great trade chip. Great cap management by Steve Tambelini
Not true justtraut. The team lost the opportunity to move Hemsky for assets that may have contributed to the organization either in the NHL or the AHL. They also lost $5 M in cap space to negotiate with UFAs this offseason and next. They took a BIG gamble on Hemsky.
Soylent81....did you read the article, or just reply with your opinion?You are aware we will still have tons of cap space to make a splash in free agency. No real gamble here!
5.0 mill - 4.2 million = .8 million in cap space lost. IF Hemsky is healthy and IF he returns to form(2 big ifs I know) he is a steal at 5 million with very little cap space lost. UFA is not the way build a successful franchise(Look at MTL) and not any impact players available. UFA approach should not be a bidding war. Instead go with the "Feild of Dreams" approach. If you build it, they will come.