Tampa re-signs Kucherov [3 years, $4.7666mil AAV]

[CarltonTheBear]

Stephen Whyno ‏@SWhyno
#TBLightning sign Nikita Kucherov to 3-year deal with a cap hit of $4.7666 million.

Come on guys. This is ridiculous.

 

[Nik]

It's sort of the one team in the League that's somehow convinced it's players to act like NBA players.

 

[herman]

What sort of dirt does Yzerman have on them?

 

[CarltonTheBear]

How to get your star RFAs to sign for pennies on the dollar: overpay a bunch of less important players so you have no cap space first.

 

[Nik]

What sort of dirt does Yzerman have on them?

I hope this comes off exactly as its intended but all of these Lightning deals have served as welcome reminders that NHL players, by and large, are the kinds of guys who would really like living in Tampa.

 

[TBLeafer]

Yzerman with the 'tight to the cap' card.

"You wanna win a Stanley Cup, Kuch?"

 

[ZBBM]

THN had a puff piece  (well, almost all their stuff is) touting him as a genius GM.  Then I thought I saw something that really criticized him.  After this signing, I don't know how anybody can criticize him -- at least on the negotiating front.

 

[Nik]

THN had a puff piece  (well, almost all their stuff is) touting him as a genius GM.  Then I thought I saw something that really criticized him.  After this signing, I don't know how anybody can criticize him -- at least on the negotiating front.

A fair case can be made that a good part of why Tampa is in such a tight spot is some bad decisions of Yzerman's to begin with.

That said I think this sort of brings up just the question of what we think makes for good Management. Is Yzerman really some sort of negotiating savant or is he sort of lucky in that he can combine the appeal of Florida living with the competitiveness of the team and the fact that the team hasn't won yet into a compelling pitch? Or is it just that he's lucked out and the particular players on his team are amenable to not seeking maximum dollars?

I get that after Kucherov and Stamkos and Hedman chalking it up to "luck" isn't all that satisfying but I struggle with the other explanations too.

 

[bustaheims]

I get that after Kucherov and Stamkos and Hedman chalking it up to "luck" isn't all that satisfying but I struggle with the other explanations too.

He has a number of advantages before negotiations even start - a team that's a Cup contender, the climate in Florida, the tax situation in Florida, etc. There's some negotiating skill in there, sure, but he has a head start on the rest of the field.

 

[rjd]

I get that after Kucherov and Stamkos and Hedman chalking it up to "luck" isn't all that satisfying but I struggle with the other explanations too.

He has a number of advantages before negotiations even start - a team that's a Cup contender, the climate in Florida, the tax situation in Florida, etc. There's some negotiating skill in there, sure, but he has a head start on the rest of the field.

"Oh that puck.  That's the puck when I scored 60 goals the *second* time.  How many times have you scored 60 goals again?"

 

[Nik]

He has a number of advantages before negotiations even start - a team that's a Cup contender, the climate in Florida, the tax situation in Florida, etc. There's some negotiating skill in there, sure, but he has a head start on the rest of the field.

I think that's generally true. Like I said, I think the fact that while they're a contender they haven't won yet is probably his biggest advantage. If you compare Stamkos to Toews or Kopitar it's probably harder to sell those guys on "Hey, take a little less and we can win the big one" when they already have won multiple times.

I said it before but I think one of the bigger things with Stamkos was that unlike a lot of the good Canadian players in his generation, he'd really won nothing until this year's World Cup.