THN.com Blog: Off-ice deals creating on-ice rivalries
Steve Bernier will make $2.5 million with the Canucks next season after Vancouver matched the Blues offer sheet. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
Adam Proteau
2008-07-09 13:17:25
The salary cap has had a variety of effects on the National Hockey League; some of them good, some of them not so good. The one I’m most enjoying lately is the increasingly hostile relationships the cap (and its accompanying notion of parity) has helped create in the league’s GM community.
Without a doubt, Brian Burke and Kevin Lowe have set the standard for sniping and vitriol over the last year. But coming up close behind them, in a short period of time, are Vancouver’s Mike Gillis and St. Louis’ trio of John Davidson, Larry Pleau and Doug Armstrong.
In case you missed it, the Blues tendered a restricted free agent offer sheet to newly acquired Canucks winger Steve Bernier Tuesday night. Clearly, the offer was retribution for Vancouver’s earlier offer sheet to St. Louis center David Backes; and though the Canucks matched the Bernier offer as quickly as the Blues matched the one to Backes, the message of St. Louis’ move was unmistakable:
Stick your nose in our business and don’t be surprised when we jam our schnozz into yours.
Not that I think there’s anything wrong with either team’s offer. The rules are there to be toyed with and danced around, as they are in nearly all walks of life, for the benefit of whomever is brave enough to toy and dance with them.
Of course, these squabbles are worth remembering the next time owners and GMs cry poor and ask the NHL Players’ Association to help save them from themselves.
As this and thousands of other examples demonstrate, there is no saving them.
The only way this soap opera could be more entertaining would be if the Lightning’s braintrust discovered a hidden clause in the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement that allowed them to somehow supersede Vancouver's ability to match and bring Bernier to Tampa Bay – a move that, by my calculations, would give the Bolts approximately 89 forwards heading into training camp.
I just pray Gary Bettman doesn’t step in and demand Gillis and the Blues cease and desist from trying to better their organization at the other’s expense.
If, as Colin Campbell noted recently, the NHL sells hate, what’s so wrong about that emotion seeping into management?
Adam Proteau is The Hockey News' online columnist and a regular contributor to THN.com. His blog appears Mondays and Wednesdays, his Ask Adam feature appears Tuesdays and Fridays, and his column, Screen Shots, appears Thursdays.
For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, Subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.
Gus (Posted 2008-07-10 12:34:09)
The Oilers will survive the first round? No chance in hell....
Brian Kemp (Posted 2008-07-10 07:59:09)
Dominic, it was the first time in a salary cap world, though. Before that, it didn't matter if certain teams overspent on a player; They could afford to. Now, no one can afford to overpay. I will say this, the Kessler offer was nowhere near as ridiculous as the Vanek offer was. Even the Penner one wasn't as bad as the Vanek offer. I'm also pretty sure at least one of the times the Bruins walked away was after an arbitration award that they didn't like, I want to say for Dmitri Khristich, or someone like that. I can't remember the player the Leafs overpaid for, but it wouldn't surprise me that the Leafs overpaid for someone.
Dominic (Posted 2008-07-10 05:19:12)
I dont like to correct anyone but Bobby Clarkes move was not the first foray into RFA offer sheets. This is nothing new and existed long before the new CBA. Several years ago the Leafs made an offer sheet to Bruins forward (the name slips my mind right now ) and the Bruins refused to match leaving the Leafs paying way too much for someone that didnt deserve it. A year later, the Bruins walked away from another offer sheet. They were the first team to walk away from an offer but i am pretty sure that offer sheets were made and matched prior to that. Maybe more teams should "walk away" instead of "overspending"
bostongm (Posted 2008-07-10 03:01:25)
In the board room? Me thinks not. I paid attention to every time the Oilers and Ducks played eachother. You KNOW that Burke hated it when they lost to the Oilers. The Oilers wet on a good streak to end the season as well to screw up Burkes pick. Hhahahahahahaha. The Oilers will make the play-offs next year and surprise the league. Marke it down writers. they'll survive the 1st round. I can guarantee you guys that much.
Thomas J (Posted 2008-07-10 02:45:47)
While the squabbles between GM's adds drama to the everyday life of the NHL. real rivalries are made on the ice, not in the board rooms.
Ian Altenbaugh (Posted 2008-07-09 22:53:17)
This stuff is great. I do not really know how much additional attention that these squabbles bring to the NHL but for the faithful this is something to be enjoyed.
This is very much old school management in sports. Stuff like this used to occur frequently in other sports. Good stuff. Bettman needs to allow this stuff to go on. Also, a GM can very easily protect their player by resigning them before the July 1st deadline, exposing these players to offer sheets is many instances a risk they choose to take.
Flyerfan52 (Posted 2008-07-09 21:56:50)
You know Craig, Montreal did exactly those kind of trades to ensure they ended up with Guy LeFleur. Things like that made the off-season and the league as a whole more interesting. Meanwhile, Bettman works to turn it into something as interesting as white, factory made bread as he tries to take out all the things that made hockey the most exciting sport there is. Look up some of the things the teams in the past did or just read a book like The History of the Stanley Cup to see what they used to do.
Jackets Fan Section 112 (Posted 2008-07-09 18:36:41)
HATE is cash, plain an simple, when the Sens and Leafs play it is usally a full house, same goes for the Pens and Flyers. How do they think the Ohio State / Michigan
Brian P (Posted 2008-07-09 18:17:28)
I laughed when I read the Blues had made Bernier an offer. Nice that it was a one-year deal (at the same yearly rate the Canucks offered Backes, no less) so now the Canucks will have to qualify Bernier at $2.5 mil next summer, even though he's never gotten, what, more than 16 goals in a season? These kinds of off-ice things really are great, I wish there were more of them around the league. Everyone's so polite nowadays, heaven forbid NHL management should inject a little personality and disdain into their dealings with each other. Give me the days when all the GM's and owners weren't friends and were actively trying to screw each other up.
Craig (Posted 2008-07-09 14:36:44)
I hope Gillis retalliates, and excalates the feud. Jeff Woywitka is still without a contract, or David Perron will be up for grabs next year. It could be a bundle of fun. It's exactly what Dave Nonis should have done to Philly two years ago after the Kessler offer... you know the Bobby Clarke move which was the actaul first foray into the offer sheet world, one year ahead of Kevin Lowe. What would be even better would be if the two teams tried to mess with eachother, by say, intentionally helping rival teams in those divisions improve. Next time Pleau goes looking to unload a forward, maybe Kariya, and he can pick between an offer from Minnesota, or a slightly better offer from Montreal maybe the difference of a fourth or a fifth round pick, he chooses Minnesota because he knows it will screw with the Canucks. How much fun would that be? The Kiebler Elf that runs this league should be encouraging theses rivalries. There is a reason Red Sox v. Yankees get's so much press, it's that the two teams have fostered resetnment for decades. A quality Anaheim vs. Edmonton feud could easily grow into a marketable commodity. Even better would be if Bettman could pit the Rangers against Chicago, or LA instead of his piddy little self. And waht about side deals, not collusion, but waht if Gillis took a flyer on a deal "I'll give you a 9th round pick for futures to not trade that guy to St. Louis."
bostongm (Posted 2008-07-09 14:15:26)
Hate to say it but these squabbles are exactly what the NHL needs. Gillis complimenting the Blues..........hahahahhahhaha. I love it. Too bad the midget is standing in our way of some very good sound-bites. Its like his mission is to make the NHL the most blandest of all the sports. Bettman "no fun allowed"..while wagging his tiny little finger. We desperately need a new commissioner. The rule with the GM's "dont you dare,or i'll do the exact same thing to you". As it should. Good job Blue's management.
Advertisement
What do you think of the Jarret Stoll's four-year, $14.4-million contract?
Our Partners
The Hockey News Corporation. All Rights Reserved © 2007 Transcontinental
Standards: XHTML 1.0 STRICT + CSS 2. V 1.1 04.03.2008
