The NHL world is abuzz over today's announcement of the NY Islanders re-signing goaltender Rick DiPietro to a 15-year, $67.5 million contract.
The response to this announcement from pundits and fans appears overwhelmingly negative. Not for the money DiPietro will recieve but the length of the deal, an astounding fifteen years, the second-longest contract in NHL history.
I can certainly understand the reaction. At 25, DiPietro has yet to prove he's about to join the ranks of the NHL's goaltending elite, and it's rare that a goaltender, even a starter, can sustain a career toward the age of 40, which is how old DiPietro will be when this contract expires.
There's already been more than enough analysis over whether or not this deal was worthwhile and questioning over the sanity of Islanders owner Charles Wang, so adding my two cents would merely seem like "piling on" at this point. Suffice to say, I'm in agreement with those critical of this deal.
What I'm more interested in is what impact, if any , this contract could have upon the league, specifically, further contract negotiations between teams and players.
One thing this CBA has been renowned for thus far has been the increased length of contracts signed by RFA and UFA players. Where once deals of two-to-three years were the average, under this current CBA deals of four, five and six years are becoming more common.
So is it possible that the DiPietro contract could be the harbinger of deals to come, if not 15 year deals, then those of seven, eight, even ten years in length?
Depends on the player and the team.
We're not likely to see a lot of deals pushing ten years in length, but one shouldn't rule out the possibility.
Take the Washington Capitals and franchise player Alexander Ovechkin. The kid is only 20 and yet in his rookie season won the Calder, challenged for the Rocket Richard trophy and earned universal acclaim as the most exciting player to hit the NHL since Pavel Bure.
Would it be a stretch to assume the Capitals could make a ten-year, $80 million contract offer to Ovechkin to lock him up long term through his playing prime? Would it be unreasonable to believe Ovechkin wouldn't pass up an opportunity to earn $8 million US per season for the next decade, thus securing his financial future?
I'll bet more than a few Capitals fans would love to hear that deal announced today, and more than a few hockey sages would commend the club for doing so.
Don' t expect the DiPietro contract to be used as a comparable throughout the league, but don't be surprised if teams with genuine young superstars consider much longer deals to retain those players if it makes sense under their respective salary caps .
My initial reaction, was "What the hell are they thinking?" That lasted two seconds.
When it sunk in that it was the Islanders, it was what else is new? I mean come on, what a joke of a franchise.
Luongo has trouble getting a good deal and DiPeitro, a very much over-rated goalie in my opinion, gets total security. I don't understand that at all. Do the Islanders want to be losers for life?
The only logical explanation for this deal has to be that Charles Wang and his Islanders are trying to overthrow James Dolan and the Knicks as the closest thing there is to a Kruger Industrial Smoothing in professional sports.
I'm not at all surprised by this. I live in a city in North East Asia, and this is how people do business. I live in a city which sports the biggest Oil field China has to offer. Well... had. They've got a few years left of oil, the economy is booming, and they're still spending money like they'll have petroleum for the next fifty years. You don't see people planning for things like "Um... what happens when we run out of oil, and people lose their jobs, or all the people who've got jobs related to this industry get transfered elsewhere?"
If either of those things happen, this place could turn into a ghost town or the biggest #### overnight.
What happens if DiPietro turns into a Jim Carry? Buckles under the pressure in New York and never bounces back like Lilaime(sp?), pulls a Yashin, or suffers a nasty injury which he'll never fully recover from?
If it works, he's a genius. If it doesn't work for the Islanders, well... what else is new?
i was the first to chuckle at this
but hey in 10 years when salaries increase might be good signing
i wouldn’t do it tho to much risk for a bit of gain
Hey, you all are missing the fine print of this contracr.
It is a 5 year player deal and a 5 year assistant GM and a 5 year GM. So they are planning for the future................
Looks like the Isles Next GM is already been decided. A 40 year old DiPietro will be The man!!
When will they announce he's been selected as the first goalie-player coach to replace Nolan?? Don't laugh, its Wang we're talking about. He always thinks outside the box. LOL
I don't understand the reasoning behind this. How does it make good sense at all. The odds of DiPietro becoming a Broduer, or a Roy is slim to none. Many have said, it makes more sense if it were a Crosby or an Ovechkin, but even them for THAT long would cause some feelings of anxiety. The obvious questions of health are the first to jump at you. But what about the question of something better. The Islanders will most likely be getting decent draft picks in the near future, do they draft that next "cant miss" goalie when he won't be a fixture until he's 30 or 35. Honestly, the more I ponder this situation, it almost makes you sad. Sad for a storied franchise, and sad for the Isle fans who have to wonder..."How long till this night mare ends?" (My guess is 2021)
Wang is clearly more interested in getting his own name in the headlines and his own face in the news than he is in building a winning team for his fans. Just like Yashin, DiPietro is now essentially untradeable, and the Islanders now have about 25% of their annual cap room tied up in two "okay" players (although I hesitate to call Yashin an "okay" player right now). The expression "more money than brains" comes to mind, but Wang is obviously a smart businessman so the only logical explanation in my mind is that for him, the Islanders are just a toy that he uses to amuse himself.
I think the Islanders became unsellable. Yashin for 90 mil, DiPietro for another 67, what are they thinking. Can the NHL intervene and get Wang out of there, it's a real shame what the isles have become.
I thought this was a joke when I heard it. The Islanders have become a Laughingstock. DiPietro is a good goalie but not worth a 15 yr deal. No one is, not even he he was Patrick Roy and Hasek in one. Injuries and the "fat cat" syndrome can always have an effect. I feel bad for the good Islander fans if there are any left.
ahh guys stop making me laugh already. I can't take it anymore.
It's not like they could force him to sell the team now because 1. Who's going to buy them and 2. The contracts are signed. The best thing they could do is try to force him to sign a contract which would negate his ability to take any part in negotiations with players.
15 years. Holy ####. I'll be forty when this guy's contract finishes. I just honestly can't see the day when this guy's contract is over.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
