Most hockey fans outside of Colorado have little idea who Jeff
Finger is, but many in Canada will get to know him starting next season.
Finger today signed a four-year, $3.5 million contract with the
Toronto Maple Leafs, who only play in Canada’s biggest hockey market.
Despite the efforts of Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher to clear some
cap space to continue the team’s rebuilding plan he doesn’t have enough to bid
competitively for the big name free agents available this summer, leading many
to suspect he’d seek more affordable free agent signings.
Finger’s signing certainly fits the bill. At 28 he’s only a
second-year NHL player but showed promise in his second season with the
Colorado Avalanche last season, with 19 points in 72 games and a solid
plus-minus of +12.
It may not seem like much of a move but Finger could go on
to become one of Fletcher’s better signings and a good addition to the Leafs
blueline.
**UPDATE** Originally this was reported as $3.5 million over the four years. It's now being reported by TSN as $3.5 million per season.
That changes my analysis completely. At $3.5million over four years it would've been more than affordable, nearly doubling Finger's $475K he earned last season.
But $3.5 million per season? The hell???
Sorry, but that's crazy money for a guy who only played one full NHL season. I realize Fletcher's doing like most GMs and paying for potential but that's far too much for a blueliner of his caliber at this stage of his career.
As if the pressure of playing in Toronto weren't bad enough, Finger's now going to have to justify that $3.5 million per season.
For his sake and that of the Leafs, I sure hope he does.
$14M dollars for guy who was essentially a rookie last year and is on the slow side. Granted, he did get better as the season progressed while putting up some decent offensive numbers. He's good at moving the puck, however if the Leafs are in rebuilding mode I'm not sure if I understand tying up $14M in a 28 year old Finger for four years. Interesting, good for Jeff I guess.
My condolences. Seems like this bozo ain't much better than JFJ. What a move. Is he trying to run up salaries? 14 mil for a guy who has a total of 92 games under his belt. Jebus! Save me.
Is it 3.5 M per season or 3.5 over the four years (as Spector's post reads). If it is 3.5 over four years, good for Fletcher. Otherwise, this is a crazy deal.
Sportsnet also reports it as 3.5 mil per (4-year 14 mil). The headline reads Leafs give Finger huge raise... I say, Leafs fans might want to give Cliff a huge finger raise...
At least there wasn't anything mentioned about a no trade clause. Fletcher isn't a rookie GM. Maybe age is messing with his head. Hopefully Finger lives up to his hype.
this is crazy, why can;t the leafs just sign a forward who can consistently put the puck in the net, instead they invest more money into their blue line. That leaves mccabe,kaberlea, kubina, white, coliacavo, finger? and a couple other random young guys who have potential. I really hope they can get rid of mccabe then maybe this won't be so bad, but the money is still way overboard. Fletcher do yourself a favour and sign Avery, put some life back into leaf nation!
That is the part I don't understand. Fletcher mentioned he is still going after one more Defenseman. This only leads me to believe couple of defenseman are on their way out of Toronto. Most likely McCabe and Coliacavo (SP). I don't know how he's going to pull that one off. We have ALOT on the blue line.
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.
