Clark Kent
Jäsen
- Suosikkijoukkue
- Ässät,Leafs,Everton, MuSa,P-Kärpät, Sea City Storm
Niin jääkö mies Coloradoon, vai lähteekö hän kenties Rangersiin?
Näin Leafs-fanina olisi todella mielenkiintoista nähdä Sakic Torontossa. Se taitaa kyllä olla toiveuni... Mutta näin kirjoittelevat The Starissa...
Leafs should open vault in pursuit of Joe Sakic
JOE SAKIC is poised to make history. Not by scoring a goal or creating one for a teammate, but by exercising his rights under the collective bargaining agreement between NHL owners and players.
Sakic, the odds-on favourite to win the Hart Trophy as league MVP next month, could become the first player to win the Hart and immediately switch teams.
Technically, the second winner of the trophy, Hamilton Tigers forward Billy Burch, also falls partly into this category. Burch scored 20 goals in 27 games for the Tigers but was a New York American the next season after the Tigers franchise folded and moved to Manhattan.
But Sakic, if he wins the Hart, will be the first player so honoured to immediately leave the employ of a franchise, taking his talents to the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
That's called good timing, folks.
When you consider that Sakic will also be a strong candidate for his second Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP if the Colorado Avalanche knock off the New Jersey Devils to win the Stanley Cup, it's clear he will be in a unique bargaining position.
It's not clear, however, given the foggy post-season remarks of Pat Quinn, whether the Leafs will make a pitch for the terrific centreman.
But they have no excuse not to.
Most observers are predicting Sakic will either stay in Denver or join the New York Rangers, the club that tried to get him as a restricted free agent not so long ago.
When sexy free agents like Theo Fleury, Brett Hull, Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier came available in recent years, the Leafs always claimed that others were willing to pay far more. Other than goalie Curtis Joseph, Toronto has stuck to the mid-range types like Steve Thomas, Gary Roberts, Shayne Corson, Jonas Hoglund, Igor Korolev and Dave Manson and done very well by that philosophy.
But why should Leaf fans let Quinn and Co. off the hook when an utterly unique player and person like Sakic is available? Given that another round of ticket price increases is coming up, and given that Joseph isn't getting any younger, what rationale would prevent the Leafs from outbidding any other NHL club to get this player?
Even if the Leafs simply added a $10 million salary without deleting any players, they still wouldn't be near the top of the NHL payroll list.
When you realize that the Leafs were willing to cough up $45 million (all figures U.S.) in salary, young centre Nik Antropov, defenceman Danny Markov and a first-round pick to get Eric Lindros in March, and were willing to give up another package of players and millions more to get Rob Blake around the same time, wouldn't $50-55 million over five years and nothing more be worth it for Sakic?
Yes, he's older, 32 in July to be precise. But he doesn't have the concussion history of Lindros and wouldn't cost the club the players, prospects and draft picks it would require to land, say, Jaromir Jagr.
He's also a definite hall of famer in his prime. Sakic has 934 points in 1,178 career games and averages about the same point-per-game numbers in the playoffs. He is a brilliant pointman on the power play, a crucial problem for the Leafs.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. has never been wealthier after the playoff receipts earned by the Leafs and Raptors. Geez, they're begging Vince Carter to accept $100 million and flying him on private jets to North Carolina on game days for photo ops. Yet it's still the Leafs that drive the company. Sakic could dramatically transform this Leaf team in the same way Joseph once did.
Go on. Spend the money. Be part of history.
Näin Leafs-fanina olisi todella mielenkiintoista nähdä Sakic Torontossa. Se taitaa kyllä olla toiveuni... Mutta näin kirjoittelevat The Starissa...
Leafs should open vault in pursuit of Joe Sakic
JOE SAKIC is poised to make history. Not by scoring a goal or creating one for a teammate, but by exercising his rights under the collective bargaining agreement between NHL owners and players.
Sakic, the odds-on favourite to win the Hart Trophy as league MVP next month, could become the first player to win the Hart and immediately switch teams.
Technically, the second winner of the trophy, Hamilton Tigers forward Billy Burch, also falls partly into this category. Burch scored 20 goals in 27 games for the Tigers but was a New York American the next season after the Tigers franchise folded and moved to Manhattan.
But Sakic, if he wins the Hart, will be the first player so honoured to immediately leave the employ of a franchise, taking his talents to the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
That's called good timing, folks.
When you consider that Sakic will also be a strong candidate for his second Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP if the Colorado Avalanche knock off the New Jersey Devils to win the Stanley Cup, it's clear he will be in a unique bargaining position.
It's not clear, however, given the foggy post-season remarks of Pat Quinn, whether the Leafs will make a pitch for the terrific centreman.
But they have no excuse not to.
Most observers are predicting Sakic will either stay in Denver or join the New York Rangers, the club that tried to get him as a restricted free agent not so long ago.
When sexy free agents like Theo Fleury, Brett Hull, Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier came available in recent years, the Leafs always claimed that others were willing to pay far more. Other than goalie Curtis Joseph, Toronto has stuck to the mid-range types like Steve Thomas, Gary Roberts, Shayne Corson, Jonas Hoglund, Igor Korolev and Dave Manson and done very well by that philosophy.
But why should Leaf fans let Quinn and Co. off the hook when an utterly unique player and person like Sakic is available? Given that another round of ticket price increases is coming up, and given that Joseph isn't getting any younger, what rationale would prevent the Leafs from outbidding any other NHL club to get this player?
Even if the Leafs simply added a $10 million salary without deleting any players, they still wouldn't be near the top of the NHL payroll list.
When you realize that the Leafs were willing to cough up $45 million (all figures U.S.) in salary, young centre Nik Antropov, defenceman Danny Markov and a first-round pick to get Eric Lindros in March, and were willing to give up another package of players and millions more to get Rob Blake around the same time, wouldn't $50-55 million over five years and nothing more be worth it for Sakic?
Yes, he's older, 32 in July to be precise. But he doesn't have the concussion history of Lindros and wouldn't cost the club the players, prospects and draft picks it would require to land, say, Jaromir Jagr.
He's also a definite hall of famer in his prime. Sakic has 934 points in 1,178 career games and averages about the same point-per-game numbers in the playoffs. He is a brilliant pointman on the power play, a crucial problem for the Leafs.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. has never been wealthier after the playoff receipts earned by the Leafs and Raptors. Geez, they're begging Vince Carter to accept $100 million and flying him on private jets to North Carolina on game days for photo ops. Yet it's still the Leafs that drive the company. Sakic could dramatically transform this Leaf team in the same way Joseph once did.
Go on. Spend the money. Be part of history.