Saturday, June 24, 2006

 

Brind'Amour Sentenced for Five Seasons

...to remain with the Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes have re-signed captain Rod Brind'Amour to a five year deal.

The deal will pay the veteran centre $4 million in each of the first three years, and $3 million in each of the last two years, and is in lieu of the 2006-07 option on his prior contract.
*Sigh* Not again...

If I taught a sports management course, the first day's lessons would be all about "pay for future/expected performance, not past performance."

It seems that GM's still haven't learned their lessons from past mistakes about signing old players to expensive long-term contracts that turn into albatross deals that hurt their team down the road.

Yes, I know Brind'Amour won the Selke.
Yes, I know Brind'Amour had a fantastic season.
Yes, I know Brind'Amour helped bring Carolina the Stanley Cup.

The Hurricanes, however, don't owe Brind'Amour anything above and beyond the terms of his current contract. Rewarding players for past performance is what gets teams into trouble in the future.

Before the lockout, Brind'Amour looked like he had a big fork in his back. He had just 38 points that season and he looked worn down and beaten (Well, his face always looks beaten)

Thanks to an unexpected season off, Brind'Amour, like many other veterans, had a whole year to rest and recover and came back stronger than could have been expected. Brind'Amour won't have that benefit in the future, and will likely feel the effects of a very long marathon season during the next few years, when it all catches up to him and his body starts to wear down again.

Sure, this deal MIGHT not come back to bite the Canes, but the odds are against that happening. It is almost never a good idea to sign a 35 year-old player to a FIVE year deal. Once again, Rutherford's loyalty is affecting his ability to manage a hockey club.

The Caniac nation seems awfully quiet about the whole thing, probably due to the fact they are still celebrating their victory.

Acid Queen:
The Warchief has agreed to be Captain For Life (and you have no idea how happy that makes me).


I'm sure you'll be thrilled when he's looking like Trevor Linden in a few years (It is painful to watch)

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I won't be liveblogging the draft this year, since I'll be there laughing at the crappy selections the Edmonton Oilers pick (Devyn Dubnyk, anyone?). James Mirtle and his evil mainstream media friends will be liveblogging, however, so check it out if you are online during the draft.

Comments:
Jes, the Warchief is NOT El Presidente de los Jugadores Unidos, Jes. I think the signing is more symbolic than anything else. The Warchief was a big part of the team this season, so if we bring him back it tells the rest of the tribe (specifically guys like Erik Cole) that the team is committed to doing right by their core guys.

As for Rod, he's wise enough and honorable enough to walk away if he feels that he's not getting the job done. He's also a training monster and the best-conditioned player in the League, so I don't forsee him going through a Linden-like slow breakdown.
 
Crappy picks by the Oilers- how about Schremp at 25th in the same draft? Hmmm? 'Cause it looks to me like that turned out well.
 
Roddy is in better shape at age 35 than most guys who are 25. I don't think that his age is, or will be an issue. Regardless, he is and will continue to be a great guy to have around, setting an example for the younger guys. If his numbers drop significantly in the fourth and fifth years of his contract, he'll still be able to play, and will still be able to lead by example a la Ronnie Franchise.

It isn't as if the Canes are giving him a huge raise. If that were the case, I would agree with you, but he's going from $3.8M to $4M, (5%) which is a bit like a normal Joe getting a raise from $40k to $42k. Not all that significant.
 
Evil?
 
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