A lot of money was spent in Washington on Sunday, just not in the typical way. Admittedly, I haven’t done a great job on posting here in recent months. But sometimes a story will come along that screams out to me, and I feel obligated to write about it. The signing of Jayson Werth to a 7 year, $126 million contract by the Washington Nationals is one such story.

When I read about it on Twitter yesterday (follow me at @detroitdan1982), I almost fell off my chair. I don’t really hide the fact that I am a die hard Detroit Tigers fan, and I was hopeful that the club’s general manager, Dave Dombrowski, might make a play for Werth to solidify the middle of the lineup with Miguel Cabrera and the recently signed Victor Martinez. He would have also ben a defensive improvement in right field. But there was no way on God’s green earth that I thought the Tigers should pay $126 million for him. This looks like it could be the newest candidate for worst free agent contract in Major League Baseball history.

It seemed all along that the Boston Red Sox were the front runners for Werth. They reportedly had meetings with him, and all indications were that Werth would soon join the BoSox (who made their own splash on Sunday by trading for Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres). But seemingly out of nowhere, the Nats stepped forward and made the biggest free agent signing in franchise history.

Score another one for Scott Boras, though. He consistently squeezes the most out of teams for his clients. While I’m no expert, I guessed that when free agency began, Werth might be in line for a contract somewhere in the range of $70-$90 million for 6 or 7 years. I also thought the biggest fish on the market, Carl Crawford, would probably get upwards of $100 million for 6 or 7 years, but not significantly more than that. But now that Werth is getting $126 million, it seems as though Crawford is set to receive at least that much, and maybe as much as $180 million according to some sources. I really don’t think either of those guys are on par with Joe Mauer or Mark Teixeira, who have signed $180 million contracts in recent years.

As the title of the article suggests, I think this might be just a bit too much money for Werth. He turns 32 in May, and while he may improve, and it’s possible that he has a few good years ahead of him, he’s never finished a season with a batting average over .300 and he’s never had 100 RBIs. I know those aren’t the only stats that matter, but if I’m paying a guy over $100 million, I think I might want him to be able to do those things.

The contract is the same in years and dollars as the one that Vernon Wells signed with the Toronto Blue Jays in late 2006. While that one hasn’t quite worked out the way the Jays had hoped, Wells had just turned 28 at the time and seemed to have more upside at that point than Werth has now. Only time will tell, but I have a feeling that two or three years from now (or maybe even sooner), the Nationals will regret committing so much money to a player who seems unproven, at least in my eyes.

What do you think? Am I the only one who thinks that the Nationals will eventually end up regretting this deal? I’d love to know what you think!

Insanity in the Nation’s Capital: Is Jayson “Werth” $126 Million? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Ilya Kovalchuk

Following the season, it was rumoured that the Devils, New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, and even several teams in the Russian KHL were interested in signing Kovalchuk. But on Monday afternoon, after weeks of specultaion and negotiation, word came that Kovalchuk had signed a whopper of a deal: 17 years, $102 million. Although not the richest deal in terms of salary (still Alexander Ovechkin’s at $124 million), it was the longest contract signed since the lockout. The average salary for the course of the contract worked out to $6 million per year. However, like most long term deals signed in the past few seasons, that wasn’t actually the way the deal was supposed to work. Here’s how it would breakdown:

• 2010-11: $6 million
• 2011-12: $6 million
• 2012-13: $11.5 million
• 2013-14: $11.5 million
• 2014-15: $11.5 million
• 2015-16: $11.5 million
• 2016-17: $11.5 million
• 2017-18: $10.5 million
• 2018-19: $8.5 million
• 2019-20: $6.5 million
• 2020-21: $3.5 million
• 2021-22: $750,000
• 2022-23: $550,000
• 2023-24: $550,000
• 2024-25: $550,000
• 2025-26: $550,000
• 2026-27: $550,000

(from The Globe and Mail)

Kovalchuk would be paid $95 million of that money in the first 10 years of the deal and only $7 million in the final 7 years. A drop from an average salary of $9.5 million per year to $1 million is enormous. In all likelihood, Kovalchuk would likely retire after the first 10 years. The Devils would then have his contract off the books and would have the salary cap space free.

While the contract may seem long, and it seems highly unlikely that Kovalchuk will continue to play until 2027, stranger things have happened. And these contracts have been around for the past few seasons with Mike Richards, Marian Hossa, and Henrik Zetterberg benefiting from them. Clubs have been looking for creative ways to sign players, and this seems to be the most creative way.

But after the Devils and Kovalchuk held a press conference in Newark on Tuesday afternoon to announce the signing, the NHL did something it hadn’t done before: it rejected the contract. The official statement on NHL.com stated that the contract was a circumvention of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. While the league has always been uncomfortable with these extra long term deals and has even scrutinized a few (Hossa’s for one), this is the first time it has taken this stance.

What happens next remains to be seen. But I’d bet the deed to my condo that the NHL Players’ Association is going to have something to say about this. One commentator speculated that this is the NHL’s first shot against the PA’s bow with respect to the next round of CBA negotiations, which aren’t all that far away. The NHL is going to try to limit these contracts in the next CBA, and this could be the first step. Additionally, Don Fehr, the former head of the Major League Baseball Players’ Association, has been consulting with the NHLPA over the past year or so. If he is interested in becoming formally involved with the union, this may be a notice to him that the NHL won’t be pushed around. However, the NHLPA will want to show that it won’t take this rejection lightly either. I would expect a grievance to be filed by the NHLPA on behalf of Ilya Kovalchuk before the weekend.

So is the “decade deal“, as I’ve called it before, dead? We’ll see. Whatever is going to play out over the next few days should be very interesting. It’s possible that Kovalchuk and the Devils will go back to the bargaining table and negotiate a new deal with a different pay structure. It’s also possible that both sides will walk away and that Kovalchuk will accept the deal from the Kings that had been speculated for so long. And there’s always the possibility that he could go back to Russia and sign a rich deal with a KHL club. I expect to see Kovalchuk stay in North America, either with the Devils or Kings, but anything is possible at this point, and for the moment the contract is dead. Stay tuned.

REJECTED: The NHL Takes a Stand from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

With the 2010 NHL Entry Draft quickly approaching, most teams, media outlets, and hockey fans have their attention focused on who will be the #1 overall selection in Los Angeles this June.  Sure, trying to figure out whether Taylor Hall, Cam Fowler, or Tyler Seguin will be the first name called presents an interesting debate. But for those who work in the industry, the most exciting (and often most challenging) part of the Draft is finding that diamond in the rough – that late-round selection that NHL teams will look back on and wonder “how did we not see that?” Who will be this year’s Henrik Zetterberg – Detroit’s 7^th Round, 210^th overall, pick in 1999? Only time will tell and there certainly are a number of talented players that are sure to be passed up on the first day of selections. But I’ll throw you the name of one player who certainly seems to fit the mold – Andrey Kuchin.

If you’re a true follower of the sport, you’ve probably heard that name before. Born in Elektrougli, Russia, Kuchin grew up playing hockey in the CSKA Moscow (Red Army) Hockey School. For most of his career he has been considered to be one of, if not the most talented, Russians to come from the 1991 DOB group. Back in 2005, when Kuchin’s Red Army squad participated in the Nike/Bauer International Invite in Chicago, he was second in scoring with 10 points (7G, 3A). In 2006, he was selected for the Bauer Selects team, which competed in the Prospects Tournament in Toronto. At the tournament, Kuchin posted 14 points (9G, 5A) in 8 games, placing him second in scoring behind only current Colorado Avalanche star, Matt Duchene (17 points). While skating with that same Bauer Selects team in the 2006 Montreal Cup, Kuchin managed to score 5 goals…in a single period (and yes, you are reading that correctly). But those familiar with Andrey’s game knew that this wasn’t a fluke.

Kuchin was being pegged as a top-10 NHL Draft pick and he signed his first professional contract when he was only 15 years of age. From there, though, things got a little bumpy for the Russian phenom’s career. Although many details of what exactly happened may never fully surface, apparently there was some friction between Kuchin and the former coach of his ’91 DOB Russian National Team, Vladimir Plyuschev.

According to Kuchin’s agent, Scott Deady (who contributes regularly to SportsAgentBlog.com), if you’re looking for someone to blame, Andrey’s not the one you should be looking at. “When he was skating with the [Russian] National Team, Kuch was killing a penalty during a game. His linemate caused a turnover and Andrey had to leave his assignment to cover for him. When he got back to the bench, Plyuschev berated him for vacating his position. Later in the same game, another Russian shorthanded turnover occurred with Andrey on the ice, but this time he stayed in position as previously instructed. Apparently his coach still wasn’t satisfied so he benched Kuch. From then on, Andrey couldn’t escape constant verbal abuse from Plyuschev. He was only 15 at the time, just a kid. He didn’t need that kind of stuff. Nobody does. All he was doing was trying to follow his coach’s instructions.”

Regardless of whether or not they were warranted, rumors began to surface about Kuchin having an attitude problem. People began to think that it was Kuchin’s ego which is what led to him seeing less and less playing time and eventually, not being selected for the National team altogether. It seemed as though Kuchin had disappeared from the hockey spotlight that he once dominated, and subsequently he went undrafted in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (his first year of eligibility).

I spoke with Kuchin’s current coach and former NHLer, Steve Poapst, to see if any of these reported character issues had any truth behind them. From the sound of things, it couldn’t be farther from the case. “Andrey’s been an absolute pleasure to have around – whether it’s on the ice, on the bench, or in the locker room with his teammates. Everyone here loves him and we couldn’t be happier to have gotten him this season.”

I was also able to get a hold Kuchin’s host mother, Marina Dushkin and I asked her about his personality away from the rink. “We’ve known Andrey since he was very young. When he asked us if he could live with us during the season, we were happy to welcome him into our home. We always knew that Andrey was a good kid and spending this past year with him has been great for all of us. We consider him to be a part of our family now.”

Even former NHL star and current Chicago Wolves forward, Reid Simpson, seems to have taken a shine to Kuchin. “I skated with him over in Russia and I could tell that he had real potential. I love the kid on and off the ice [and] he has that rare talent that only a few guys have – that talent you see only in top players when you play in the NHL as I did for many years. I knew there were some issues with his National coach, but after meeting Andrey I can’t see how he could have been the problem.”

Kuchin recently switched advisors to Scott Deady of I.S.A. Hockey – a move that brought back some of the past concern regarding his personal integrity. On the surface, it seemed as though his previous advisor had played a major role in getting Kuchin out of his mess in Moscow and into the USHL.  Leaving only after he got so much help might appear as though the attitude gossip might actually have some merit to it. But when I spoke with those close to the situation, it seems like once again there’s nothing behind the talk.

Kuchin himself explained the reasoning behind the sudden change. “I felt as though I was being told things that were not true. I was being told that calls were being made for me but the teams were not calling back. When I asked the teams why they were not answering the calls it turns out that they never got any. I met Scott many years ago and I knew that he was working as an agent.  I asked if he would call to find out if some of the other promises were true and he said that he would. When some teams I wanted to play for did not even know that I was interested in their club, I decided that I needed to make a change. I could tell that Scott works extremely hard and I did not have any time to waste. I want to play in the NHL and I feel as though Scott is truly helping me reach that goal.”

Mr. Deady himself also gave some further insight. “Kuch came to me midway through this season and asked me to follow up on some things for him. He had never even agreed to let the previous advisor work for him – basically he was just offered some help and Andrey gave his consent. When I heard what Kuch was being promised, I could tell that something was up. After making a few calls, those beliefs were only confirmed. Kuch asked if I’d start working for him and I told him I’d be happy to. Since then, he’s been nothing short of a model client. He works hard, listens to his coaches, and he’s a terrific kid all-around. You might not be able to tell when he’s got his game face on, but the kid’s got a great sense of humor. He’s been playing very well lately and I couldn’t be happier with the way things have been progressing.”

I asked Scott where he though Kuchin would end up playing next season and it seems as though he’ll be spending another year at the Junior level. In what league and with whom he’ll be skating with, though, appears to still be up in the air. “We’re trying to keep our options open. I’ve been in contact with a number of OHL teams that really want to bring Kuch in for next season. I’ve basically told them that he’s got a great situation playing in Chicago but we’re willing to listen. Since Andrey’s a foreign player, to play in the OHL he’d have to get taken in the CHL Import Draft this June. I’ve told a few clubs that wouldn’t be a good fit that if they take him in the Draft, he’ll just stay and play next season in Chicago. We want to make sure that wherever he plays next year, he’s somewhere his game can continue to develop the way it has over the past few months. It’s nice having the USHL as a solid option because it allows us to be more selective with the CHL clubs. First, we’ll see where he gets taken in the Import Draft. At that point, I’ll sit down with Steve [Poapst] and Jon [Weibel] and we’ll try and figure out where the best place for him is, whether it be in Chicago or somewhere in Canada. We aren’t going to pull him out of Chicago unless it’s the right fit. I have a lot of respect for his [current] coaches – they understand how to develop talent and I know they just want what’s best for Andrey’s career.”

It also seems as though the NHL Draft could also play a major role in how Deady sees this playing out. “The NHL Draft is being held June 26^th and 27^th. The CHL Import Draft isn’t until June 29^th. When Kuch gets picked up by an NHL club, which I fully anticipate happening, I’ll sit down with the team’s player development director and work with him as well.”

While the controversy in Russia might have pushed back Kuchin’s original timetable for reaching his ultimate goal of the NHL, maybe it was a blessing in disguise. In light of the obstacles he’s faced, it seems as though Kuchin was forced to take a step back and reach a new level of maturity. “I am very fortunate that Vityaz (Kuchin’s KHL Club) released me for the season. They allowed me to get my development back on track here in Chicago and I can’t thank them enough for that. After all I’ve been through, I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep moving in the right direction.”

This past season, Kuchin led his Chicago Steel squad with 56 points (20G, 36A) in 56 games played. While he may have slid off the NHL radar temporarily, it certainly seems like he’s back on the map. Maybe three or four years from now, he’ll be the one NHL scouts and GMs are scratching their heads over.

Andrey Kuchin: The ‘Steel’ of the 2010 NHL Draft? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

One hot topic at the Games is whether the NHL should shut down again for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. This is the fourth Olympics that have included NHLers and each time the question of continued participation comes up. There are pros and cons to each side, but I personally hope the NHL continues to come to the Games.

On one side, it is easy to understand the concerns of owners and management. They invest a lot of money in these players, and having them play in the Olympics is a significant risk. The Ottawa Senators Stanley Cup hopes went out the window when Dominik Hasek was injured in the Czech Republic’s first game at the 2006 Olympics in Torino. He never played for the Senators again. The 2 week break in the season can also kill momentum. A team that was playing well before the break may not want the interruption.

However, participating in the Olympics is usually seen by most players as a huge honour. It brings together the top players from each country in a tournament like no other. The NHL break can also serve as a much needed rest period for players who may need time to rest up from nagging injuries.

In all likelihood, the NHL will likely end up going to Sochi. And even if the league decides not to, one of its biggest stars has already stated he is going. Alex Ovechkin has publicly stated that he will be competing for his home nation in 2014, no matter what the consequences. That might be reason enough for the league to head to Sochi.

I believe the NHL will end up going to the next Olympics, but there will be a new Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiated before they take place, so what happens with that is anyone’s guess. But the tournament only happens once every four years, and it is exciting for the players and fans alike. Hopefully it will continue.

Should the NHL go to Sochi? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

I met Brian Burke at a sports law and management conference in November 2008, just days before he took over the reins as General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. I talk about that conference a lot because it truly was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. He’s always been someone I’ve admired in the hockey world, because of his take-no-prisoners attitude and his ability to shake things up when needed, and it was a thrill to meet him. This past Sunday he proved again why he is one of the most respected executives in hockey.

Following a crushing 5-3 loss to Vancouver on Saturday night (a game in which the Leafs led 3-0 at one point), Mr. Burke drastically changed his locker room. The heart of this change came with the acquisition of defenceman Dion Phaneuf from the Calgary Flames. He also acquired forward Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie in the trade and shipped out four regulars from the Leafs lineup: forwards Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers, Nicklas Hagman, and defenceman Ian White. Phaneuf is a ferocious hitter with a big shot who seemed to have lost his way in Calgary. He has the potential to be one of the top defencemen in the league and the trade to Toronto may shake him up a bit. The Leafs lost a lot of offence in the deal by trading Stajan and Hagman, but it is something they will attempt to address in the offseason. Trading Ian White had to be difficult too, as he was in the midst of his best pro season to date.

As good as that trade was for the Leafs, Mr. Burke was not finished. He also traded goaltender Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake to the Anaheim Ducks (which he coincidentally managed before coming to Toronto) for goaltender Jean-Sebastian Giguere. This trade got rid of two big contracts for the Leafs while bringing in a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy winning goaltender. Although he has struggled lately, Giguere will serve as a mentor to Jonas Gustavsson for the time being.

These two trades likely won’t help the Leafs enough to make the playoffs this season, but Mr. Burke seems to have set his team up well for the future. When he was hired a little over 14 months ago, some fans may have thought that his impact would be immediate. He comes with a fairly impressive resume after all. However, most followers of the game knew it would take time to turn the team around. There were not a lot of top quality prospects in the minors and the team had not made the playoffs since 2004. But with the trade for Phil Kessel last summer along with these trades, the Leafs seem to be going in the right direction for the first time in a long time. Brian Burke will be someone to watch in the next few weeks and months. You never know what he’s going to do next.

Brian Burke Does It Again from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Kovalchuk is the Thrashers captain and has been the only great player in the franchise’s short history (Marian Hossa was good, but doesn’t have Kovalchuk’s tenure with the team). He is the franchise leader in all major statistical categories including goals, assists, points, and games played. Quite frankly, Ilya Kovalchuk IS the Atlanta Thrashers. If the Thrashers trade him, what motivation is there for fans to come watch the team?

As other commentators have written, Don Waddell is in a tough spot. He has six weeks to convince Kovalchuk to sign with the team before the trade deadline. At the same time, he has to very seriously consider trading the soul of his franchise, because to lose him for nothing would be disastrous. He was in a similar situation with Marian Hossa two years ago and managed to get a decent haul for him, but so far there have been no solid offers for Kovalchuk.

One event that will have an effect on the situation is the Winter Olympics in Vancouver next month. Kovalchuk is expected to be one of the stars of the Russian team along with Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Pavel Datsyuk. A good showing from Kovalchuk means that Waddell could ask for more in return. A poor showing may end up dropping his trade stock.

If he is traded, there won’t be much left for Thrashers fans to cheer for. The team has made only one playoff appearance (2006-07 when they won the Southeast Division) and is consistently in the draft lottery. To say there isn’t much hope for hockey in Atlanta is an understatement. While NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has stated that he does not want to relocate franchises, Ilya Kovalchuk leaving Atlanta could put the Thrashers on the road to relocation.

Much more will be written on this over the next month. Kovalchuk is one of the top talents in the NHL and has achieved that status with little offensive help while in Atlanta. There have to be coaches and GMs out there salivating at the thought of pairing him with a good set up man (a reunion with Marc Savard in Boston perhaps?) Only time will tell, but it certainly seems as though Ilya Kovalchuk’s days in Atlanta are numbered.

What Will Become of Kovalchuk? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Roberto Luongo is the latest National Hockey League player to join the “decade deal” club. This Wednesday, Luongo agreed to a 12 year, $64 million contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks. Luongo is arguably the top goaltender in the NHL at the moment.

Luongo will make $7.5 million during the upcoming season, the last of his current deal. The new deal’s $5.33 million salary cap hit is very reasonable for a player who could likely make close to twice that amount elsewhere in the league.

But Luongo wants to win a Stanley Cup, and with the Canucks having re-signed the Sedin twins (Daniel and Henrik) earlier this summer, the team certainly has a solid core in place for the next several years. Each side is taking a risk in signing a contract of this length, but with Luongo, it should be money well spent.

Bobby Lu’s New Deal from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

I don’t know if this news has been getting much play in the United States, but it is certainly making headlines here in Canada. Early Monday morning at a hotel in Chicago, the National Hockey League Players’ Association fired its Executive Director, Paul Kelly, after a little less than two years on the job. Kelly was terminated for reasons that weren’t all that clear early on. Some say he didn’t know the players or the game well enough. Some say he was too cozy with Commissioner Gary Bettman. The only response that shed any light was from Edmonton Oilers’ player representative Shawn Horcoff, who stated that new information was presented at the meeting which the executive board could not ignore and that they had no choice but to fire him.

As the days passed; however, it seems that two events played a part in the firing. Apparently Kelly obtained the minutes of a private meeting between the players and the NHLPA’s advisory board, minutes he was not supposed to have access too. The other factor in his firing appears to have been the results of a staff assessment conducted to evaluate Kelly’s leadership within the union. The assessment appears to have been a witch hunt of sorts. After receiving the results on Sunday night, the player representatives voted 22-5 (with 3 abstentions) to dismiss Kelly.

I believe that this has the potential to be the biggest story of the year for the National Hockey League. Since the lockout ended in July 2005, Kelly is the third executive director to be fired by the NHLPA. That is an incredible stat. No other players’ association in the four major sports has experienced this type of turmoil in recent years. The NFLPA had a leadership change last year, installing DeMaurice Smith as head of the union following the sudden death of Gene Upshaw, who led the players since 1987. And the MLBPA will be electing a new leader once Donald Fehr steps down in the coming months. But these are natural changes. What is happening with the NHLPA is anything but natural.

Thousands and thousands of words have been written on Paul Kelly and the NHLPA in the past few days. So my only comments are these: who is going to be the new executive director and how might this affect CBA negotiations in 2011? On the first point, Ian Penny, NHLPA general counsel who was hired by Bob Goodenow in 2000, has stepped in as interim director but he has stated that he will not seek the job on a full time basis. A proper search committee has to be formed but the NHLPA has said that they would like to have someone in place by January 1, 2010. That gives the incoming director 18 months to come up with a strategy for the new CBA negotiations. But as Scott Burnside of ESPN suggested, after seeing what happened to Kelly, who could possibly want the job now?

And on the topic of those negotiations, like many others, I believe they will be more contentious without Kelly involved. He seemed to have a good relationship with Gary Bettman (unfortunately for him, maybe too good). That type of relationship would have been useful in negotiating a new CBA successfully and preventing a work stoppage. Unfortunately, we’ll never know how he would have handled the negotiations and what the result would have been.

I had the chance to meet Paul Kelly last November and I came away very impressed. He was kind, approachable, and was willing to answer my questions about getting involved in the business of professional sports. In my opinion, the PA had found a great leader in Kelly and I expected him to be in place for many years to come. It’s unfortunate that he has been let go, but the NHLPA constitution allows the executive committee to make such a move. The board acted well within its power. However, to this outside observer, it seems like this was the wrong move at the wrong time. Hopefully the next director is more acceptable to the players, and that he or she is able to work with the NHL to negotiate a new CBA which serves everyone’s best interests, especially the fans.

Where Does the NHLPA Go From Here? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Walsh stated in another tweet, “NHL benefits w [sic] Olympic participation and players bear all risk!” It certainly seems that way. With varying degrees of success, the NHL is able to use the Olympic tournament as a showcase for the game. Although Gary Bettman and the owners say they dislike shutting the league down for two weeks in February every four years, the Olympics are quite a spectacle for the league. I don’t have any facts to back this up, but I have to assume that somehow the league benefits financially from the players participating in the Olympics. All 82 regular season games are still played, so there is no lost revenue from games not being played. The Olympic tournament is the ultimate display of skill, as the very best players in the world play against each other in a short, do-or-die format. From a fan’s perspective, it is probably the best hockey there is. How could the NHL not benefit from this?

A team’s fear that an injury may occur, though, is quite reasonable. In 2006, Dominik Hasek’s groin injury suffered during the Olympics quite probably cost the Ottawa Senators a shot at the Stanley Cup that year. However, is it really necessary for the NHL to suspend a player injured at one of these camps? Players train harder in the offseason now than ever before. They have to come to training camp in September in tip top shape. Would the same player be suspended if he was injured during an off ice training session or during a pickup game of ball hockey with friends? Some contracts may stipulate this, but I don’t know if the majority of them do.

Hockey Canada has secured extra insurance for players taking part in its Olympic Camp. The National Hockey League Players’ Association has also told participating players that they may want to purchase extra insurance on their own in case of an injury. While the likelihood of an injury is low (they aren’t going to be going full tilt at these camps), making sure that your client is protected (and his contract) is sound thinking for an agent.

The Cost of Representing Your Country from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

In June, I wrote an article describing the future implications of the “decade deal” as I called it, on the National Hockey League. A player typically signs a deal longer than ten years for tens of millions of dollars. There are elements of risk and reward for each side. The team gets the player signed at a lower salary cap number than the player might have got on the open market, but a contract that long can sometimes weigh a team down (eg. the New York Islanders and Rick DiPietro). The player takes a little less money per year, but has the security of knowing that his contract is guaranteed for the long term, and if it is bought out, he still receives a significant portion of his salary.

Late last week, word surfaced that the NHL was probing the long-term deals that were signed by Chris Pronger and Marian Hossa shortly after the free agency period began on July 1st. Hossa signed a 12 year, $62.8 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, while Pronger signed a new 7 year, $34.9 million with the Philadelphia Flyers shortly after being traded from the Anaheim Ducks. Hossa’s cap number is just over $5 million per year and Pronger’s is just under $5 million. However, both players will earn the vast majority of their money in the first years of the deal. Under Hossa’s deal, he will earn just $3.5 total million in the final three years of the deal. Pronger will earn just $1.5 million total in the final two years of his deal. If not for those years, the players’ cap hits would be much higher.

The league is concerned that these types of deals violate the “spirit” of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Since they will be earning far less money in the later years of the contract than the earlier years, it has been predicted that both players will choose to retire since they will have most of their money made. The league is investigating to determine whether this was considered by the teams before the deals were signed. If it is found that this was part of the negotiations, the Hawks and Flyers could face heavy fines and could possibly lose draft picks.

While it is unlikely that any stiff action will come out of the league’s investigation, it again raises the likelihood that this issue will be addressed in the next round of CBA negotiations. Gary Bettman has stated that he does not believe that these types of deals do not circumvent the salary cap, but all signs point to several heated discussions when the league and players’ association meet to begin negotiations within the next two years. It is up to the individual teams to determine how they spend their money, but if the league has its way, there will likely be one more restriction in place to limit spending and maintain parity.

What Exactly is the “Spirit of the CBA”? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules