Comments on: More on Pavel

By: Matt Saler

Matt Saler — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 21:34:00 +0000

I agree, Gabriel. Believe me, my optimism is very short lasting and is soon replaced by pessimism.

You’re right, it does seem ridiculous for us to be placing our hopes of even making the playoffs on Pavel. The situation is probably not that dire but you have to admit he’d help. I think the Wings’ optimism is a little encouraging, though, and maybe we fans shouldn’t be so down on our chances.

Oil money over there must only support one or two players like Pavel a team. Not every team has even that capability. I hate to think what that does to team chemistry, though. Talk about stratification.

By: Gabriel P.

Gabriel P. — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 21:27:00 +0000

Matt, having witnessed similar back and forth reports in the days preceding Bettman’s cancellation of the season, I’m reluctant to be lifted from my pessimism by these stories.

I was pretty concerned about the whole deal before I realized that if we’re really counting on this one player just make the playoffs, we have a far bigger problem than just Datsyuk.

Here’s one thing I don’t get though: I read recently that the average monthly income in Russia is around $500. Not sure if that’s true, but assuming it is, how can that type of economy support a league that employs $3.5M players?

By: Tom L

Tom L — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 20:27:00 +0000

$3.5USD million tax-free, is equivalent to about $5.5 million before 36% in income taxes. Add in state and local taxes and the $6 million number becomes very reasonable.

If anything, this is shedding light on the ruinous tax structure in the U.S. as much as any salary cap restraints.

Ta,

By: Brian List

Brian List — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 20:53:00 +0000

I’d agree with Matt that a team that has a full roster and cap space to pay Pavs $6M would do it. I think the Pens and Coyotes could do it.

By: Matt Saler

Matt Saler — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:43:00 +0000

Pavel had 69 points with an expanded role on a very deep team. Not as the centerpiece star but as one of many stars. He had a significant increase in ice time with the departure of Sergei Fedorov but didn’t get the kind of ice time he would have gotten in some other cities in the league. You can look at his having played with stars two ways: first, he got a lot of help. Second, he was held back by not getting the ice time he would have gotten on a lesser team.

The first view has a whole lot of validity but I don’t think that lessens Pavel’s value. The help Pavel got wasn’t so much in contributing to his productionn directly but in contributing to his growth as a player. Guys like Igor Larionov and Steve Yzerman helped Pavel develop as a player instead of inflating his stats. Pavel’s time in Detroit was spent learning from the veterans off the ice and in practice and then turning it in to production for them.

On a team with so many stars, the ice time has to be more evenly spread out to keep everyone happy. So instead of playing bigtime minutes, Pavel had to give up some ice time to his teammates. I think that if Pavel were the centerpiece of an organization, he would flourish. We saw a glimpse of that when he became the Wings unnamed #1 center in 2003-2004. Sure, that was his only good year statistically but just about everyone agrees that he showed a lot of potential in the other two years he played. That 69 point season was not a maximum output by Pavel. I think it was a start.

All this doesn’t mean he’s worth $6 million to a team that has the depth to do without him but I think he might be worth it to a team that doesn’t. Maybe not now but after he’s spent a year in Russia, I think his stock will go up.

By: d-lee

d-lee — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:28:00 +0000

I’m just not getting it. You say that there are a lot of GMs who would be happy to pay Datsyuk $6M, but I really don’t think so. He has had ONE season in which he scored exactly 30 goals. That doesn’t place him among the elite of the elite. Even in the old sky’s the limit NHL, I don’t think he would be able to get that kind of a salary. Not until he proves himself a little more. The money (although perhaps not clean money) is there for the taking in Russia, so that’s good for him. And I’ll agree with you that as long as the money is there, he’s not going to come back to the NHL.