Hossa re-signing looking unlikely, may be for the best

Posted by on . 11 comments

Ansar Khan has the latest on the Hossa “negotiations” here. It doesn’t sound like he’ll be back, as Holland himself is not optimistic and is even talking about possibly shopping his rights as early as Monday.

When I read that the Hossa camp is seeking a deal averaging $6 million a year, I have to think he’s going to move on. That’s not the sound of a guy looking to take a discount to win any more. A $4 million cap hit, front-loaded deal could get him $6 million a year for a span, so I’m not sure what the problem is if it’s not that he wants out, or to be paid big bucks for the rest of his career rather than just a few more years.

At this point, I’m leaning toward hoping the Wings leave the cap space and look to the future, when the cap may fall a few million and make stocking the ’10-’11 roster more difficult, even with the likely reduction in Lidstrom’s pay to a sunset discount.

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  1. Garth says:
    June 27, 2009 at 7:46 pm

    I'll be haqppy if they don't sign Hossa.  He was great in the regular season, good in the forst three rounds of the playoffs and disappeared in the finals.

    I had to be crude about it, but as of now he's a two-time loser and, well, you don't win with losers.

    I have no problem with him seeking $6M a year, and to pretend that's not a discount is absurd.  Last year he had a $9M/9 year deal on the table, and last year he scored 40 goals for us.  He took a discount last year and is willing to take another discount this year (for us).  To ask him to take half of what he made last year is absurd, and nobody in their right might could blame him for looking elsewhere.

    And frankly, last year he signed a one-year deal that we KNEW was going to be a one and done.  Can't we just appreciate what he did, shake his hand and wish him well?

    I don't want him if it means losing more.  We're probably going to lose at least one of Happy or Sammy, and if we signed him we'd have to shed more players who contributed to us WINNING the Cup, not just finishing in the finals.  Even if he signed for $4M, we'd already be over the cap by almost a million and we'd still have to sign two more forwards.  Who do you trade away?  Stuart?  That'll bring us under the cap and allow us to sign a couple guys for just over league minimum, plus we lose his physicality.  Flip, Kronwall or Cleary?  Either one would get us under the cap, but then we'd have to still sign two or three forwards, which means we'd have to get rid of ANOTHER salary just to sign another  league minimum player.

    Thanks Marian.  Good luck wherever you land.

    And frankly, I'd love to hear that his rights are traded on Monday, because I'm sure we could turn a nice third round pick into the next Lidstrom.

    Reply
  2. Garth says:
    June 27, 2009 at 7:49 pm

    I should amend that to say "I'd love to hear that his rights are traded TO AN EASTERN CONFERENCE TEAM on Monday…"

    Reply
  3. Matt Saler says:
    June 27, 2009 at 7:53 pm

    I have no problem with him seeking $6M a year, and to pretend that’s not a discount is absurd.

    Roster issues aside (call the following hypothetical), I have no problem with him earning $6 million a year here, but only if it's at a $4 million or less cap hit, something doable with staggered structuring. It's not about paying him $4 million a year. It's about willingness to take a deal that isn't conventionally structured, but will pay him big bucks up front and leave him a very rich man at the end.

    And frankly, last year he signed a one-year deal that we KNEW was going to be a one and done.

    Sure, it was accepted as likely, but the hope was he'd fit in and want to stick around. He seemed to fit in well, though your point about losers is a good one.

    Regardless, for the roster-related reasons you cite, keeping him would come at a cost too high. A trade East would be nice, but it's unlikely anyone would be willing to take him when they could just sign him Mondy with no loss of draft picks.

    Reply
  4. Matt Saler says:
    June 27, 2009 at 7:54 pm

    Plus, anyone who would provide a worthwhile pick wouldn't be competitor enough for Hossa to agree to sign with them beforehand, anyway.

    Reply
  5. Garth says:
    June 27, 2009 at 9:57 pm

    I'd agree with you about the likeliness of anyone giving up a pick, but I said that on Kukla's Korner on Friday afternoon about Bouwmeester too, so who knows?

     

    My feeling, honestly, is that they offered him a $4M/year contract that wasn't as "unconventionally structured" as we might have thought he would get.  I honestly can't imagine them giving him a Zetterberg/Franzen deal.

     

    Both Z and Mule earned their deals by having great playoff performances last year.  I mean, one of them was the Conn Smythe winner and the other would've been the Conn Smythe winner had he not gotten that concussion.

     

    While good for the most part, Hossa fell apart in the finals and overall hasn't proven himself to be the playoff performer that either Z or Mule were.

     

    And the thing is, he's asking for $6M from the Wings, which means he's probably not looking for a 12 year deal.

     

    OR, it could be that they're offering him a Mule style deal with a $4M cap hit but he's asking for a Z style deal with a $6M cap hit that would distribute the way Z's does…

     

    Is he worth that?

     

    I simply don't believe he's earned that kind of creative accounting that Z and Mule earned.  And honestly, I can't imagine that Holland would give Hossa a contract that would take him past where Datsuk's contract goes.

    Reply
  6. Baroque says:
    June 28, 2009 at 4:26 am

    I'm not really surprised.  I like Hossa, but I figured this was likely just a one-shot deal and I appreciate what he did and wish him luck back in the Eastern Conference (hopefully).  I wonder how much of this is his agent determined to get the most money for his client regardless of comfort level?

     

    The Red Wings just can't afford what he is asking – and honestly, they can't really afford what Hossa's talent is actually worth, either.  He's an excellent player, but with the cap set up the way it is no team can possibly have too many known excellent players at one time because of the financial constraints.  There have to be unexpected bargains because of players collected off the scrap heap that perform very well, and rookies that come into their own before they were expected to do so.

     

    I'll miss Hossa, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the team performs with a few younger players in the lineup.  It's always fun to see the kids improve as they start their NHL careers.  :)

    Reply
  7. Megan Saler says:
    June 28, 2009 at 7:40 pm

    The problem for Hossa is this: if he leaves, and the Wings go on to win the Cup (which we all know they will ;-) right?), then the Hossa joke grows. He probably won't be on the losing end next season, but still. He'll become the guy who always leaves one year too early.

    Reply
  8. Garth says:
    June 29, 2009 at 8:21 am

    Yeah, but if he stays and they partially dismantle the team for him, it becomes the same as Pittsburgh this year who, if they signed him, would not have been able to afford the depth that helped them win. Hell, WITHOUT HIM, we're going to be pressed up against the cap again as it is.

    And what if he signs with the Wings and we lose AGAIN? Then he's the bad luck charm and we've got him for a long time and we keep having to shed salary elsewhere if the cap goes down.

    Frankly, as a Wing fan, what happens to him next year on another team is of no significance to me. What happens to the team THIS YEAR and NEXT YEAR, if he signs here, is what worries me.

    Reply
  9. Megan Saler says:
    June 29, 2009 at 9:10 am

    Oh yeah, I'm definitely concerned more about the team. I've said it since before the playoffs, I'd rather not have them sign him. I think our depth is more important than one star player. We have enough stars. They need a support system; we as Wings fans know that very clearly. I hope he doesn't sign. I'd rather keep Hudler, let Sammy go, and find another discarded gem to turn into Cleary.

    Reply
  10. Garth says:
    June 29, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    Yeah, I'm on the exact same page.

    The thing that annoys me about the situation is that when Hossa signed we all knew it was a one year deal. Then it turned into "maybe we'll re-sign him", then Kenny signed Z and it was "well, it's between Franzen and Hossa". Then Kenny inked Franzen and it was game over for Hossa. There was that feeling, going into the playoffs, that Hossa needed to step up and do what whe could because this was his only chance with us. And now, after a decent playoff and a very lacklustre final, suddenly it's "maybe we'll make room for him"?

    I don't like it. I'd be ok if we kept Sammy at his current salary and I'd like to keepy Happy, but I can live with losing them if we're bringing Helm and Leino into the full-time roster.

    I'm not sure I can live with Hossa at the expense of a small handful of MORE players. I mean, without signing Hossa we still have to decide on two of Lebda, Lilja and Meech and we have to find an inexpensive forward or two to round out the lineup.

    Reply
  11. Megan Saler says:
    June 29, 2009 at 6:10 pm

    I'd prefer Huds over Sammy for two simple reasons. A: I love Huds, been following him since he was playing here in GR; and 2: Sammy on the point gives me major headaches and it seems like the only way to prevent this is for him to go away.

     

    Losing Sammy also means we'll need another forward. Helm and Leino are guaranteed a spot on the roster. The consensus seems to be that Abby needs one more year in GR (thankfully for us GR fans who are seeing the roster decimated as it is every couple of years). They're going to have to find someone inexpensive to fill out the forwards. Someone along the lines of a Jason Williams (please not him, because that brings another headache on the freaking point). Someone who can score but doesn't cost much. As much as Sammy irritates me, he has been a valuable depth scorer and we need to replace that. Hudler is already one of the best producers in the league, so with more ice time he should easily get above 20-25 goals.

     

    Lilja's condition could decide the defensemen issue for us. He is doubtful that he will be ready by the start of the season. If that's the case, we'll keep Lebda and Meech both. If Lils is ready, I predict them sticking with Lebda. Who knows, they might find a way to carry Meech as well, especially with Lils on the IR.

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