Talbot's contract violates salary cap?!?

[dash]

The status of Maxime Talbot’s contract with the Philadelphia Flyers may be in question. According to TSN’s Gord Miller elements of the deal violate the NHL’s salary cap. He added that a penalty for the violation is unlikely to be handed to the Flyers.

The final two years of Talbot’s deal are reportedly worth $1 million per year. This would violate cap rules as the final two years of the contract can not be worth less than half of either of the first two years of the deal.

The first two years of Talbot’s contract are worth $2.5 million and $2.25 million respectively.

In order to fit within the rules of the cap, the deal would have to be restructured. This could be achieved by making the fourth or fifth year worth at least $1.125 million.

Talbot's deal with Flyers may violate league's salary cap

 

[Eddie_Shack]

I don't think they did this to intentionally circumvent the cap. It's not like Talbot is going to retire in three years. Still, you would think after the Kovalchuk fiasco, and having the Pronger contract on their hands that they would be more careful with this stuff. Don't they have a capologist?

 

[PhillyPhaithful48]

Shoot.


I guess this mean we have to release Talbot back into the wild.


Darn

 

[elocomotive]

I was shocked when I read about this the other day. I can't believe that Talbot's deal violates the cap rules while contracts like Kovalchuk or Brad Richards do not.

Frankly, I wish the cap rules were structured so that every year of the deal had to be within x% of every other year of the deal (maybe 20-25%ish). This 12-12-10-9-8-4-2-1-1-1 is exactly the kind of trouble (overspending) the cap was supposed to prevent. When teams are finding ways to get out of those last few years, then they are overpaying in the early ways, and in the long run, just circumventing the cap. If you want to spend close to the cap or close to the floor, that's your option as an owner or GM. We don't need the contract wizardry on top of it. It goes against the spirit and intent of having the cap in the first place.

 

[flyersfan4706]

$$$$$$hhhhhit.

GET IT?!?!?!

 

[PhillyPhaithful48]

What I don't get is that he will receive the same amount of money by the end of the deal. Who cares what the breakdown is, the salary cap remains the same.

 

[flyersfan4706]

It goes to show that Homer doesnt know how the salary cap works. Wouldnt he have learned when Pronger's contract was checked out last season?

 

[puckhead]

ahhhh.... so this is why Ehrhoff and Richards' first two years are
very low salary and very high signing bonus. it allows for the $1m tails at the end.

you learn something every day

 

[dash]

I don't know, they really need to lock this down better in the next CBA. Yes, Brad Richards' contract looks better because it only goes to the age of 40 and the overall dollar figures are substantially lower than Kovalchuk's contract, but c'mon, it's a cap circumvention contract that tacks on three years at the end to lower the cap hit. I don't think hiding big dollars early as a signing bonus was Bettman's plan when they came out of the lockout.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

How does this contract violate the cap, but, Brad Richards contract doesn't? It's BULLSHIT!!

 

[dash]

Pulled this from another board -

(Article 50.7 - "100 Percent Rule" for Multi-Year SPCs).


The only changes that were made last year after the Kolalchuk situation were:

The AAV is based upon the years of the contract only up to the age of 40. If the player is 40 or older on July 1st, his cap hit for that season will equal the value of the contract for that season only and will not be included in calculating the cap hit for any prior seasons

If the average value of the three highest years of the contract exceeds $5.75 million, the years between the ages of 36 and 39 will have a minimum value of $1 million per season when calculating the AAV

NHL, NHLPA agree to contract rules, approve Kovalchuk's 15-year deal - NHL Free Agency 2010

This is why Brad Richards' contract is 9 years long - any longer and the final years won't be included in the AAV calculations; and why the final years have a value of $1 million per year.

So yes, it doesn't violate any existing rules, but only rich teams can afford that type of combination of salary + signing bonus.

 

[pixburgher66]

With the issues that contracts have had of late...how did no one catch this? There are guys paid by teams to make sure these things are legal.

 

[mattola]

ahhhh.... so this is why Ehrhoff and Richards' first two years are
very low salary and very high signing bonus. it allows for the $1m tails at the end.

you learn something every day

now THAT is getting around the cap...

 

[IPostedWhat]

The Sabres were smart to front-load the Erhoff deal and were able to do do due to the fact that their new owner is a billionaire who happens to have cash on hand in order to make that type of creative deal. It goes without question why there was bitchin in the kitchen amongst NHL GMs and owners immediately after the payment terms of Erhoff's deal were disclosed by the league. Many detractors cried afoul as they thought that they contract was a violation of the NHL's salary cap circumvention rules. The league reviewed the Erhoff deal and rendered its opinion that Pegula and the Sabres are well within their right to front-load the deal and to pay the player $1 million per season for the final three years of the deal.

Sour grapes by the cash-poor and floor teams perhaps, however, a totally legal business practice.

HockeyBuzz.com - GARTH - ERHOFF CONTRACT OK, TALBOT'S IS NOT

 

[puckhead]

It just seems the Flyers need to invest in a more competent capologist.
This one isn't tough to work around, but it's the seconds fuck up in a few years.
That Pronger contract (they weren't aware that it was a +35 contract) was just fucking stupid.

almost as dumb as the Leafs signing Jeff Finger to 4x the amount the was asking for (rumour was he was asking for $3.5 mill over 4 yrs, and the Leafs understood it as $3.5m per year and said yes), AND thought that they were getting a different player (Kurt Sauer, i think)

 

[pixburgher66]

It just seems the Flyers need to invest in a more competent capologist.
This one isn't tough to work around, but it's the seconds fuck up in a few years.
That Pronger contract (they weren't aware that it was a +35 contract) was just fucking stupid.

almost as dumb as the Leafs signing Jeff Finger to 4x the amount the was asking for (rumour was he was asking for $3.5 mill over 4 yrs, and the Leafs understood it as $3.5m per year and said yes), AND thought that they were getting a different player (Kurt Sauer, i think)

WHHHHHAAAAT? How is this the first time I've heard this? Wow. Talk about incompetent.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

WHHHHHAAAAT? How is this the first time I've heard this? Wow. Talk about incompetent.

I'm stunned by this as well. How could any team be that STUPID?

 

[pixburgher66]

I'm stunned by this as well. How could any team be that STUPID?

I'd like to know what their means of communication were. Because based on this information, I'm lead to assume it was carrier pigeon going through a war zone.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I'd like to know what their means of communication were. Because based on this information, I'm lead to assume it was carrier pigeon going through a war zone.

Whether there was a communication problem or not the Leafs had to know 3.5 million per year for Jeff Finger was ASSININE right? The Leafs have a very large front office. A huge scouting staff. I mean somebody had to tell Burke that contract was ridiculous right?

 

[pixburgher66]

Whether there was a communication problem or not the Leafs had to know 3.5 million per year for Jeff Finger was ASSININE right? The Leafs have a very large front office. A huge scouting staff. I mean somebody had to tell Burke that contract was ridiculous right?

Good point. Can you imagine being Jeff Finger on that day? And your agent calls...

"Hiya Jeff! So...know how we wanted 4 years and 3.5 million?"
"Yeah, did they not take it or something?"
"Not...not exactly. Somehow, we were offered 4 years...and 3.5 million a year."
"*Silence*"
"So, if you could hurry to your fax machine, you may want to sign this as soon as you can"
*Click*