Dettroit News says it a 5 year contract

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070406/UPDATE/704060452

Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 04/06/07 at 12:08 PM ET

“Yzerman to name Legace to Canada’s Worlds roster.”
(e4)

Posted by O-Joe on 04/06/07 at 12:10 PM ET

O-Joe, those jokes never cease to get a chuckle from me.

From a Capitals perspective, this reduces the field of potential centermen for Oveckin. Now, the “splash” could very well be a winger to play with Semin, with Backstrom in the middle, and then bring back Zubrus to play with Clark and Ovechkin. Or the splash could be a tried-and-true No. 1 defenseman in front of Kolzig.

I still have this little voice in my head whispering, “Briere...”

Posted by Greg Wyshynski from DC on 04/06/07 at 12:16 PM ET

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/

Says its a 6 or 7 year deal.

Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 04/06/07 at 12:45 PM ET

“DeGroat to wash and wax my Lamborghini before receiving his paycheck today” (e6)

Posted by O-Joe on 04/06/07 at 12:53 PM ET

Knowing how lame the News/Freep are, I’d trust the 7 year… I guess we’ll find out for real in a minute here.

Posted by Nathan on 04/06/07 at 01:05 PM ET

7 years per 1270

Posted by Matt from Royal Oak, MI on 04/06/07 at 01:06 PM ET

[TSN]...says its a 6 or 7 year deal.

At between 6 and 7 million per…
That better be including tiered incentives for playoff performance.

Posted by O-Joe on 04/06/07 at 01:06 PM ET

Let me start off by saying this deal makes me nervous.  It’s a lot of money over a lot of time to a guy who, let’s face it, has some serious flaws to the perception of his game, chief among them being playoff production.

Okay, that’s out of the way.  Let’s presume the deal is 7 years, 6.5 per.  Something each of us should keep in mind is that the cap will likely be going up to 47 or 48 million from the 44 it was this year, so we need to properly index Datsyuk’s deal in order to get a true indicator of the money we’re talking about.

A 6.5 mil number is 13.5% of a 48 mil cap.  That equates to a 5.96 mil deal under the current 44 mil cap.

So when we talk about 6.5 million (allegedly) we’re really talking about 5.96 mil a year in this seasons cap dollars, which makes the deal somehwat more palatable on it’s face.

Still… I’m very nervous.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 04/06/07 at 01:34 PM ET

At between 6 and 7 million per…
That better be including tiered incentives for playoff performance.

I think the CBA limits incentives of that nature to older players (35+?) on one year deals.

Besides, even if it is based on playoff performance it’s still the same effective cap hit, the only difference is whether the team takes the hit in the current year or elects to defer it to the following season.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 04/06/07 at 01:36 PM ET

Not that I ever believed he knew what he was talking about, but - In your face Brett Hull!

That’s a ton of cash in today or tomorrow’s NHL.  Hopefully he continues to improve on his defensive play as he has the second half of the season.  For that kind of cash, you MUST be a top-flight player in ALL situations.

Having Dats wrapped up should make it a much easier off-season for Kenny.

Go Wings!

Posted by Andrew on 04/06/07 at 01:45 PM ET

I’m nervous too.  Long term deals in hockey make me very nervous.  I am also wondering if this means that maybe something is seriously wrong with Zetterberg and that they are thinking Pavel is their franchise player?  Maybe I’m just Hank obsessed and my worry about his health is clouding rational thought...quite possible.

I just hope this doesn’t turn out to be a Yashin like deal.

Posted by hockeychic on 04/06/07 at 01:45 PM ET

I think the CBA limits incentives of that nature to older players (35+?) on one year deals.

Didn’t know that.  I seem to recall that under the new CBA rookie contracts could be incentive-laden (up to a certain amount), so I guess I assumed all contracts could structured that way.

In light of this awareness, I’ll go with what I said elsewhere—that because Holland is getting such a bargain on Zetterberg’s contract (through 2008-09) maybe he’s approaching it from a combined band-for-the-buck viewpoint. 

The problem, if it even becomes one, is what to do when Z’s contract is up, assuming he continues to be one of the top guys.  By that point, maybe Lidstrom will have called it quits, which would free up some dollars.

I’d hate to see the Wings become one of those teams with two or three highly-paid super stars surrounded by a bunch of spare parts, though.

Posted by O-Joe on 04/06/07 at 02:16 PM ET

*bang, not band…

(Stupid no edit feature in this comment section).

Posted by O-Joe on 04/06/07 at 02:18 PM ET

I actually don’t have a problem with the deal. Had Holland waited until after the playoffs, I believe one of a few scenarios would’ve panned out, none of which would’ve been more favorable than this:

- Datsyuk would have a good playoff, and would be given a max contract by Detroit.
- Datsyuk would have a good playoff, and would be given a max contract by another team.
- Datsyuk would have a bad playoff, and would leave the team because Holland didn’t show trust in him by signing prior to the playoffs.

This deal is still less than a max contract (which some team would’ve given him provided he plays well in the postseason), and is probably not much more (maybe even less) than some teams would’ve (over)paid for him if his playoff is bad.

But for me, this is the big part:

Datsyuk will now play for the Wings for the duration of his prime, barring a trade. When the cap increases (and we all know it will continue on that path at least another season or two), the Wings will regain the monetary advantage they had as a large portion of teams have to budget themselves below the cap. On top of it all, Datsyuk will be making 6.7 million while comparable players that sign contracts in the next 2 or 3 years will probably get more due to the hightened cap.

Something I like about this deal—it showed trust between Datsyuk and the Wings organization.

Lastly, I think the uproar about how “poorly” he’s played in the postseason is rediculous. Look at how awful this team played as a whole in the playoffs since they last won the Cup. This is not a Datsyuk issue, it’s an organizational issue that we all hope Babcock will successfully repair. Hopefully, the bumps and bruises guys have turned up with over the last couple of days will be just that and the team will be fairly healthy for the playoffs.

Posted by Nathan on 04/06/07 at 03:46 PM ET

I’d hate to see the Wings become one of those teams with two or three highly-paid super stars surrounded by a bunch of spare parts, though.

Sounds like the Tampa Bay Lightning you are describing.

I don’t like it either, but I suppose it would work as long as one of the non-spare parts is a goaltender.  Detroit was one of the first teams to get a capologist after the CBA, if I recall correctly, so it would be logical to assume they have a plan for making the numbers work out in the future.  At least they aren’s throwing players at a wall and seeing what sticks.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/06/07 at 03:54 PM ET

Well, not too sure what to think frankly.  I had been thinking that it would be nice to hold this over his head through the playoffs.  However, after watching him skate like a man posessed last night - maybe I was wrong.  I’d have to imagine this deal was ironed out before last night’s game - not just this morning.  So clearly he felt something that affected him postively last night.  Now if he can just carry that through the playoffs he’ll really have something (and so will the Wings).
I’m glad they signed him, I’m glad it’s long term - I can’t imagine the Wings without him, but I’m concerned about $/year and how it will affect Z - the real priority in my book.

Posted by Hoser from Downer Peninsula on 04/06/07 at 03:55 PM ET

Nathan--I see your point on the playoff performance.  He got an awful lot of flak last year for not playing through a bruised leg, but Mickey Redmond was talking about it in a recent game (cf Zetterberg) and said that he had a charley horse so severe he had to have blood drained from it (ow-ow-ow--I hate needles!) so he couldn’t even stay in shape while he was recovering, and it took a couple of games to get up to speed.  By which time the series was over.  Zetterberg, on the other hand, they pointed out can at least skate and stay in shape while he is dealing with his bad back.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/06/07 at 04:02 PM ET

I don’t think anyone can argue that Zetterberg is receiving fair compensation for what he has provided thus far in his contract.

So, another way of looking at the Datsyuk signing, at least until Zetterberg’s contract is up, is that the Wings are essentially paying $4.675M for the services of each of them over the next two seasons.  What GM wouldn’t make that move if they both were available to him at such a per-player price?

Another thing, setting aside the projection that the cap is forecast to continuing escalating through most of Datsyuk’s term, Lidstrom’s high-value contract expires after next season.  Is he going to re-sign or retire?  If he re-signs, will he concede to giving a hometown discount, making Datsyuk’s contract a bit more palatable?

Put that one in the crossing that bridge when we come to it category, I guess…

Posted by O-Joe on 04/06/07 at 04:59 PM ET

Let me say that given the Ted Leonsis history with the Washington Capitals he is more likely to let A Oveckin go to another team rather than spend premium money to bring someone to the Caps to complement AO.

Posted by RWBill from the train station climbing on The Hasek.All Aboard on 04/06/07 at 07:55 PM ET

A little high for my tastes, but I’ll tell you this much:

From what I heard earlier in the season from someone who actually knows Pavel, he wanted the big bucks, but he was also tremendously worried about remaining a Red Wing.

Pavel’s comfortable here.  He knows that he’s a leader, but he doesn’t have to be the voice of the team, and the guy is very honestly a bit shy.  He knows more English than he lets on, of course, but the language remains an issue for him. 

His friends and teammates understand him, his real best friend is on the team and will be signed to a similar “till you’re 35” deal in two years, there’s a small but thriving Russian and Russian Orthodox community in Metro Detroit, and he’s going to remain with a team that he feels very loyal to. 

For Pavel, this deal takes the pressure off and just allows him to do what he does best--play hockey.  There’s no better situation for him to be in than the one he’s in now.

Something does tell me, however, that when they add Pavel and Hank’s salaries together, the Wings are also subtracting Lang’s from the payroll. 

If I were a betting man, I’d say that unless Bertuzzi continues to run into his own goalie in the playoffs, he’ll be given every opportunity to re-sign (and you can give some bonuses to players who have missed significant time with injuries, a la Eric Lindros, thus circumventing the whole “no bonuses unless you’re a rookie or over 35” stipulation), and if Hasek wins a round, he’ll probably be asked back as well as the team doesn’t seem comfortable with the idea of Jimmy Howard coming up to the NHL yet. 

I think they’ll work hard to keep Schneider in the fold, Cheli will obviously be re-signed, and Malts will take less to remain a Wing, but guys like Calder, Markov, Lilja, Samuelsson (although he’s still got some time on his deal), etc. are on short leashes, and if Dom returns, Ozzie would have to decide whether he’s comfortable with remaining a back-up.

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 04/07/07 at 02:28 AM ET