Funny … After I went on about how the Boston Bruins were driving their fans insane, they actually had a pretty good week. They traded Martin Jones, who they got in the Milan Lucic deal, for a 2016 first round pick and a prospect. And on Wednesday, they made a seemingly innocuous trade when then sent Reilly Smith to Florida in exchange for Jimmy Hayes. It’s a fairly even trade at first glance. But in the deal, Florida also acquired the contract of Marc Savard, which would be great for the Panthers if this was 2006, but Savard hasn’t played in the league since 2011 due to complications from multiple concussions. For the Bruins, the loss of just over $4 million from their books enabled them to sign perhaps the number one UFA on the market, Matt Beleskey.
Does this seem strange to anybody else?
It’s a strange loophole that exists for teams to use to their advantage. But my question is this: What does Florida get out of this? Reilly Smith for Jimmy Hayes might be a clear win for Florida, but their stats weren’t all that different last season. What the Panthers really do is they get to lift themselves away from the salary cap floor with four extra million on the books while only having to pay Savard $575,000 in each of the next two seasons. Which is great for the Panthers. But is it so great for their fans? How do you explain to your fans that paying for basically nothing while keeping yourself above the cap floor instead of paying that money for an actual player is a good thing? If a team like Florida, which made an inspired run led by Jaromir Jagr of all people, can’t spend money to get a Matt Beleskey or anybody else for themselves then what message is that sending? And it’s the reason why something needs to happen regarding these contracts belonging to inactive players still on the books for teams that trade them to desperate teams looking to stay above the cap floor.
#FlaPanthers Tallon on Savard cap hit: It made sense, doesn’t cost much and #Bruins ‘probably wouldn’t have made deal otherwise.’
— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) July 1, 2015
Is Reilly Smith for Jimmy Hayes really enough of a win for Dale Tallon and the Panthers to justify taking on a dead contract and helping the Bruins get another player out of it?
ST PAUL, MN – JUNE 24: General Manager Dale Tallon of the Florida Panthers stands with third overall pick Jonathan Huberdeau by the Florida Panthers a Panthers jersey at the podium during day one of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft at Xcel Energy Center on June 24, 2011 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Chris Pronger was announced as a member of this year’s Hall of Fame class last week and yet his contract was traded to the Arizona Coyotes around the same time. Something seems very wrong with this scenario. I understand that guys like Pronger and Savard don’t want to retire so that they can still collect the money owed to them. That’s their right. But if it’s clear that these guys are never playing again, can we close this loophole that allows these contracts to stay on the books so that teams can manipulate them? The Bruins and the Flyers could have probably used the cap space years ago to build their rosters, and now they get wheeled to these low budget teams so that they can get away with putting together a cheap product on the ice. Seems like something that can be and should be an easy fix, whether it be a medical buyout where the player gets most of the money and it doesn’t affect the cap, or basic insurance. But whatever the answer may be, something just seems fishy when it comes to trading players who haven’t stepped on the ice in five years.
