Questions

[Drew]

Do I have this right?

Example comparison of Free Agent Signing vs. Extensions.

LW Matt Moulson Ranked 30th in 11-12 and 51st in 10-11, so as the 30th Ranked LW would be required to Extend at 4m/year up to a maximum of 3 years.

If released to Free Agency he would be eligible for resigning at 50% of his Hockeybuzz Cap Hit (3,133,133) so half of 3.1m or 1.6m/year up to a maximum of 4 years.

Notwithstanding competitive bids it seems preferable to let most players walk and resign them later as FA's. There are a small number of exceptional players that should obviously be extended but in most cases it would seem better to play out a contract rather than signing an extension.

Even taking hostile bidding into consideration, given how little cap space GM's have to work with it's conceivable that a player like Mouslon could be re-acquired for less than 4m/year and at a term of 4 years rather than the 3 offered by extension. After all, the League only has 54 active roster slots at LW.

Is there strong enough incentive to pay a premium for the services of the 30th Ranked player even if his stock is somewhat on the rise?

Also, why is the length of the extension linked to the value of the re-signing? This entire clause seems to be written for young rapidly appreciating stars to keep them from being signed artificially low for a long period of time. That makes sense to me but why prohibit a player like Moulson from signing a 4 year extension when he could sign for 4 years via free-agency?

At the upper end of the scale I'll use the example of James Neal (the 2nd Ranked LW). I'm guessing he was dropped rather than being re-signed at the 8.5m/year extension number. As a Free Agent however bidding can start as low as 2.5m/year. That's quite a gap and I'm thinking there's room to extend the player at something closer to market value (both actual NHL and BY League).

Off the cuff I'm wondering if we could give our GM's an option to retain a player at a new value as determined by the market during Free Agency. In other words, release a player to free agency but have the ability to match the winning bid.

This may offer too much protection to GM's but by including a simple dis-incentive (an additional .5m/year added to the matched bid in order to bring that player back) may be enough to prevent GM's from releasing all their players to free-agency. Furthermore, GM's could be limited to matching one FA bid per season.


My rambling speculation aside I think we should be able to extend an aging veteran to a cheap 4 year contract.

The intent of this post is not to challenge the rules.
Rather, it is to ask if I have the correct understanding of them.


 

I'll get a full explain a bit later, maybe we can discuss the ability of the original GM being able to match the player in FA. We will look at all options!

[SlackJack]

Sorry Drew, I didn't mean to go off track with suggestions for changes. I just wanted to make sure I understood the way it's structured at the moment. The only thing that really struck me as odd is that I can't extend to the same length of term as I could on a FA contract.

[Drew]

Sorry Drew, I didn't mean to go off track with suggestions for changes. I just wanted to make sure I understood the way it's structured at the moment. The only thing that really struck me as odd is that I can't extend to the same length of term as I could on a FA contract.

Of course you can extend and sign a FA to the same contract years. This is the contract limits:

All contracts must be no longer than 4 years.  Also, for a given salary, all contacts (extension, FA) have term limits (max years contract can be per the salary) as provided below.

Maximum Years
</= $2.9m, 2 years
$3.0m - $6.4m, 3 years
>$6.5m, 4 years
Contracts can be less in length then the given values but can't exceed the given years. Ex. a 9 million free agent bid can be a 3 year - $3m, 2 year - $4.5m, or a 1 year - $9m but can not be a 4 year - $2.3m
Note: Maximum dollars for a single season is $10m

Let me know if you don't completely understand this.

[SlackJack]

What I understand from that is I can extend a 3-6.4m contract by a max of 3 years while the same player signed as a free agent could sign for 4 years regardless of what he is paid.

This is a knock against signing players to an extension.

[Drew]

Here is a more in-depth explanation
 
Maximum Years
</= $2.9m, 2 years
- so an extension or signing can be 2 years that is in value of 0.2m to 2.9m
- 0.2m to 2.9m can also be a 1 year contract

$3.0m - $6.4m, 3 years
- so an extension or signing can be 3 years that is in value of 3.0m to 6.4m
- 3.0m to 6.4m can also be a 1 or 2 year contract

>$6.5m, 4 years
- so an extension or signing can be 4 years that is in value of over 6.5m
- over 6.5m contract can also be a 1, 2, or 3 year contract

Contracts can be less in length then the given values but can't exceed the given years. Ex. a 9 million free agent bid can be a 3 year - $3m, 2 year - $4.5m, or a 1 year - $9m but can not be a 4 year - $2.3m
Note: Maximum dollars for a single season is $10m

[SlackJack]

Here is a more in-depth explanation
 
Maximum Years
</= $2.9m, 2 years
- so an extension or signing can be 2 years that is in value of 0.2m to 2.9m
- 0.2m to 2.9m can also be a 1 year contract

$3.0m - $6.4m, 3 years
- so an extension or signing can be 3 years that is in value of 3.0m to 6.4m
- 3.0m to 6.4m can also be a 1 or 2 year contract

>$6.5m, 4 years
- so an extension or signing can be 4 years that is in value of over 6.5m
- over 6.5m contract can also be a 1, 2, or 3 year contract

Contracts can be less in length then the given values but can't exceed the given years. Ex. a 9 million free agent bid can be a 3 year - $3m, 2 year - $4.5m, or a 1 year - $9m but can not be a 4 year - $2.3m
Note: Maximum dollars for a single season is $10m

I get this.

If I have a player that is resigned to an extension in the 3-6.4m range (for example) then I can extend said player for 1, 2, or 3 years.

However....

If I let that same player go to Free Agency instead of extending them.....then I can sign said player to a contract of up to 4 years.
________________

Therefore, there is a built-in incentive to sign Free Agents rather than signing Extensions as a contract signed during Free Agency is more flexible.

Right?

[Drew]

I get this.

If I have a player that is resigned to an extension in the 3-6.4m range (for example) then I can extend said player for 1, 2, or 3 years.

However....

If I let that same player go to Free Agency instead of extending them.....then I can sign said player to a contract of up to 4 years.
________________

Therefore, there is a built-in incentive to sign Free Agents rather than signing Extensions as a contract signed during Free Agency is more flexible.

Right?

I don't get exactly what you mean, if the value is between 3.0m to 6.4m, it can only be a 1,2,3 year contract, it can not be a 4 year contract no matter what way you are signing. If you mean you can sign him at 6.5m or over through free agency and a 4 year contract, you can also do that as an extension by simply paying the player more.
If the player's value is a $1.5m contract, you can only sign him for 1-2 years but you can increase his contract to $3.0m if you want a 3 year contract.

[SlackJack]

No worries Drew, just pecking over the finer points of things to be sure I've got it figured out. Thanks for your patience. 

[SlackJack]

Is there a minimum bid for players that are still unsigned UFA's at the beginning of free agency on July 15th?

[Drew]

Is there a minimum bid for players that are still unsigned UFA's at the beginning of free agency on July 15th?

Nope, such as KHL players that don't have binding NHL contracts. Their contracts are then the league minimum at $0.2m.