Brian Burke, general manager of the Anaheim Ducks is in a hairy situation. His left winger Dustin Penner is currently being poached by Kevin Lowe of the Edmonton Oilers, for a mere $21.25 million for a five-year contract. The Ducks have the right to match the offer in order to keep him.
While saying he had no problem with any team tendering an offer sheet to a restricted free agent such as Penner — a rarely utilized mechanism within the parameters of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NHL Players Association — Burke made it clear he is none too happy with how Edmonton general manager Kevin Lowe went about it. Burke said. "I certainly think this could have waited until Monday. I think it was a classless move, timing-wise. I was not notified until the agent faxed it in. I would have thought Kevin would have notified me. I thought that was gutless."
Burke also pointed to the seven-year, $50 million offer extended by the Oilers earlier this month to Buffalo's Thomas Vanek, a bid the Sabres immediately matched to retain the high-scoring left wing. "This is the second time this year, in my opinion, that Edmonton has offered a grossly inflated salary," Burke said. "It impacts on all 30 teams. I think it's an act of desperation by a general manager who is fighting to keep his job."
Additionally, it raises questions on the Michael Nylander case of 'Did he take the job or didn't he take the job?', as Kevin Lowe is considering legal actions against Michael Nylander for taking a deal with the Washington Capitals after supposedly agreeing to a mult-year free agent deal, leaving my Blueshirt New York Rangers franchise. Not sure I believe Kevin Lowe's side of it at this point.
So here is the downside to Kevin Lowe's behavior -- Dustin Penner is a good forward, not a great forward and the Anaheim franchise is yet to secure their two powerhouses, both yet contemplating retirement -- Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne. To address those potential voids, the Ducks signed unrestricted free agents Mathieu Schneider and Todd Bertuzzi in July, bringing the club less than $2 million from the salary cap for next season. These level of offers are driving up the cost of mid-range players and will set dangerous precedent for what players will expect to be paid -- soon to reverberate throughout the League. (on my greed side, I will admit the ridiculous five and seven year deals with Chris Drury and Scott Gomez were over-the-top; I may regret my 'glee' three years into these contracts).
These are dangerous times in the NHL, and though currently occurring in the Western Conference, beyond the cost of players skyrocketing, the gentlemanly ways of hockey GM's talking to each other may be on a down slide. We are seeing a transitional stage of the NHL post-lockout, when rules were put into place to protect franchises and 'even' the playing field for all owners; we are now going into an NHL where ethics are in question and players' loyalties are threatened by the big dollar.
Not sure if anything has changed. Should be fun to watch. Not sure I'd want to work for a hockey team!
tdr
