Six Point Eight Million Dollars a year for four years….
So much as for Kent Hughes “Home team discount” talk….
And while we’re at it — so much as for Quebec-based rumors that Vinny was to be traded / wanted to head to the Habs post haste. 
I’ve been out all afternoon and I have just found out the news that Lecavalier was inked so there is not much flesh on this post… The fact is the top line is inked and one key member of this squad is absent now (that being Martin St. Louis). That’s the big concern.
Rumor early on had Marty taking only 4 million a year in a multi-year deal…. That was just talk though before the financial insanity of the 2005 offseason commenced. You’ve seen other big name free agents and RFA’s getting big dollars and of course — Marty is overdue to be making top dollar. He had originally joined the team making the league minimum and that lasted even though he performed. His last contract was 2 million dollars a year and he more than earned it with his Hart Trophy season which helped the Lightning win the Cup.
Lecavalier’s been deemed the Franchise since coming into the league and he’s earned franchise money (which means Brad Richards could be the odd man out in a couple of years with thanks to his buddies payday)…Just how much, and for how long, will Martin St. Louis be signed? And just for the sake of asking - what is his worth in trade (not that this fan wants to see him gone)?
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6 Comments until now
St. Louis is going to be tough. He’s going to want similar money to Vinny (it would seem judging from the reported negotiation problems with St. Louis). I’m not sure the Lightning can afford that. It will be interesting to see what they do (who knows, maybe they’ll let another team tender an offer and try to get a load of picks.)
At 6.8mil for Vinny, do you think there’s room to still sign St. Louis? The payroll stands at 31+ mill with 5 people to sign. Great news, though, that he’s been signed for 4 years, though I think that Feaster overpaid by a bit.
Ta,
Fromw hat I have read in Jay Feaster’s comments — he plans on carrying only 20 players and being 1.5 under the cap….
It does get tight now and it would have been tighter if we had signed Nik Khabibulin. Could you imagine if his five year deal had been signed? Vinny would have taken a one year deal and Marty would have indeed been an odd man out.
A fast closure to the Champion roster - all at the sake fo major money.
Maybe financial sanity will hit the league next eyear? If not, we’re going to start losing key components.
The four year term is great, but is Lecavalier really a $7 million player? For that matter, is anyone in the NHL?
You know my position on the continuing idiocy of NHL GM’s and the never ending quest to feed the players’ egos. I was hoping that the new CBA would keep teams like the Lightning together for years to come, but with this signing, I find that extremely unlikely.
Marty is a great player but he’s 30 years old. Vinny is the cornerstone of the franchise. He’s younger and he has more talent. We might have overpaid a bit but it keeps him here for four more years rather than having Montreal throw the max at him next year. Marty will make 4-5 mil and thats what he deserves. No team is going to throw huge money at him because I don’t believe he would put up the same numbers elsewhere.
Only having 20 players under contract is really dangerous I think, but, that may be a potential solution to the cap issues the Bolts have.
It wouldn’t be me, certainly. We’ll see how it works out for him.
Ta,