Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times talks about how Martin St. Louis is the odd man out under the Salary Cap - as has already been discussed by everyone in LightningNation to one extent or another. He’s in a tight spot with money due him (and I do feel it’s due him) and money the team can pay.
Marty broke in with the Lightning after signing for the league minimum in 2000-01… ($225,000 ) Bolts fans saw flashes of brilliance during his first season, notching 18 goals with 22 assists in 78 games with the team. The next season — he broke through even more before breaking his leg… His stats (16 goals, 19 assists, 53 games) don’t tell the tale of how much of an impact he had on games he played.
He was “rewarded” for his efforts during the 2002 off season with a 2 year contract that paid him 2.5 million dollars… And if stats tell you anything, Martin was being lowballed in his “reward.” 2 seasons, 164 points, a Hart Trophy and Stanley Cup later…
Martin’s big payday could have materialized pre-lockout but was gambled away with thanks to the lockout. His agent had been negotiating with Jay Feaster in September 2004 and yet talks stalled and then broke off due to the uncertainty.
Now St. Louis becomes the prime example of life under the Cap. He’s not Terrell Owens - trying to dictate his pay and make a spectacle out of himself for the sum of himself. He’s a team player and he’s shown that time and time again…
I don’t know what else to say — life under the cap is not supposed to be free market spending galore (as Brad Richards had speculated if there was no cap). Even without the cap, the Lightning would be in a bind to find the money to divide between Marty and Vinny and other players who will become Free Agents next year…
Marty’s taken one for the team before and will be forced to do it again — even if that team isn’t the Lightning.
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4 Comments until now
I’m kind of up in the air in what I want to happen here. I’m fairly sure if Marty signs the long-term, we won’t see Brad after this year. I don’t believe the Lightning will be able to find the money for both of these guys. So if Marty signs the one year deal to see what happens, the Bolts will have to make a decision on who they want next year. The good news being that at least we’ll most likely have all of them (minus Khabibulin) for another year.
On a side note, I really think Marty needs to think about how successful he’ll be if he goes elsewhere. I think he fits perfectly in this system because he’s a speed guy on a speed team. I think that if he chooses to go somewhere else next year, we’ll see a dramatic dropoff in his stats (just IMO).
John - Why haven’t other teams been making offers for Marty? I posted on my blog how I thought it was odd that Kovalchuk, Heatley and Marty have all not recieved any offers from other teams. I know they are RFA’s but these are some of the best players in the game, they are worth the picks you lose to get them.
That’s a really good question Phil, and it’s worth a long hard thought… I mean, could teams possibly have a memorendum from the league saying not to cause further salary escalation by going after RFA’s? I find that doubtful seeing teams like Pittsburg and Chicago have been free spending.
I think the last time someone tried to sign an RFA - itw was Carolina trying to steal Fedorov from Detroit (and put the hurt on Detroit if they wanted to match the offer).
I guess a lot of the teams that would try it are already out of cap room….
Actually, I think the Rangers signing Sakic was the last RFA offersheet. Last major one, anyway.
Poaching RFAs may become more common in the future, but for right now, I suspect most teams are still assessing the impact of doing this. Teams can’t simply fill holes by throwing money at players anymore, so wise drafting will become critical to long term success. Certantly some teams think that St. Louis may be worth $5 million a year. However, is he worth $5 million a year, 4 first rounders, and the cost of finding replacements for those lost draft picks?