And then there was none.
Well that’s not entirely true, the signing of Miikka Kiprusoff, a reported six year deal worth $35 million bucks, is the Darryl Sutter hat trick. His first two tallies, the Robyn Regehr and Jarome Iginla pacts were completed and announced in early July, with the third coming this afternoon with a press conference at the Saddledome.
Getting those three players signed was the big feat to be accomplished, the task required to prove copious nay sayers wrong, that the Flames core wasn’t a ticking time bomb, or a three year window, or a built for now tomorrow be damned hockey club.
With a stroke of a pen that third piece falls into place leaving Darryl Sutter to boast a trio of core key players in place for the next five seasons. Stability, continuity, and as everyone on Olympic Way will hope; history.
That isn’t to suggest Mr. Sutter is out of the woods, no not by a long shot.
Dion Phaneuf, Kristian Huselius and Daymond Langkow; all key competitors as well still need to be inked to keep the entire team’s core together, a feat that will likely come short with or perhaps two of said players pushed to the outside. This isn’t a Calgary problem, it’s a cap world where teams will face similar situations each and every summer.
But for day we keep the discussion to the goaltender, Kiprusoff.
Is this a good deal?
On the surface, yes. The average salary of the pact, a reported salary cap hit of just over $5.8 million is a home town discount for the Flames given the contracts of Roberto Luongo and Nikolai Khabibulin. October aside, Kiprusoff is one of the game’s best, and he is taking less money on a per season basis than he easily would have garnered on the open market.
The deal is front loaded, giving the Flames some Daniel Briere like flexibility to buy the player out should things taper off at the end of his contract, a new wrinkle in contract negotiation that was flushed out this summer.
But six years for a 31 year old goaltender with less than stellar fitness commitment and a propensity to wobble out of the gates each season?
Any long term cab chewing deal is dangerous. A GM has to pick which players are a safe bet to grow old without wrinkles and which ones are clearly a good looking option that has pratt fall written all over them.
Martin Brodeur could have been signed to a 14 year contract when he broke in and it would have been a steal, but would the Montreal Canadiens and now Colorado Avalanche like a do over on the Jose Theodore contract if they were afforded the opportunity? And just what will come of that bizzaro Islander contract for starter Rick Dipietro and his 15 year contract?
Only time will tell.
For now though, rejoice Calgary fans, your center pieces are in place virtually ensuring the Flames a modicum of success in the near and midterm future.
The playoffs aren’t played in October.
