NHL opening night live updates: Latest from today’s games, starting with Blackhawks vs. Panthers
It might be a little while before Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has to really wade into such waters — Connor Bedard’s pending extension notwithstanding — but like everyone else in the hockey world, he kept a close eye on the recent negotiations for both Minnesota star Kirill Kaprizov and Edmonton megastar Connor McDavid.
Kaprizov turned down the biggest contract offer ever and settled for an even bigger one, for eight years at $17 million per season. McDavid, on the other hand, left a ton of years and money on the table, giving himself control of his future and his team a chance to build around him with a two-year deal at a meager $12.5 million a season.
Are there conclusions to be drawn from either as we enter this fast-rising-cap world? Or are they outliers from two unique situations?
“We want to draw conclusions to everything and build a pattern and how that’s going to predict future behavior, but I don’t think anyone knows,” Davidson said with a chuckle. “I look at it just as much as everyone else, and I have no clue. I don’t know where it’s headed, what it means for anyone down the road, or what guys could get in free agency next year. You try and figure it out, but everything seems like a one-off.”
It’s getting wacky out there, with Anaheim’s Jackson LaCombe making the same amount as Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen signing for $5 million less than Kaprizov less than half a year earlier. A lot of long-term contracts that were signed in the flat-cap era will start to look like bargains as other players — particularly younger ones — hit the market at just the right time. And it could be a while before the salary hierarchy realigns with the talent hierarchy.
“I certainly think it could take a couple years for that water to find its level and everyone to figure out what they’re dealing with,” Davidson said. “Maybe not. But it feels like with the new cap system, players, player reps, teams are just trying to find what that new normal is. And I don’t think anyone quite knows as of right now.”
