Previously undisclosed bonuses that were included in the contracts that Avalanche stars Joe Sakic and Rob Blake signed in 2001 are going to make it difficult for the team to do much in the free agent market this summer.
Turns out, each player received a $3 million bonus as part of the five-year contracts they signed in 2001, after the Avalanche won its second Stanley Cup.
The lockout wiped out one year of those contracts and the bonuses were slashed by 24 percent under terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, reducing the bonuses to $2.3 million.
However, the Avalanche just disclosed that the bonuses exist and that they would count against the team's 2006-07 salary cap. It was quite a revelation, considering the Avalanche has signed 13 players for next season totaling about $27 million. Tack on the bonuses and the number for cap purposes reaches close to $32 million, with at least nine more players to be signed -- including potential unrestricted free agents Rob Blake, Brett Clark, Dan Hinote and Karlis Skrastins, along with seven potential restricted free agents that include Peter Budaj, John-Michael Liles, Brett McLean and Marek Svatos.
The apparent cap problems facing new general manager Francois Giguere certainly were a factor in his decision to trade Alex Tanguay to Calgary for Jordan Leopold and two second-round draft picks, a deal that isn't sitting too well with fans judging by the e-mails I've received.
Meanwhile, Giguere visited Blake in Southern California on Monday night after meeting with Hinote's agent in that state earlier in the day.
Blake is handling his own negotiations and told the Rocky Mountain News that he wants to re-sign with the Avalanche, though no agreement is in place yet and he can hit the open market Saturday.
Hinote's agent, Howard Silber, didn't sound all that optimistic about the popular forward remaining with the Avalanche but said that his and Giguere's lines remain open.
Wonder if Giguere is still happy about taking this job.
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