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Bultman weighs in on Seider and Raymond. |
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Pro Hockey Rumors examined a write up in the Athletic by Max Bultman about why the Raymond and Seider deals are taking so long. The Athletic has a paywall, but this was extracted from the article:
Long-term deals are likely the preferred outcome for both, Bultman writes, but a lack of solid recent comparables could be plugging up the works. That’s because many of their peers signed long-term extensions in a flat-cap environment, while Raymond and Seider are presumably pushing for increased cap hits with more certainty regarding a rising upper limit over the life of their deals. Bultman writes there’s “still some potential for sticker shock on the team side,” a reasonable prediction considering Evolving Hockey projects eight-year deals for both to fall in the $8MM range
So we have what looks like a positive outlook for cap projections driving Agents to push the future numbers. You have the team looking at the “right now” portion along with the experience of a stagnated cap and how quickly things can turn. The guesses of 8 x 8 for both doesn’t seem to be unreasonable as a current ask. The issue that agents don’t have to deal with is something we’re learning that still lurks behind the scenes. Teams are carrying debt.
If you missed it, after Utah purchased the rights the debt on the books for AZ was above the 1.5b range. If the new owners paid all of that, they essentially paid for 2 to 2.5 franchises to get the team with a very short timeline to get everything ready for the coming season. The Ottawa sale saw celebrity led groups walk away once it was discovered that the Sens had about 500 million in debt. So while the agents may have reasonable projections for the rise, it doesn’t reflect a very real issue that franchises are dealing with. In 2022 the league took a 1 billion dollar loan to make 30 million available to franchises to help with expenses. The source of that loan wasn’t revealed, but it was referred to as a “partnership” with a company that will work closely in developing the game.
Both of these players are being looked at as core players right now. It’s going to come with a price tag. There also has to be some trepidation from ownership and management. Detroit has the issue of players underperforming on deals and that’s not hard for the agent to point to. I absolutely support a player looking to get the highest compensation they can in a profession that can end suddenly. Unfortunately, the NHL isn’t valued to the same degree as the NBA. The new deal(s) for that league is showing about 7 billion annually in broadcast fees. They also negotiated 2.2 billion for the WNBA who is seeing growth with new stars in the league. The NHL negotiated 550m between ESPN and Bally’s and we know that has fallen off a bit. You now have this league making 1/4 of what the WNBA is making once that new deal kicks in.
This is uncharted territory. Those deals are tied heavily to companies going through major changes and the NHL is getting the crumbs after the dust settles. If for some reason revenues take a step backward, well, we’ve seen what happens. For the time being, Detroit is likely going to have to step outside of their comfort zone one both of these deals to some degree. I have no clue as to what has been offered or asked. All we know for sure is that those deals aren’t done yet.
So, where do you land? There have been guesses already as to what those numbers will look like. At what point does this need to be resolved? Obviously you want players in camp. These are the first non arbitration RFA deals that are going to produce top earners that I can remember in the salary cap world for Detroit. This feels like an historic moment for the players and the team both.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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