Hodgson signs a six-year deal

[apuszczalowski]

How do I know it? I don't. But I do know it is customary for teams to "buy" years of FA eligibility and it is pretty simple to surmise that this is the case here. Hodgson's agent is one of the most shrewd negotiators out there. You can bet his agent made damn sure that two years of FA eligibility were paid for by Buffalo.

 

As for the rest, obviously I don't know this either but IMO the idea that a guy who wanted out of Van to find a top 6 opportunity (and no he didn't cherry pick Buffalo and their no center sitaution so you can throw that line of thought out) is very highly unlikely to suddenly have a crisis of confidence that costs him potentially several million dollars. Frankly, the idea is worthy of ridicule.

So, if the guy is not confident that he can become a #1 Centre on a team, he would not want a long term deal that gives him more guaranteed money right now?

 

I didn't say he cherry picked Buffalo either, All I said was that given the situation, he was never going to become one in Vancouver without having to work hiss ass off to become a star, by demanding they trade him, its almost certain he is going to have teams looking for centres making the best offers for him.

[TrueBlueGED]

Don't forget the ever-present specter of serious injury. Hodgson tearing a quad and never being the same is probably as likely as hitting his absolute ceiling. Besides, when this contract is over he'll be 29 and able to cash in again...arguably at a higher rate than if he signed a bridge deal, then a long contract, and hit UFA at 31.

[Derrico]

heard white on GR this morning and he posited what appears to be his take on why 6 years is too long a term. in essence: 4 years would have been a better choice because it would've provided the proper horizon/window to determine whether hodgson is going to be a very good (maybe even great) player (center (forward)). i.e., in 4 years, you'd be in a position to sign him to a long-term deal or cut bait.

 

There's no way Darcy is giving out a 4 year contract and he would be a tool if he did. The way the CBA is structured is teams can control their young assets to a certain extent until age 27. Either Cody take a bridge contract of 2 years at a lower avg. dollar per year or or he signs a 6 year deal at a higher dollar per year figure as there are 2 UFA years 'purchased'. If Cody got a 4 year deal at $4.25 per I would officially be on the let's fire Darcy now train (I'm almost there already). A 6 year deal at $4.25 is a relatively cheap contract considering the risks IMO.

[Weave]

Don't forget the ever-present specter of serious injury. Hodgson tearing a quad and never being the same is probably as likely as hitting his absolute ceiling. Besides, when this contract is over he'll be 29 and able to cash in again...arguably at a higher rate than if he signed a bridge deal, then a long contract, and hit UFA at 31.

 

Right. Which is why I said above that a more likely motivation than the ridiculous notion of Hodgson suddenly getting butterflies at the prospect of being a go to guy is 6 years of guaranteed money.

[dudacek]

How come people never bring up contracts like Hodgson's and Myers when they are talking about how no one ever wants to play in Buffalo?

[JJFIVEOH]

Anybody ever stop to think that maybe he just doesn't want to have to deal with it, so instead of having to go through this again in 2 or 4 years, he can worry about hockey for 6 years? He's probably seen the media hell Vanek and Miller are going through, he might rather avoid that as long as possible.

 

Maybe it's just me, but we could be putting way more into this than needs to be. ;)

[TrueBlueGED]

How come people never bring up contracts like Hodgson's and Myers when they are talking about how no one ever wants to play in Buffalo?

 

Because it doesn't fit the narrative.

[IKnowPhysics]

Because it doesn't fit the narrative.

 

Saw that, said this aloud, then didn't post it.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

How come people never bring up contracts like Hodgson's and Myers when they are talking about how no one ever wants to play in Buffalo?

Because these are Darcy's poster children........while Pegula doesn't seem to care about life prior to 2011, you can bet your bippy every agent in the land knows Darcy loves his little teddy bears. Again...look at the list of players that were extended by Darcy since 2006.

 

Saw that, said this aloud, then didn't post it.

Did you text it to your "friends"???

[nfreeman]

Don't forget the ever-present specter of serious injury. Hodgson tearing a quad and never being the same is probably as likely as hitting his absolute ceiling. Besides, when this contract is over he'll be 29 and able to cash in again...arguably at a higher rate than if he signed a bridge deal, then a long contract, and hit UFA at 31.

 

Good post.

 

how do you kow this? While i agree that taking the guaranteed money would be the smart move, it also could say that he is not fully convinced he is going to become a 1st/2nd line C and would get a better deal in 2 years, so you take the guaranteed money know and secure yourself a spot for 6 years.

He wanted out of Vcancouver because there was no chance for him to move up until some of their top stars moved on. That could also say something about character too, If your truly that good, show it and theres a chance they move those other guys out to make room for you cause your outplaying them. Coming to Buffalo with their lack of quality C's on the roster can be viewed as taking the easy way out, no he gets the chance of being a 31 C when he needs to negotiate a contract without having to do anything to prove he deserves the spot or work his way into the position.

 

I'm not trying to say Cody is one way or the other, or that he is/won't be good, I'm just playing devils advocate here and can see both sides of this discussion

 

I hear what you are saying about his thought process in accepting a longer deal at less than top dollar, but still: he's played 139 NHL games -- less than 1.75 seasons. I think it is exceedingly rare for a guy with that little NHL experience to turn down a guaranteed $26MM. I would be interested to hear of any example of that ever happening.

 

Still, you are certainly right that the Team Stormcloud view is not a crazy one.

 

I'll say this: I listened to Sylvester and Petey interview Hodgy yesterday and he came across great IMHO. I think if he stays healthy he's going to be a very good player -- coachable, focused, determined, well-liked and respected by his teammates, good hands, good shot, good passer and very good hockey IQ.

 

How come people never bring up contracts like Hodgson's and Myers when they are talking about how no one ever wants to play in Buffalo?

 

Good point, although it must be admitted that young kids getting fat extensions is qualitatively different from luring elite veteran UFAs or those with NTCs.

[JJFIVEOH]

 

 

 

Good point, although it must be admitted that young kids getting fat extensions is qualitatively different from luring elite veteran UFAs or those with NTCs.

 

If BFLO is such a bad place for an athlete to be, he wouldn't have agreed to a 6 year deal. He would have pushed for a contract just long enough to put him in UFA status.

[deluca67]

How come people never bring up contracts like Hodgson's and Myers when they are talking about how no one ever wants to play in Buffalo?

Because it doesn't fit the narrative.

Most players use those one or two years that dip into free agency to get more dollars out of the team over the length of the deal. In Myers case he got $10 mil up from as a bonus. In Hodgson's case he will be making $10.5 mil over the final two years. It's a far different scenario when adding an additional year or two to a big contract that it is signing a player that has already hit UFA status. Players know they can still cash in at 29 on the open market if they are a player of quality.

 

Sorry Blue, I thought the question deserved a real answer.

 

If BFLO is such a bad place for an athlete to be, he wouldn't have agreed to a 6 year deal. He would have pushed for a contract just long enough to put him in UFA status.

Players who are already here are willing to sell a year or two of free agency for financial security. It's a completely different scenario than convincing a play from the outside to come to Buffalo.

[SwampD]

Players who are already here are willing to sell a year or two of free agency for financial security. It's a completely different scenario than convincing a play from the outside to come to Buffalo.

We need to clear something up right now. Buffalo, the city, has no problem convincing players to come here. The past few years have shown this,… and their salaries weren't out of line with what others got who went to other cities (i.e. we didn't have to pay them more to get them here).

 

The problem is, Buffalo, the team, hasn't been good enough to convince elite players to come here who want to run out the string possibly winning a Cup before they go.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

We need to clear something up right now. Buffalo, the city, has no problem convincing players to come here. The past few years have shown this,… and their salaries weren't out of line with what others got who went to other cities (i.e. we didn't have to pay them more to get them here).

 

The problem is, Buffalo, the team, hasn't been good enough to convince elite players to come here who want to run out the string possibly winning a Cup before they go.

 

This is absolutely spot on.

 

Glad Hodgson is signed. He is absolutely part of the *new core*.

[JJFIVEOH]

 

Players who are already here are willing to sell a year or two of free agency for financial security. It's a completely different scenario than convincing a play from the outside to come to Buffalo.

 

Must not be that bad then.

 

We need to clear something up right now. Buffalo, the city, has no problem convincing players to come here. The past few years have shown this,… and their salaries weren't out of line with what others got who went to other cities (i.e. we didn't have to pay them more to get them here).

 

The problem is, Buffalo, the team, hasn't been good enough to convince elite players to come here who want to run out the string possibly winning a Cup before they go.

 

 

 

Great post.

[TrueBlueGED]

 

We need to clear something up right now. Buffalo, the city, has no problem convincing players to come here. The past few years have shown this,… and their salaries weren't out of line with what others got who went to other cities (i.e. we didn't have to pay them more to get them here).

 

The problem is, Buffalo, the team, hasn't been good enough to convince elite players to come here who want to run out the string possibly winning a Cup before they go.

 

100% this.

[deluca67]

We need to clear something up right now. Buffalo, the city, has no problem convincing players to come here. The past few years have shown this,… and their salaries weren't out of line with what others got who went to other cities (i.e. we didn't have to pay them more to get them here).

 

The problem is, Buffalo, the team, hasn't been good enough to convince elite players to come here who want to run out the string possibly winning a Cup before they go.

Which players?

[SwampD]

Which players?

All the ones who weren't here,… and then were.

[dudacek]

If anyone out there is keeping score:

Hodgson — given the C by his coach in an exhibition game, praised by same for the tone he set on the bench, in the room and on the ice.

Kassian — takes dumb high-sticking penalty, will miss next eight games.

[bunomatic]

If anyone out there is keeping score:

Hodgson — given the C by his coach in an exhibition game, praised by same for the tone he set on the bench, in the room and on the ice.

Kassian — takes dumb high-sticking penalty, will miss next eight games.

 

Is it 5 or 8 ? Or is it remaining 3 preseason, first 5 regular season ?

[dudacek]

Is it 5 or 8 ? Or is it remaining 3 preseason, first 5 regular season ?

three pre, five regular I believe.

[Two or less]

If anyone out there is keeping score:

Hodgson — given the C by his coach in an exhibition game, praised by same for the tone he set on the bench, in the room and on the ice.

Kassian — takes dumb high-sticking penalty, will miss next eight games.

 

Yea, that was dumb by Kassian. I do believe he is committed enough to have a real solid NHL career and i do think he's going to be a good player for Vancouver, just as Hodgson will be for Buffalo, but i am glad he's out of this franchise. I just don't like ticking bombs like him on my team. Will show signs of greatness one game, then lets someone get under his skin and he loses his mind the next.

[spndnchz]

Is it 5 or 8 ? Or is it remaining 3 preseason, first 5 regular season ?

The latter.

[Bullwinkle III]

If anyone out there is keeping score:

Hodgson — given the C by his coach in an exhibition game, praised by same for the tone he set on the bench, in the room and on the ice.

Kassian — takes dumb high-sticking penalty, will miss next eight games.

 

And everyone was dumping on me when I was highly critical of the Kassian selection for this very reason. I said then, and I say now, we should have taken Kulikov.

 

But thanks to Darcy, we now have Hodgson, so everything turned out a bit better than it would have.

[nfreeman]

If anyone out there is keeping score:

Hodgson — given the C by his coach in an exhibition game, praised by same for the tone he set on the bench, in the room and on the ice.

Kassian — takes dumb high-sticking penalty, will miss next eight games.

Yea, that was dumb by Kassian. I do believe he is committed enough to have a real solid NHL career and i do think he's going to be a good player for Vancouver, just as Hodgson will be for Buffalo, but i am glad he's out of this franchise. I just don't like ticking bombs like him on my team. Will show signs of greatness one game, then lets someone get under his skin and he loses his mind the next.

 

Well, I'm in the camp that thinks that the Sabres so far have clearly gotten the better of the trade (although it's still too early to judge IMHO), but I also think that the Kassian play didn't look intentional -- just careless.

 

Certainly the aftermath was grisly though -- check it out: