OT- Jay McKee named HC of OHL Kitchener Rangers

[Brawndo]

Per press release.

 

Had been Asst with them and for the Erie Otters in the past

[#freejame]

Per press release.

 

Had been Asst with them and for the Erie Otters in the past

Good for him. I seem to remember an article or two last year pertaining to him and McDavid in Erie. Hopefully he finds some success there. 

[nfreeman]

Outstanding.  McKee was one of my all-time favorite Sabres. 

 

Losing him (along with Grier) after 2005-06 was, IMHO, an under-the-radar loss that chipped away at the foundation of a great team more than we realized at the time.  Thanks again Larry and Tom!

[IKnowPhysics]

Losing him (along with Grier) after 2005-06 was, IMHO, an under-the-radar loss that chipped away at the foundation of a great team more than we realized at the time.  Thanks again Larry and Tom!

 

I like Jay.  It was no secret that McKee was a key part of, maybe the key part of, a very good Sabres defense during an era when shutdown defense pairs ruled the ice.

 

But at the time of his departure, the Sabres were willing to sign McKee to about $2M per season.  The St Louis Blues, desperate for defensemen after parting ways with Chris Pronger which caused them to win only 21 games that year, doubled that offer to $4M and stretched it to four years.  The same $4M salary that Ottawa gave Jason Spezza after his put up 90 points in 68 games.  Just about everyone in Buffalo was sad to see Jay go, but happy that the Sabres hadn't signed him to a bloated $16M contract.

 

And what happened?  The Blues bought him out after his third year because, even after player salaries inflated after the lockout, he wasn't worth it.  The new NHL needed mobile, puck handling defensemen.

 

So curse Larry and Tom for lots of things, but don't feel bad because they passed up on a contract that the rest of the league laughed at.

Edited May 14, 2016 by IKnowPhysics

[Eleven]

One of my favorites, ever.  I really hope his name is on the Cup someday...as a Sabres coach.

[nfreeman]

I like Jay. It was no secret that McKee was a key part of, maybe the key part of, a very good Sabres defense during an era when shutdown defense pairs ruled the ice.

 

But at the time of his departure, the Sabres were willing to sign McKee to about $2M per season. The St Louis Blues, desperate for defensemen after parting ways with Chris Pronger which caused them to win only 21 games that year, doubled that offer to $4M and stretched it to four years. The same $4M salary that Ottawa gave Jason Spezza after his put up 90 points in 68 games. Just about everyone in Buffalo was sad to see Jay go, but happy that the Sabres hadn't signed him to a bloated $16M contract.

 

And what happened? The Blues bought him out after his third year because, even after player salaries inflated after the lockout, he wasn't worth it. The new NHL needed mobile, puck handling defensemen.

 

So curse Larry and Tom for lots of things, but don't feel bad because they passed up on a contract that the rest of the league laughed at.

Everything your wrote is true...BUT the critical omission from your post is that the Sabres, like they did with just about all of their FAs in the 2005-07 era of contract infamy, let a player get to FA instead of signing him to an extension early -- with the predictable, and repeated result that the player got a huge offer in FA and left (or, in Vanek's case, forced the Sabres into an over-long, overpriced extension).

 

We don't know how much they could've gotten McKee extended for a year before his UFA date, but I'd guess you would agree that it was well below $16MM.

[IKnowPhysics]

This happened a few times, yes.  But don't undervalue the work of the player agent to determine the client's value among prospective teams during the season then advise him to turn down the offer.  This is what happened with McKee.  Ancient history: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1158825.html

 

 

 

McKee's agent Pat Morris told The Associated Press that the overall terms of the deal were far superior to the contract the Buffalo Sabres, his client's former team, offered before allowing McKee to become an unrestricted free agent.

...

The Sabres attempted to re-sign McKee before the start of free agency, he rejected the offer

 

IIRC, few teams were signing players to contract extensions a year before the contracts were up.  And it was Regier that declined to negotiate during the season because he thought it was a distraction for players.

[MattPie]

IIRC, McKee broke down early in that St Louis contract, so saying they bought him out because he was too expensive might be only half true.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4295856

[nfreeman]

This happened a few times, yes.  But don't undervalue the work of the player agent to determine the client's value among prospective teams during the season then advise him to turn down the offer.  This is what happened with McKee.  Ancient history: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1158825.html

 

 

 

 

IIRC, few teams were signing players to contract extensions a year before the contracts were up.  And it was Regier that declined to negotiate during the season because he thought it was a distraction for players.

 

I'd expect most agents do that kind of thing for their upcoming UFA clients.

 

As for this quote:

 

The Sabres attempted to re-sign McKee before the start of free agency, he rejected the offer

 

 

I take that to mean they made him an offer after the end of the season -- which went well into May that year, because they were in the ECF -- and before July 1.  Whoop-de-damn-do.  They waited too long and then made him a (presumably) well-below-market offer when the Brinks truck had already arrived and was idling at the curb in front of his house.

 

As for the no-extensions-during-the-season policy -- I'd bet that was TG/TQ's brainchild as well.

 

Yes, I'm still bitter.