(Photo Credit: @_jkarsh on Instagram)
On Monday, Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark was awarded the Vezina Trophy and named the NHL’s best goaltender. The next day, Ullmark was rumored to be a trade candidate this summer. After a horrific collapse in the first round of the playoffs, Boston’s front office is aggressively shedding salary and is looking to trim the fat in net.
It crossed my mind. I’m not going to lie, it’s the business part of it. That’s what we live in. When you have two goalies that are so close and it comes to stats, there’s got to be some changes. There’s a personal side to it and there’s a business side to it. You’ve got to honor it. That’s just how being a professional hockey player is.- Linus Ullmark, Bruins goalie
Naturally, after the Stanley Cup is handed out, league GMs begin crunching numbers and yanking their hair out. We’ve heard it every offseason, the NHL is a copycat league. The champion Golden Knights are the newest club in line to be mimicked by desperate front offices.
First and foremost, the Stanley Cup winners debunked one of the league’s biggest playoff myths. The Golden Knights became league champs with a low-salary goalie tandem. In years past, even Vegas believed in paying goalies above market prices. Remember the $12M in goal the Golden Knights’ front office allocated in 2020-21? Well, they clearly learned from that unnecessary investment. Other teams noticed as well.
"There's some really talented players out there… Especially when it comes to goalies, there's a lot of goalies out there."@FriedgeHNIC believes things will pick up around the league next week. @JamieHersch | @EJHradek_NHL | @Rupper17 | #NHLNow pic.twitter.com/mpK3LoBJ3Z
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) June 23, 2023
Several NHL teams are taking the Golden Knights’ salary relief approach this offseason.
Offseason Salary Dumps/Impasse
- Boston traded Taylor Hall ($6M AAV) & Nick Foligno ($4M AAV) for Alec Regula and Ian Mitchell
- Calgary traded Tyler Toffoli ($4.25M AAV) for Yegor Sharangovich and 2023 3rd Round Pick
- Nashville traded Ryan Johansen ($8M AAV) for Alex Galchenyuk
- Philadelphia traded Kevin Hayes ($7.1M AAV) for 2023 6th Round Pick
It began by jettisoning Nate Schmidt and Paul Stastny in 2019, Marc-Andre Fleury in 2021 and Max Pacioretty in 2022. Even this year after winning, Vegas wasted no time in shipping off Reilly Smith for a 3rd round pick. While those decisions looked controversial at the time, clearly shedding past salaries made way for a 2023 Golden Knights championship roster. Now, other teams are gladly paying off other teams to dump inflated contracts. The future might be ignored but the strategy resulted in a Stanley Cup for the Golden Knights.
Good luck to the GMs trying to copy VGK’s championship run.
THE hockey GOD
change site name from sin bin, to win bin ??
The “inclusion” , woke broke nut jobs must be having a fit now. Don’t know why they are pressing their agenda on rest of us. AFter watching hours of NHL draft I didn’t see:
one black guy drafted, there may have been one, but I missed it.
one trans “person” drafted
on pygmy drafted
one pedophile drafted
one cross dresser drafted
one girly man drafted
one manly girl drafted
one he/see drafted
one drag queen drafted
one talk show host drafted.
one media major guy drafted
I did see one beast from ESPN constantly grabbing players, what an idiot.
Gary pantyhose Bettman must be having a fit. BTW most of players dissed him immediately passing him by on the dais with curt frank uncomfortable nod of recognition. Some passed him by because he’s shorter and smaller than a hafling.
What a putz
ThG rules social media, yeah baby !
PS what happened to my Bud Light ?
PPS tell the grandkids to stop harping about going to DisneyLand, ok?
THE hockey GOD
hey THG woke this>>>
Gunther Eagleman™
@GuntherEagleman
·
5h
I’m calling for Affirmative Action in the NBA! Merit and talent is way over rated…
– 73.2 percent Black
– 16.8 percent White
– 3.1 percent Latino
– 0.4 percent Asian
Its not fair, and we demand diversity now… LOL!!!
TS
Great post, so true to form!! Way to be yourself…you never disappoint!
THE hockey GOD
facts only disappoint morons
Jailbird
We going to get news on Hill today? He becomes an FA and can sign with anyone tomorrow ! I think they are still trying to figure out Lehner and his 5 mill cap money!
Arnold Rothstein
jb
still waiting
0DTE
(zero days to expiration)
Richie-Rich
I wouldn’t be surprised if the VGK sticks with LT and Quick (1 year deal) at this point. I really like Hill, but I wouldn’t overpay. The rumor is that the offer was $4.9? I thought $4 might be a much more reasonable offer. It’s a decent raise in a state that has no income tax.
THE hockey GOD
RR actually I believe that do pay income tax on away games if that state/nation/province has a tax
R-Rad-Lee
That is true, but when half of your games are in a no-tax state, and another 4 are in Florida and Texas, that will add up. The best state to be a player is in Florida, as they will play each other several times more.
Jailbird
Tax based on your place of employment and residence, I believe.
Frank
In general, people who earn a living by providing services are subject to tax in the state where they provide those services as well as in their resident state. Professional athletes, as well as the coaches, trainers, and other personnel traveling with the team, must allocate their salary to the various states where the team plays or practices.
Good Article here on the subject: https://news.bloombergtax.com/tax-insights-and-commentary/taxation-is-the-name-of-the-game-for-professional-athletes
Richie-Rich
Half of the games are played here in Nevada, income tax free.
Frank
True – which is a big plus for VGK players!!!! Love living in an income tax free state!
THE hockey GOD
that’s what I thought Frank “the accountant”. Thanks for posting.
THE hockey GOD
breaking
“He’s a character. Like the way he speaks, the way he says things. He comes in before Game 5… and he’s like, ‘If you guys fucking lose this game and I have to fucking fly to Florida and back, I’ll be pissed.'”- Phil Kessel
JV
Some intriguing names on buyout waivers. Duchesne, Yamamoto, Wheeler, Riley.
Nashville saved 6M in signing bonuses on Matt, so there cap hit is only 9.3M spread out over 6 years.
I know he didn’t look good behind Detroit’s defense, but what about Nedelkovic as a backup to Thompson? Could probably be had for 1.5M show me deal for a year. With Vegas D, he could improve enough.
JV
Emily Litella: Nevermind
Howard
Paul Stastny was let go in 2019 u say? Curious then what he was doing on the ice in the 2020 EDM Bubble? Might want to get your facts straight.
Jose
Shut up Howard
sb
Paying taxes …………. in the State you reside. Do traveling salesmen pay income taxes in the dozen states they travel to? Does an auto manufacturing CEO pay taxes in 50 states when he visits dealerships? No.
Sorvino
Just as Ken Boehlke will continue to refer to the VGK as the Stanley Cup champions (cuz it’s true) I will keep referring to the front office as the best front office in the league because that also is true.
In another of a long line of decisions the front office has made, getting rid of Ryan Reaves because Keegan Kolesar is far better was a very smart move. Again, as I have said many times, thank God the front office runs the team and the fans don’t make the decisions.
I loved Ryan Reaves on the VGK. How could you not like seeing someone in that uniform beating the shit out of someone on the opposing team. It’s entertaining and fantastic. There have been a lot of Kolesar haters, and thankfully that sentiment has subsided over the past year, but he is a great fourth liner and he had a very strong playoff. Watching him break Matthew Tkachuck’s sternum in particular was outstanding.
This came to my mind today as the maple leafs made a terrible decision and signed Ryan Reaves to a three-year contract today. The leafs are very good at bringing in players that are past their prime and washed up.
TS
I was a doubter on Kolesar. He was NOT a tough player. He’s a quiet guy, compared to Reaves. But he has changed his game, become more physical. More aggressive. More impact full. Now I appreciate him a lot more. He’s tough when he needs to be.
And he has the best attitude at practice…joking, smiling, like a kid on the playground!
Did you notice he was Karlsson’s protector on Parade Day? He watched over Karlsson like a DADDY would!!
Sorvino
I absolutely did notice that. That was awesome.
TS
I think Kolesar has embraced his role as “Protector”! He’s ALL IN!!