So much for Feaster not handing out NMC/NTC like candy.
"Hi, I'm Jay Feaster. You may remember me from such ramblings as "We will take the best player available" and "NTC/NMC's will have to be earned, not given"..
Alright the more I think about it the better it gets. (Still hate the NTC/NMC) He was tied for 10th in points for defenseman on a team that was middle of the pack for goals for. He could be a huge help to the pp and is a decent second line pker.
"Hi, I'm Jay Feaster. You may remember me from such ramblings as "We will take the best player available" and "NTC/NMC's will have to be earned, not given"..
"We were very up-front right away with a good offer," he said. "The other thing we did, as we've done in the past, we spoke with [captain] Jarome [Iginla] and asked if he would give [Wideman] a call. He did, and Jarome sold him on why this is a great place with a great ownership and a great fan base -- the building is full every night and hockey matters."
Over payment is the name of the game in Canadian markets
If the cap goes up like it is supposed to, this deal could work out. He's 29, which could mean he is coming into possibly his most efficient seasons as a Dman. If this deal leads to Calgary dealing J-Bow, then Feaster could look fantastic. If it doesn't, it still has huge up side either way
I don't get the complaints, when you look at the payroll, after next season Calgary doesn't have a lot of players locked into long term contracts. Why not go with this one, reality is The Flames can afford it
I wonder if a deal like this means that Jokinen is coming back. What's interesting about the whole Iginla phone call is simply how much value he has off the ice.
Wideman's 2012-13 cap hit is equivalent to a $4.7M hit in the 11-12 season (a $200k increase of his real 2011-12 $4.5M salary). This really isn't a shocking deal or drastic overpayment.
"Managers will manage, players will play, coaches will coach"
I think it's smart to use your star player as a tool to market the team/city to free agents. He didn't call up Iginla and ask "hey dude, will you let us sign Wideman?"
I don't really know what to make of this deal. It's even hard to judge it vs the 'post Suter' panic signings because we've now set the market rather than reacted to it but the defensemen market in general seems to have gotten really messed up in the past couple years. It's a deal that definitely puts a target on his back though, hopefully he can deal with the pressure.
I doubt there's some sort of looming blockbuster with JBo for any of the Suter-losers but if there is then well done Feaster (if there's a lacklustre JBo deal forced because of this then I would refer to my username). If there isn't then I guess we overpaid for a #3 d-man who can hopefully shore up our PP and our blueline is better heading into next season than it was leaving this one.
Worst case, we've got a pylon who forgot how to move the puck locked in for five years, for a team in our situation is it really a worthwhile risk?
"Hi, I'm Jay Feaster. You may remember me from such ramblings as "We will take the best player available" and "NTC/NMC's will have to be earned, not given"..
