Good price, I just hope the term doesn't come back to bite us.
Fletch himself said something about that. You either go easy on the term and pay a bit, or you go nuts on the term and hope that it wasn't a flash in the pan.
Can't fault him for being cautious, and 2.5 is a great deal if he can come anywhere near last years production.
Glad to have this solved quietly, quickly and easily. Congrats on the contract Gui!
Ha, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Although this is exactly the length and term I was hoping for, this is really a no-brainer. It's fair for two years.
Now Gui needs to keep moving forward. Can't count on him yet.
Good price, I just hope the term doesn't come back to bite us.
Fletch himself said something about that. You either go easy on the term and pay a bit, or you go nuts on the term and hope that it wasn't a flash in the pan.
Can't fault him for being cautious, and 2.5 is a great deal if he can come anywhere near last years production.
Glad to have this solved quietly, quickly and easily. Congrats on the contract Gui!
That's why I like the middle ground - it's not too long even if it's just a flash in a pan since the team is stuck with a slightly overpaid contract for one year; however if it's not then the deal pays off magnificently well. Latendresse will still have some RFA years left so the team maintains his rights and gets a lot more bang for his buck compared to many of the deals out there.
Actually, looking at the term, it looks quite ingenious! Lats is 23, and will be 25 when the term is up, meaning he hasn't reached the age minimum for UFA... and at the same time, after this deal is up, he will still be a single year shy of UFA status via years played as well (he's played 4, and will have played 6, when you need at least 7yrs xp to reach UFA before you reach minimum age). Thus when the team is ready to work on his next deal, he will STILL be a RFA, buying the team another go-around of exclusive negotiations!
Ha, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Although this is exactly the length and term I was hoping for, this is really a no-brainer. It's fair for two years.
Now Gui needs to keep moving forward. Can't count on him yet.
# Chuck Fletcher felt it important to get Latendresse done before July 1 so he knows exactly how much he's got $$$ at his disposal #mnwild 2 minutes ago via UberTwitter
# Latendresse gets 2.4, 2.6 7 minutes ago via UberTwitter
# #mnwild Guillaume Latendresse, who scored a career-high 27 goals last season, agrees to terms on 2-yr, $5 million deal, says Fletcher 8 minutes ago via UberTwitter
That's why I like the middle ground - it's not too long even if it's just a flash in a pan since the team is stuck with a slightly overpaid contract for one year; however if it's not then the deal pays off magnificently well. Latendresse will still have some RFA years left so the team maintains his rights and gets a lot more bang for his buck compared to many of the deals out there.
Oh, as a generalization I like it too. I'm pleasantly surprised it was anything less than 3 million, and given our current situation, 2 years is the smartest option.
I had forgotten about his RFA years remaining as well, so he's got that going for him regardless.
I just hate when GM's make comments like "well, we can do X. Or we can do Y. Both have their upsides and downsides, but we'll do what's best." My Minnesota-sports-fan-induced-cynicism always triggers and makes me think that they should've gone with the other option, even if the current option makes sense at the moment and even if I agree with the call.
I just hate when GM's make comments like "well, we can do X. Or we can do Y. Both have their upsides and downsides, but we'll do what's best." My Minnesota-sports-fan-induced-cynicism always triggers and makes me think that they should've gone with the other option, even if the current option makes sense at the moment and even if I agree with the call.
I know exactly where you are coming from. When teams screw up enough and no one has reached a title game in 18 years, even the easy decisions (see: Mauer, Joe) seem like they aren't good ones.
I know exactly where you are coming from. When teams screw up enough and no one has reached a title game in 18 years, even the easy decisions (see: Mauer, Joe) seem like they aren't good ones.
Dead on what I was thinking. And thanks for saying 18 years, that makes me feel old... And I was only 5 in '91!
What really put things in perspective was going to my younger brother's HS graduation a few weeks ago and realizing that he's never been alive for a Minnesota pro sports team reaching a title game.
Great to see the Latendresse signing! I love it, good dollars and term. He deserved this contract after his 27 goals last year, I think he could put up 30 in a full year. Now all we have left is Harding, and we'll should have plenty of room to maneuver around the cap to be bring in a FA center this offseason.
I just like how CF worked the term on this. Sure, Lats wasn't going to sign a deal like this long term... but CF wasn't going to commit to a deal that would take him past his last chance on keeping the guy on RFA if the deal was going to be short term.
Thus, there are benefits to both sides in this short-term deal, giving the Wild extra time. If for some reason the next contract negotiations get bumpy, the Wild have all the time in the world to trade him as an RFA.
GMCF has done a great job of keeping costs down while also keeping our young players and adding better talent.
The only questionable one is Zidlicky, but while I didn't like bringing him back, his price tag is decent.
So CF has shown an ability to sign players to decent deals when they either come to him, are RFAs with limited leverage, and/or are scrubs that are paid accordingly. Excuse me while I wait to grade his financial ability when he has to deal with real talent.
That's not keeping costs down, especially when all the top contracts he agreed to take on (Havlat, Zidlicky, Barker, and Kobasew) are all currently being paid more than what their most recent play deserves.
So CF has shown an ability to sign players to decent deals when they either come to him, are RFAs with limited leverage, and/or are scrubs that are paid accordingly. Excuse me while I wait to grade his financial ability when he has to deal with real talent.
That's not keeping costs down, especially when all the top contracts he agreed to take on (Havlat, Zidlicky, Barker, and Kobasew) are all currently being paid more than what their most recent play deserves.
Clutterbuck definitely could have gotten more on the free agent market. So could Stoner. And Havlat's contract, he could have easily gotten 6-7 million on the market as well.
And it's better than DR's sign them at the last minute type of deal, which we are still trying to work around.
The fact is, GMCF has given Minnesota a little more wiggle room to work with each of his seasons but ultimately DR put them in a hole they are trying to work out from under. I mean Schultz, Bouchard and Backstrom are notoriously bad. Burns is too if he stalls.
Barker and Kobasew contracts are not long term. Kobasew leaves this year. Barker next.
Clutterbuck definitely could have gotten more on the free agent market. So could Stoner. And Havlat's contract, he could have easily gotten 6-7 million on the market as well.
The fact is, GMCF has given Minnesota a little more wiggle room to work with each of his seasons but ultimately DR put them in a hole they are trying to work out from under. I mean Bouchard and Backstrom are notoriously bad. Burns is too if he stalls.
Barker and Kobasew contracts are not long term. Kobasew leaves this year. Barker next.
Clutterbuck was an RFA when he signed, and the contract only takes up RFA years. Those three letters mean everything. He had no leverage. He got enough for what he brings to the table. Stoner, same thing. In fact I still don't like how Stoner got a 1-way for this season. Havlat's not getting 7. No chance. Gaborik got 7.5, and there's no comparison.
GMCF this past season wasted his cap wiggle room for this offseason and beyond!! Don't you look at the numbers? Right now he could be enjoying about 17 million of cap space with only 5 players to add to the mix. That's WITH DR's big contracts left alone like they are now. Fletcher blew an easy opportunity to overhaul the roster (Versteeg, anyone?). Now we're left with small adjustments yet again. He deserves no excuses.
