A Memo to Larry Brooks . . .

. . .Eat it.


Let's backtrack. I like going after members of the hockey media.

Let's backtrack further. I like going after members of the hockey media that deserve it. I like to call the professionals on their mistakes, and the professionals that behave unprofessionally get less respect from me. Members of the hockey media that act professionally, I treat with respect, no matter how much I may disagree with them on something. Earlier this year, Adam Proteau made a moderate sized mistake in a column in regards to the CBA, I brought it up as politely as I could, and he responded with grace and class in my blog. He's a good person in my eyes.

Then there's the other end of the spectrum.
There's the Bruce Garrioch, the Eklund, and at the very bottom of the ladder, Larry Brooks.
Let's dig up some golden nuggets from Mr. Brooks.

MAYBE someone can provide one good reason for Alex Ovechkin to sign a new contract with the before becoming a restricted free agent on July 1, because we sure can't think of any.

Ovechkin does not belong to the Caps. Through no desire of his own, he merely is playing for Washington under a three-year, entry-level capped lease that will expire at the end of this season.

Well Mr. Brooks, Alex Ovechkin decided he liked the area enough to hang around another 13 years. And he found $124 million reasons to do so.

Is anyone surprised. . .

That Larry Brooks was wrong? Last week you'll remember that Ol' Larry published an article stating that the NHL Salary Cap was going up to around $52m, as opposed to what most people with common sense expected around $48-$49 million. Well, Fox Sports published an article that claims the cap will only approach $48.5 million. With the cap being $3.5 million lower, that's a whole bunch of teams that won't be able to do much in the free agent market. That also of course means that the Capitals only have to spend to about $32.5 million to reach the salary floor, and that their self imposed budget will be around $40.5 million. Beginning next week, I'll start looking at the way the cap affects the other teams I plan on looking at this summer, and breaking down a few draft previews.

Looking ahead to the Salary Cap

Well, my personal hero Larry Brooks has an article in the New York Post yesterday that says the salary cap is going up to around $51 million next year. Specifically, Ol' Larry says

Slap Shots has been told that the NHLPA is planning to exercise its right under the CBA to request that a full five-percent bump be built into next season's cap. If 2006-07 league revenues come it at $2.36B - Gary Bettman on Monday said he thought the number would be close to $2.4B - a five-percent bump would bring next season's upper limit to approximately $52M.

So with that said, let's look ahead and see exactly where the Caps stand next year in terms of salary commitments. All numbers are in millions.

First the players under contract:

Player	Salary
Kolzig	5.45
Ovechkin	3.8342
Pothier	2.5
Backstrom	2.4
Semin	1.3
Brashear	1.1
Clark	1.051
Pettinger	1
Clymer	.983333
Morrisonn	.9
Fehr	.894933
Green	.833
Johnson	.8125
Schultz	.763889
Bradley	.7
Gordon	.650
Yonkman's buyout	.075
Total Commitments	$25,247,855

So before we begin qualifying people, just by the players we have under contract that are most likely to play in Washington this upcoming year, we are committed to just over $25m.

The following is a list of Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) That need to be qualified before next season in order for the Caps to retain their rights. Not all of these players will sign their qualifying offers, some will be given modest raises above them (like Morrisonn and Pettinger last year). A qualifying offer is rather simple. For players making $1m and more, the qualifying offer is 100% of their current salary. For players making more than $650,000 but less than $1,000,000, the qualifying offer is 105% of their current salary, a 5% raise. For players making $650,000 or less, the qualifying offer is 110% of their current salary (a 10% raise).

The Caps list of restricted free agents, their salary for '06-'07, and what the qualifying offer would have to be.

Player	'06-'07 salary	Qualifying Offer
Eminger	.992912	1.0425576
Sutherby	.8	.84
Beech	.7	.735
Klepis	.681	.71505
Laich	.6061	.6671
Fleischmann	.602	.6622
Erskine	.575	.6325
Jurcina	.5	.55
Steckel	.5	.55
Novotny	.45	.495
Total Salary Committments		6.889408

Now of the RFA guys, not all of them will be back, I'm looking at Erskine and Beech. Others might spend time in the minors like Flash, Steckel, and Klepis. So I'm only going to figure Eminger, Sutherby, Laich, Jurcina, and Novotny into the count.

So by these numbers, I get the Caps around 29m spent before any of the RFAs sign any deals. Using the players I've counted, our lineup would look like

Forwards:
Ovechkin	Backstrom	Clark
Semin	Novotny	Fehr
Pettinger	Gordon	Sutherby
Brashear	Laich	Bradley
Spares: Clymer

Defensemen
Potheir	Morrisonn
Jurcina	Green
Schultz	Eminger

Goaltenders
Kolzig	Johnson

Not exactly the most intimidating lineup. If Brook's prediction holds true, then the cap would be $52 million, the floor would be around $36 million, and the line to receive revenue sharing would be around $43 million. Expect the Caps to approach the $43 million mark, should these facts hold true. The Caps currently stand at $28 million, so look for the Caps to add around $8-$15 million between now and September.

All Hail King Floppa!

As the NHL trade deadline approaches, I'll be examining each of the big names on the trade market. These are not meant to be "trade rumours" that I heard from any "inside sources." This is meant to be a breakdown of potentially traded players, and a look at where they could land, based on team needs and the quality of prospects available on the farm. The first in our in-depth series looks at King Floppa himself, Peter Forsberg.

Forsberg is in meetings today with new Flyers GM Paul Holmgren to discuss his future with the club, a future that will undoubtedly lead him elsewhere for at least one last run at the cup. After that though, who knows? Here's what Forsberg could be up to at this time next year.

• New York Rangers (3-1) . Remember, every player EVER wants to play for the Rangers at some point in their career. Larry Brooks said so. And if there's one player that has epitomized the Ranger's tradition of underachieving despite a high salary in the post-lockout world, it's been Forsberg. The Rangers have a couple of blue chip prospects that they could send to the Flyers in Montoya and Staal, or even a first round pick that could help the the Flyers possibly see 2 picks in the first half of the first round.
• Geno's (5-1). This cross-town transfer would be a big pick up for a storied franchise, and Peter Forsberg is at a stage in his life where he needs to prove to the league that he's still hungry. And don't forget, Justin Timberlake at there once!!!!!
• Ikea (10-1). Maybe a taste of home in an easy-to-put together fashion could help him figure out how to put his foot back together. Of course, I've always suspected Peter was missing a few parts. Imagine Peter trying to sell you the leksvik.
• McFarlane Productions. (12-1). Lord knows he's spent enough time modeling for action figures.
• Male Prostitute. (250-1). Don't tell me it couldn't happen.

Well that pretty much wraps up my expert analysis of Forsberg's options.