 Flyers want Richards and Carter signed
Source: TSN.ca
When the ink is drying on a new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHL Players' Association, the ink will also be drying on contracts between the Philadelphia Flyers and prospects Jeff Carter and Michael Richards.
The Flyers want to sign Carter, the 11th overall pick in the 2003 draft and Richards, the 24th overall pick the same year, as soon as possible after the NHL lockout ends, said Flyers general manager Bob Clarke.
"I would say these two kids will be easy to sign because they're going to get the maximum they're allowed," Clarke said Monday. "They earned it. You try not to give away money, but they earned the right to get the most.
"As soon as the CBA is done and we get a look at it and know what we can pay, we'll be able to get it done."
The maximum will be less in the new CBA than in the old, in which the cap for a three-year contract was $1.295 million US per year for players drafted in 2004 and $1.24 million US per year for players taken in 2003. The new cap will be reduced to $850,000 per year and bonuses will be more restrictive.
Some first-round selections from the same draft class as Carter and Richards, such as forward Anthony Stewart (Florida), defenceman Dion Phaneuf (Calgary) and forwards Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim) signed contracts just hours before the previous CBA agreement between the NHL and players expired at midnight Sept 15.
Richards, who was captain of the Canadian junior team that won a gold medal in January, said he wasn't bitter that there will be some players from his draft year who signed for more money than he will.
"Even if it's a little bit lower, it's not a bad price," Richards said Monday at the Hockey Hall of Fame, where the junior team was honoured. "I'm not going to be complaining about it.
"It's your dream to play in the NHL and you don't really look at the dollar signs in front it. You just want to play there."
After a winter of wondering when he would be able to sign, Carter, who was named to the all-star team at the world junior tournament, wants to get contract done.
"Obviously the more money the better, but it's not that big of a deal really," Carter said. "We just want to get it over with, get there and start playing."
Under the previous CBA, the Flyers would have to have both players under contract by now or they would have gone back into the NHL entry draft.
Carter, from London, Ont., and Richards, from Kenora, Ont., indicated their willingness to be part of the Flyers' organization this spring by signing temporary contracts with the Flyers' farm team, the Philadelphia Phantoms, after their junior seasons ended. They helped the Phantoms win an AHL championship.
Carter was the AHL's leading scorer in the post-season with 12 goals and 11 assists in 21 games.
While some other teams scrambled to sign their top prospects before the previous CBA expired, Clarke said he didn't because teams were instructed by the NHL not to do so.
"I think it was a poor decision on the other teams' part to do that, to go against what the league wanted, particularly the teams that this lockout was all about," he said. "My preference for this level of player is that they all get the same because there's not much to pick and choose between so many of these top junior players.
"Certainly the kids that were signed a couple of years ago will come out of it I suppose a little bit ahead. But over the three years, it won't be a big difference I don't think.
"It may be a little less than what the kids were getting before. It's still awful good money to start your life off at 20 years old.
Richards' agents, Pat Morris and Mark Guy, and Carter's, which is Rick Curran, believe their clients will be able to work out a deal with the Flyers quickly when the new CBA is done.
Curran points out, however, if the NHL clubs' rights to their drafted players are grandfathered into the new CBA, then the players' rights, including financial, should be too as they opted into the 2003 draft with certain rights and expectations under the previous CBA.
"It's only fair that the players have equal opportunity to have their rights grandfathered in, even if it's only for a limited number of days, the opportunity should be there where it's equal," Curran said. "What's good for one should be good for the other.
"These kids opted into a draft with certain expectations. Why should these rights be taken away from them?"
While it's likely too much to expect unsigned players from 2003 and 2004 would able to sign under the terms of the previous CBA, there may be some financial incentive for those players in the new deal.
Regardless, Morris expects Richards to do well financially when he signs with the Flyers.
"The expectation is that Mike Richards will be treated as an elite player under any old system, new system or hybrid of both systems," Morris said in an e-mai
hopefully this will shut the leafs fans up |
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