In the mind of GM Darcy Regier and Owner Larry Quinn, Buffalo has been unduly picked on in the free agent market. To make matters worse, a fellow small-market team (the Edmonton Oilers) actually had the gall to attempt to sign one of their restricted free agents (Tomas Vanek) to an offer sheet. Now the fact that the Oilers did this, or the exorbitant size of the contract or even the fact that this comes on the heals of the team losing Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Zubrus of unrestricted free agency, has nothing to do with my problem with the situation.
What truly bothers me was the reaction of the Sabres and how it reflects on the NHL "fraternity". Darcy Regier admitted that Kevin Lowe phoned him to say he was submitting an offer sheet. And Regier's response? "It was always going to be a match situation, and they were well aware of it (Thursday night) that we were going to match...I explained exactly what was going to happen. Why he shouldn't do it. Why it was pointless to do it." Quinn even went as far as to contact the President of the Oilers! He said that "he had gotten wind of this and we're going to match."
Does anyone else out there see what's happening? Sabres management is attempting to collude with another team to keep Tomas Vanek from receiving an offer sheet. No-one knows what the Sabres had been offering up to this point. Why should Kevin Lowe or any other GM stop trying to better their team simply because another GM says "don't bother".
If I were the NHLPA or the agents I'd be taking a video tape of this to my lawyers to see whether there is an Anti-Trust case here. In fact, if Gary Bettman does not come down harshly on the Sabres for their comments he will appear complicit and could find himself dragged in front of a Congressional Hearing in the US (if members of Congress even know what hockey is).
So what're the fantasy implications of this? Not a lot really, but it's a perspective that I think that most people have glossed over in their analysis of this situation. Most Sabres fans have focused on the "everyone's picking on us" scenario. While everyone else is wondering about how many other RFAs will be getting offers. But from my perspective, the thought of the "C word" being brought up should be a scary proposition...just ask Major League Baseball. ESPN published a very interesting 35 year history of baseball's contentious labour history (http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/bp/1427632.html). Have a look and see if you see the striking similarities. One piece that really jumped out at me was this:
Negotiations for a new deal in 1990 took place against a
backdrop of three years of owner collusion. Unable to limit free agency at the
bargaining table, from 1985 through 1987 the owners simply agreed among
themselves not to sign one another's free agents, in violation of a no-collusion
clause in the CBA. After losing three separate arbitrations on the issue, the
owners ultimately agreed to pay the players $280 million for wages lost as a
result of collusion.
Could the same thing happen in hockey? If people like Darcy Regier and Larry Quinn keep up their crazy talk, I'd almost guarantee it.
1 comment:
I am surprised that you are not apalled with Reiger and Quinn for absolutely horrible negotiating skills that they displayed through this matter - nevermind the collusion.
If they had gotten wind of this before edmonton submitted an offer sheet - wouldnt it have made sense to hint to the Oilers that they may NOT match? If they had done that, maybe the Oilers would have offered 5-6 million less overall for Vanek and the Sabres could have saved that money. If you were Lowe, and someone was telling you "dont even bother, we're going to match", wouldn't you pump the offer up just to stick it in his face? I know I would.
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