I used to be able to handwave him and assume that he must be a nice person since Gio speaks so highly of him, but... with the bad penalties that cost us game, the passes to no one, the circling out of the opposition zone, the backhanded compliments when speaking about Subban, the general lack of heart and drive, and the constant sarcasm when speaking with the press... it all just doesn't sit well with me anymore. If I was making $7.8 million and was repeatedly considered to be the weakest link on my team I would be ASHAMED, and he just sits on the bench laughing and smirking... I just CAN'T anymore when it comes to him.
Added to that is the fact that we CAN'T unload him, no one will take that contract off our hands. And it doesn't just affect the team now, it affects us down the line. We can't go after UFAs while also giving raises where they are deserved (Darche is like Pleky in that he has become part of the backbone of this team and he is only making $750K. We HAVE to give him a big raise or lose him) because of the Gomez contract cap hit. He is making the equivalent of two second line centers and he isn't doing the job of one... at the end of this season we are going to lose talent because we are stuck with him, or we are going to throw away a TON of draft picks just to unload him (which won't happen, but that is what it would take).
LOL I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY IN HIS DEFENCE. YOU WIN.
I've heard talk about buying out his contract. How would that effect the cap hit? Could they even do that? Or would the etiquette against it be too strong?
It would hit the cap unfortunately. If he keeps playing how he has been playing it would be worth it though. Typically players are only bought out when their presence is a detriment to the team (see: coach) their contract doesn't allow them to be moved to AHL or traded within NHL (players rarely refuse to waive their no trade clause though), and the roster spot is needed.
We had to cover Laraque's contract in this year's cap budget because we bought him out over the summer.
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Added to that is the fact that we CAN'T unload him, no one will take that contract off our hands. And it doesn't just affect the team now, it affects us down the line. We can't go after UFAs while also giving raises where they are deserved (Darche is like Pleky in that he has become part of the backbone of this team and he is only making $750K. We HAVE to give him a big raise or lose him) because of the Gomez contract cap hit. He is making the equivalent of two second line centers and he isn't doing the job of one... at the end of this season we are going to lose talent because we are stuck with him, or we are going to throw away a TON of draft picks just to unload him (which won't happen, but that is what it would take).
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I've heard talk about buying out his contract. How would that effect the cap hit? Could they even do that? Or would the etiquette against it be too strong?
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We had to cover Laraque's contract in this year's cap budget because we bought him out over the summer.
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