Can you think of a long term NHL contract?

In terms of actual dollars there would be almost none that worked out on the last years of the deal although Alfie comes to mind, the Sens paid him $1mill. on his age 40 year of the deal and got team leading production for cheap (of course the situation and frontloading play a roles, he was paid well in the 1st 3 seasons). But there is one deal that comes to mind right away. The Oilers signed Wayne Gretzky to a 21 year deal only back then top players would get personal services contracts rather than standard NHL language deals which had a lot of leeway and allowed guys to retire in one city without ever having to do a public contract negotiation. And nobody knows for sure what Pocklington paid him, the personal services deal allows for exclusion of information but it was rumored he was getting somewhere in the $4-5 mill. per season which was incredibly high. But his value couldn't be disputed. Here is the rub, since it was a personal services deal a contract had to be worked out to trade him (a little known or discussed fact) which McNall had no issue with since he was willing to throw piles of money at Wayne. Once Gretzky got dealt by labor law he was no longer performing "personal services" therefore the deal became legally void....Pocklington got incredible value for the years Wayne gave him and "sold" him for $15 mill. on top of it all. But that is the only deal that comes directly to mind in terms of length versus value.

If I had to guess I am thinking Mike Richards deal will prove to be a good one albeit not for the team who did the deal. He will only be 34 when his 12 year (at average $5.75 mill. cap hit) deal expires. Never turned out to be great but still a very good player and difference maker on a perennial Cup challenger and should continue to play at a level to justify the term.

Example: In Spanish: Este burrito se hace de un burro!

In this instance, burrito is a loanword. Other cultures have concepts for (and words to describe) "this" "made from" and "donkey," but when it comes to food wrapped in a soft tortilla it's easier just to stick with the word that works.

Because as everyone knows, wraps are NOT real food.

http://www.topcapshome.com/

John Tavares

Six Years

Hart Trophy contender a premier player in the league

5.5 Cap Hit

Not a big fan of long term contracts, Crosby, Ovie, Teows deserve long term contracts, But people like Lupul, Clarkson, Redden, Gomez are a waste of money and time.

Since the recapture on Kovalchuk's contract at $250K per year is chump change except for the fine and draft pick losses that contract doesn't look too bad in retrospect. His salary for the first two years was less than his cap hit ($6MM per and his production last year wasn't too far off his salary.)

Duncan Keith

Marion Hossa comes to mind, two Stanley Cups in the first four seasons

of a front-loaded contract.

Time will tell...