Speculation: 2024-25 Coaching/Management/Ownership

[Hey234]

“The guy that makes Anaheim tough is Jeff Solomon," another added. "He does all their contracts. Something as simple as doing entry-level deals … there’s always something they nickel you.”



I know this sounds like a nothing burger but I don't think it is. ELCs are practically dictated verbatim by the CBA. About the only thing there is to negotiate is whether the team will offer the kid the Schedule A and/or Schedule B bonuses in the contract.

Bonus money is relatively minimal by NHL standards and it too is specified verbatim in the CBA. Practically every one of them requires a player to be in the league full time to achieve. Some players get them in their ELC contract some don't.

So, when you have a team as bad as the Ducks, how do you get into a pissing contest over something like this with an 18 Y/O as a way to make a good first impression? The time to be a hard ass is down the road when we are talking guaranteed millions over multiple years.

Throw in Verbeek's reputation as apparently being a dick to work with (and a one man show) as well as an owner who stays totally out of everything and it's easy to see how ANA isn't a place good players are beating down the door to sign with.

I don't think you can just blow all this off with saying it came from agents so none of it matters. It still matters how you treat people if you want to be successful.

Entry Level Performance Bonuses | Puckpedia

Entry Level Contracts are eligible for Performance Bonuses. There are two categories of Performance Bonuses: "A" Level Bonuses "A" Bonuses are worth $212,500 each, to a maximum of $850,000 (maximum 4 achieved). For players signed starting in 2022, "A" bonuses are worth $250,000 each, to a...

puckpedia.com

Some of this is assumption. How do we know they are having a pissing contest with 18 year olds? It was one agents comment about entry level deals and that could have been a sour agent. We don't know. Plenty of agents have worked with Solomon and Verbeek and it's been fine.

If the Ducks were a winning team, they would be praised for being meticulous and not wasteful. Players would view it as necessary to win. They are losing right now, and it looks like they are cheap. Winning habits are good habits, and I would rather have a team that fights for good contracts then gives them away. This is a non issue.

Edit: can't spell

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Some of this is assumption. How do we know they are having a pissing contest with 18 year olds? It was one agents comment about entry level deals and that could have been a sour agent. We don't know. Plenty of agents have worked with Solomon and Verbeek and it's been fine.

If the Ducks were a winning team, they would be praised for being meticulous and not wasteful. Players would view it as necessary to win. They are losing right now, and it looks like they are cheap. Winning habits are good habits, and I would rather have a team that fights for good contracts then gives them away. This is a non issue.

Edit: can't spell

None of what came out in that article is a surprise to any of us. It just got compiled all in one place. But if you want to believe we have top notch management I won't argue with you. I'll just agree to disagree with you.

 

[JAHV]

Kind of a non issue here. Lamoriello is known as one of the toughest GMs in the league to deal with and it hasn't affected anything for him. Verbeek is still getting deals done. If the Ducks are hard negotiators, isn't that a good thing? There are so many factors that play into FA decisions that equating the two is nonsensical. Vatrano just signed a unique contract with the Ducks which shows there willingness and ability to work with agents. This is nothing.

The Samueli's trust their employees. They have invested millions in community outreach, OC Vibe, youth hockey programs, etc... They have shown willingness to spend to the cap if there's a chance to win. That should be enough to make them at least neutral owners. They are definitely not bad owners.

Lamoriello has certainly had a ton of success in his career, but he hasn't presided over a winner in a long time either, and I have to wonder if his schtick has gotten old. The Islanders haven't exactly done well in the free agent market in his tenure, although I don't know how much that has to do with Lamoriello vs ownership.

I don't think the Samuelis are bad owners. I prefer hands off to hands on, as long as they hire the right people to run the organization. They clearly stuck with Bob Murray for far too long. The jury is still out on Verbeek, but stuff like this doesn't get me excited.

 

[Daz28]

There's a difference between being a tough negotiator and an irrational one that's unpleasant to deal with. Tough to say with certainty, from those quotes, where we fall in.

There's no way an agent even listens to the Vatrano deal if the Ducks are known as cranky nit-pickers. They'd call that as BS from minute one. They listened and happily accepted.