Prospect Info: #75OA - G Jack LaFontaine - U of Minnesota - signed 1/9/22

[AhosDatsyukian]

LaFontaine becoming the Canes #1G after his development path would be a great example that goalies are voodoo.

Wait, no, LaFontaine going to UFA and becoming Toronto's #1G after his development path would be a perfect example that goalies are voodoo.

But I thought we were trading the Leafs Ned or Kochetkov for free...?

 

[GoldiFox]

But I thought we were trading the Leafs Ned or Kochetkov for free...?

It is going to be more of a 1A/1A situation with LaFontaine-Kochetkov in Toronto. They will trade Vezinas each year.

 

[MinJaBen]

But I thought we were trading the Leafs Ned or Kochetkov for free...?

Nope. Pesce is moving to goalie for the Leafs and we will get Kerfoot and a 6th.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

If LaFontaine can be a UFA in a few months then the leverage would only have to be exposure-based.

"My client just won the Richter and we expect many calls so hows about you give us the Jeremy Welsh treatment" (only more because that was like $100k incentive).

Our team doesn't have to offer him a max ELC, or a bigger signing bonus, or time on the big squad to burn a year. He may use his award status as leverage to get those things with the threat that he could turn his award into demand as a college UFA in August.

Thanks. I assumed (maybe incorrectly) that if there were concerns he was going to go UFA and the Canes really did want him, they'd offer him the max to make sure that didn't happen so didn't understand how much leverage he has. But my assumption on that could be way off.

 

[Lempo]

How much leverage can he have (not questioning you, I just don't know what is/is not possible)? @Lempo (or others), what does the CBA allow for these guys?

What they said.

The ceiling what a College UFA can command in a bidding contest after August 15 is what Jimmy Vesey got: max Base Salary+max Signing Bonus and max Performance Bonus A+B $850k + $2M, altogether $3.775M AAV. (B bonus is darn hard to unlock though, you need to be a league top 10 player.)

Jimmy Vesey - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

The leverage is whether someone is stupid enough to pay you that, or something up to that.

(Said Vesey recently had his current $900k contract waived to VAN. Sick transit.)

What the team holding his draft rights can try to do before this happens is to offer an acceptable contract and offer to burn the first year off his ELC by signing and playing him in the spring after the NCAA season ends, so that he supposedly will get a better contract sooner.

But that route has the nastiness that the player doesn't qualify as RFA after this speeded ELC (because there's too few games in the first season for it to count for RFA) and he can only be re-signed by his own team with no right for being offered an offersheet on account of not qualifying for RFA status. How much this possibly brings down the team's offer for post-ELC contract is up for a debate though.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Not sure how much credence NHL puts in the Mike Richter award. Thus far it's been a mixed bag in terms of long-term NHL potential.

 

[sheriff bart]

This BS about players waiting out their draft selection and re-entering the draft or going UFA needs to be fixed. A team that drafts a player and should own him for 3 years no matter what. The faster a player signs, the faster he starts that clock. When a player makes himself available to be drafted, them's the breaks.

 

[sheriff bart]

Double post...

enjoy this instead

 

[WreckingCrew]

This BS about players waiting out their draft selection and re-entering the draft or going UFA needs to be fixed. A team that drafts a player and should own him for 3 years no matter what. The faster a player signs, the faster he starts that clock. When a player makes himself available to be drafted, them's the breaks.

So players get no leverage or choice in their future employer? I would hate if we didn't get to see what we have in LaFontaine, but if he 100% didn't want to be with us having a contract forced on him (I certainly wouldn't be motivated to play) or destroying his hockey career isn't really fair either. Most players I think just want to play in the NHL and their drafting team s generally the quickest route, but these guys have 0 say in their draft eligibility or the team that takes them

 

[Lempo]

these guys have 0 say in their draft eligibility or the team that takes them

Well... I guess it's possible to intentionally f*** up the pre-draft interview by the team you don't want to take you.

Obviously the careful balance is needed to stay within "we certainly don't want him" and not go over to "we gonna cancel this asshole and every junior team he's ever been in!".

 

[sheriff bart]

So players get no leverage or choice in their future employer? I would hate if we didn't get to see what we have in LaFontaine, but if he 100% didn't want to be with us having a contract forced on him (I certainly wouldn't be motivated to play) or destroying his hockey career isn't really fair either. Most players I think just want to play in the NHL and their drafting team s generally the quickest route, but these guys have 0 say in their draft eligibility or the team that takes them

3 years. I said 3 years. If you want players to have total control, what's about the restricted free agency stuff? Is it ok in your mind for a player to just blackball a team that drafted him in good faith? How about a player getting traded to a team he doesn't want to play for?

 

[To Be Determined]

minnesota's other goalie (a jets prospect) is entering the transfer portal - leading some to question if lafontaine is returning for another year...

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

minnesota's other goalie (a jets prospect) is entering the transfer portal - leading some to question if lafontaine is returning for another year...

Was he a redshirt 1 year allowing him to have a 5th year in college? Or did his transfer play into this?

 

[Joe McGrath]

Was he a redshirt 1 year allowing him to have a 5th year in college? Or did his transfer play into this?

Due to the Covid situation anyone gets 5th year who wants it.

 

[A Star is Burns]

We'll see what happens. He might just be sour that Laf got almost all the starts this year regardless of the situation next year. Transfer portal is the answer to everything for college athletics now.

 

[To Be Determined]

minnesota's other goalie (a jets prospect) is entering the transfer portal - leading some to question if lafontaine is returning for another year...

hey past me, guess who just announced they were returning to minnesota for another year?

 

[A Star is Burns]

Interesting decision. Good luck to him.

 

[Svechhammer]

hey past me, guess who just announced they were returning to minnesota for another year?

Yeah I'm getting the feeling that he's going UFA and will never play here

 

[MinJaBen]

Trade his rights. If he doesn't want to sign now, he never will.

 

[A Star is Burns]

Not sure why anyone would trade for his rights in this case.

 

[MinJaBen]

Not sure why anyone would trade for his rights in this case.

You never know. He may be putting feelers out with his agent for a team he wants to go to. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

[GoldiFox]

By this time next year the Canes may be his best option anyway.

He was months from UFA so it was hard to get too excited. Get Kochetkov signed and get him to Chicago.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if his goal was to go UFA, he could have gone UFA this August, no?

I'm not saying he will or won't sign though. I'm always in favor of signing good prospects/draftees, but if he decides to go UFA after next year, so be it.

 

[Cane mutiny]

Going back for another year is risky after the good year he had. He could slump next year and lose any advantage this year got him.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I believe that the Laffer situation is similar to Cotton, in the sense that he simply wants to go for a national championship before he starts his pro career. According to some Twitter sources, the Canes will keep his rights for another year because he will still be a student. We will "panic" a tad, but in the end, I think he will sign with us next year anyways. Thing is that being a Canes prospect in the middle of said team contending for cups was always going to be a long road, and Minnesota's giving him tons of minutes to develop now, so why mess with something that's clearly working for him?