Kings News: Byfield signs 5 year, $6.25M per extension

[funky]

Byfield extension soon?​

What is considered soon?

He is not francophone and not represented by Brisson, he is under 30 and won’t request a no trade clause. Might happen in a month or so. Blake is busy trying to sign Temmu Selanne.

 

[Peter James Bond III]

I am not sure if this has been mentioned, but I honestly think an issue as part of the negotiations, the 'ongoing health issue' that QB must deal with, has at least been discussed...he's mentioned it a few times, that he has to deal with an ongoing health issue...like what? Chrohns? Who knows.
If he has some health issue that must be dealt with, surely they have discussed this at some level.
Maybe this is one issue of getting this done.
He had some virus in Dec 2022 in which he lost 20 lbs and he said he couldn't do anything...and then, after his goal of the year this season, he then went into a 20 game slump. In his exit interview, he said he was dealing with something.

Maybe they've asked him to get more medical testing? Or want to have control of how he manages it?

This is obviously some issue. If you're going to commit 8 yrs and 60+ million to a player, you're going to go over everything. (unless it's PLD, you just throw him 8.5 million for 8 yrs and pay an upfront bonus to make it 11.25 million year one...you just sign that player, no background checks)

 

[MonkeysUncle]

I am not sure if this has been mentioned, but I honestly think an issue as part of the negotiations, the 'ongoing health issue' that QB must deal with, has at least been discussed...he's mentioned it a few times, that he has to deal with an ongoing health issue...like what? Chrohns? Who knows.
If he has some health issue that must be dealt with, surely they have discussed this at some level.
Maybe this is one issue of getting this done.
He had some virus in Dec 2022 in which he lost 20 lbs and he said he couldn't do anything...and then, after his goal of the year this season, he then went into a 20 game slump. In his exit interview, he said he was dealing with something.

This is obviously some issue. If you're going to commit 8 yrs and 60+ million to a player, you're going to go over everything. (unless it's PLD, you just throw him 8.5 million for 8 yrs and pay an upfront bonus to make it 11.25 million year one...you just sign that player, no background checks)

Very good points. Maybe if it is a health issue as you mentioned, it might be where the Kings are wanting a 2 year deal to see if this is going to be an ongoing issue

 

[King'sPawn]

I am not sure if this has been mentioned, but I honestly think an issue as part of the negotiations, the 'ongoing health issue' that QB must deal with, has at least been discussed...he's mentioned it a few times, that he has to deal with an ongoing health issue...like what? Chrohns? Who knows.
If he has some health issue that must be dealt with, surely they have discussed this at some level.
Maybe this is one issue of getting this done.
He had some virus in Dec 2022 in which he lost 20 lbs and he said he couldn't do anything...and then, after his goal of the year this season, he then went into a 20 game slump. In his exit interview, he said he was dealing with something.

Maybe they've asked him to get more medical testing? Or want to have control of how he manages it?

This is obviously some issue. If you're going to commit 8 yrs and 60+ million to a player, you're going to go over everything. (unless it's PLD, you just throw him 8.5 million for 8 yrs and pay an upfront bonus to make it 11.25 million year one...you just sign that player, no background checks)

Do you remember where it was said he has an ongoing health issue?

He had an illness that caused him to lose significant weight, but I don't recall anyone mentioning it was a chronic condition.

 

[Peter James Bond III]

Do you remember where it was said he has an ongoing health issue?

He had an illness that caused him to lose significant weight, but I don't recall anyone mentioning it was a chronic condition.

Yes. He talks about it at 3:00 to 3:45 in his exit interview...didn't call it chronic and unrelated to the issue the yr before...but something he has to 'deal in the off season'. If you're saying you must deal with it in the future...it's an ongoing thing. It's not something that has ended.

 

[King'sPawn]

Yes. He talks about it at 3:00 to 3:45 in his exit interview...didn't call it chronic and unrelated to the issue the yr before...but something he has to 'deal in the off season'. If you're saying you must deal with it in the future...it's an ongoing thing. It's not something that has ended.

Thank you. I missed that.

Maybe it's an interpretation thing, but he refers to it in the past tense. I assume when he says "I have to deal with it in the offseason" it means getting back in game shape.

I could be wrong though.

 

[johnjm22]

I didn't get the impression that there's any ongoing health issue.

He just sounds like one of those guys who when they get sick, it really hits them hard. That usually gets better with age.

I was like that when I was younger.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

I didn't get the impression that there's any ongoing health issue.

He just sounds like one of those guys who when they get sick, it really hits them hard. That usually gets better with age.

I was like that when I was younger.

Well let's hope for his sake personally and professionally that if there is something his dealing with, it will not affect him long term.

 

[FrozenKing18]

I wonder how “uncomfortable” Byfield is with his best friend gone. These two seemed to have really hit it off.

 

[johnjm22]

Well let's hope for his sake personally and professionally that if there is something his dealing with, it will not affect him long term.

If there was a chronic issue, then I'd have to assume he would've dropped in the draft.

This is pure conjecture, but skinny guys get hit the hardest when they get sick.

 

[Surf Nutz]

I am not sure if this has been mentioned, but I honestly think an issue as part of the negotiations, the 'ongoing health issue' that QB must deal with, has at least been discussed...he's mentioned it a few times, that he has to deal with an ongoing health issue...like what? Chrohns? Who knows.
If he has some health issue that must be dealt with, surely they have discussed this at some level.
Maybe this is one issue of getting this done.
He had some virus in Dec 2022 in which he lost 20 lbs and he said he couldn't do anything...and then, after his goal of the year this season, he then went into a 20 game slump. In his exit interview, he said he was dealing with something.

Maybe they've asked him to get more medical testing? Or want to have control of how he manages it?

This is obviously some issue. If you're going to commit 8 yrs and 60+ million to a player, you're going to go over everything. (unless it's PLD, you just throw him 8.5 million for 8 yrs and pay an upfront bonus to make it 11.25 million year one...you just sign that player, no background checks)

I wonder why his body is not recovering normally.

Gee, what could it be?

Yes. He talks about it at 3:00 to 3:45 in his exit interview...didn't call it chronic and unrelated to the issue the yr before...but something he has to 'deal in the off season'. If you're saying you must deal with it in the future...it's an ongoing thing. It's not something that has ended.

Sounds like a hockey injury and he will have a procedure in the off season.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

If there was a chronic issue, then I'd have to assume he would've dropped in the draft.

This is pure conjecture, but skinny guys get hit the hardest when they get sick.

True

 

[tny760]

the "chronicness" of byfield's illness was peddled a bit by hoven and foxy, especially in this interview



25:00

 

[Statto]

As an example maybe it’s something like he keeps getting tonsillitis. That can be something you keep getting then deal with by having them removed in the off season. I’m not saying that I think that’s what it is, just an example of something that would fit the very limited information we have.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

They have to reduce his giant nutsack, he keeps hitting linemates with it

the "chronicness" of byfield's illness was peddled a bit by hoven and foxy, especially in this interview



25:00

Interesting

I was just going to say it just seems like a kid having a hard time keeping on the hard-gained weight thru the rigors of season AND sickness, that's nigh-impossible to recover

But Jim definitely alludes to having to do some sort of medical correction

Seems like 'not a big deal' though with how nonchalant everyone is about it, doubt that would be the holdup on an extension

 

[funky]

They have to reduce his giant nutsack, he keeps hitting linemates with it



Interesting

I was just going to say it just seems like a kid having a hard time keeping on the hard-gained weight thru the rigors of season AND sickness, that's nigh-impossible to recover

But Jim definitely alludes to having to do some sort of medical correction

Seems like 'not a big deal' though with how nonchalant everyone is about it, doubt that would be the holdup on an extension

It’s all good. They just brought Edmundson in to show the kid how to stay healthy.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

"Skinny guys get hit the hardest when sick" said the fat man on a ventilator

 

[johnjm22]

"Skinny guys get hit the hardest when sick" said the fat man on a ventilator

Obviously someone who's extremely obese is going to have a hard time. I'm talking about generally healthy people.

When you get really sick, you don't eat much of anything for a whole week. If you're skinny (a hard gainer), that takes a lot out of you compared to someone who's more of a mesomorph. If you're a finally tuned athlete that can really set you back.

But Jim definitely alludes to having to do some sort of medical correction

Yeah but he's just referring to QB's exit interview. He speculating about it just like we are. I don't think it means much.

 

[Peter James Bond III]

They have to reduce his giant nutsack, he keeps hitting linemates with it



Interesting

I was just going to say it just seems like a kid having a hard time keeping on the hard-gained weight thru the rigors of season AND sickness, that's nigh-impossible to recover

But Jim definitely alludes to having to do some sort of medical correction

Seems like 'not a big deal' though with how nonchalant everyone is about it, doubt that would be the holdup on an extension

I don't think this 'illness' is the reason for a holdup, but in a sense, the Kings may be making this an issue, to make a lower offer, as they have the real info what this is. If it is something that is ongoing or may be something QB has to deal with longterm, than they probably are wanting to make clauses like "all medical diagnosis, treatment and care shall only be done through our medical staff...blah blah" Kind of like the Eichel situation, when they were at odds over the neck / disc injury and treatment. Maybe Q's camp says no, we have the right to seek our own medical care. who knows?
The Kings have data that shows how many games he missed and how much this affected him as well as future projections. Yes, that's all ugly and pretty shttty...but this is the Kings and we've seen how they screw their own young players. I am still a little mind boggled, as to why Turc would take a league minimum for 3 yrs! What if he breaks out and has 14 goals, 20 assists this yr? That's not a league minimum player, but then has 2 more years at league minimum? (I think the last 2 yrs are 1 way and he's guaranteed that, not sure and not going to look it up) They screwed Mikey 2? yrs ago into that ridiculous 1M 1yr deal and Mikey says "I like my deal and I'm ready to go...I'm betting on myself" (for next contract)

If you listen again at 2:58, QB rubs his face, looks up to the ceiling a second and was uncomfortable with this, even if just for a second. He wanted to say something, without saying too much. But he does say he was dealing with it during the season (hard to discern 1 or 2 words there) and that he will deal with it in the off season.

We don't know what it is. QB does and the Kings do and I am sure at some level, this is part of the negotiations. If both parties know that this can affect his level of play and health, this is not a straight forward 'we project you at 75 pts this yr and 85 the next...and see you as a future captain'....the rosiest of projections. I'm not saying this is anything dire, or that this can be a non issue and successfully dealt with and even ended. No one knows. We know it was enough to what he says and that it's a kind of illness. "no, I ran into like an illness" his exact words.

 

[Herby]

I don't think this 'illness' is the reason for a holdup

Of course not, it seems pretty obvious that the issue that people should have seen a mile away has come to be. Byfield wants the longterm guarantee that similar players have gotten (which completely makes sense). I think the Slafkovsky deal was the final dagger in hopes of a bridge deal. The general belief around the league has certainly shifted away from bridge contracts, as Friedman says "Teams want to sign their young players for as long as they can", but leave it to the Kings to do things differently again, as they did with all their high picks under Blake.

The people pushing for a bridge deal "for the better of the team" or wanted QB to "bet on himself" would never push those things if they were in QB's shoes or represented him, but then expect QB to just not seek a contract that the rest of the league would give him.

If Byfield "bets on himself" and signs a 2 year bridge deal for $5m, the absolute best case scenario is he kills it and signs a $10m deal after it that takes him to 32 where he maybe gets a 3-4 year deal for another $10-11m. That would be around $120m in career earning. If he signs an 8x8, followed by a 5x11-12 (remember he'd be entering his age 30 season) that brings him to roughly the same amount of money he'd make in the "bet on yourself" scenario, without incurring any of the risk of getting injured during the bridge deal.

So why is anyone pushing for this player and his agent to accept a bridge deal? What is the upside for QB?

 

[Sol]

Sounds like a chronic issue that seems kinda concerning to Fox. To bring it up the way he did usually means there’s more to it but there’s obviously a problem. Height/weigh or whatever doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. It’s sad in general that he’s having to deal with something that’s obviously unceasing. He needs to spend as much time figuring it out because it’s not healthy for him to be going through such drastic changes due to illness.

 

[Brownie to Pancakes]

Next year there's a significant chance of QB struggling at C in Hiller's line-blender system full of misfit wingers. He absolutely should try to sign long term. There's literally no reason not to, if you're him

 

[Sol]

Of course not, it seems pretty obvious that the issue that people should have seen a mile away has come to be. Byfield wants the longterm guarantee that similar players have gotten (which completely makes sense). I think the Slafkovsky deal was the final dagger in hopes of a bridge deal. The general belief around the league has certainly shifted away from bridge contracts, as Friedman says "Teams want to sign their young players for as long as they can", but leave it to the Kings to do things differently again, as they did with all their high picks under Blake.

The people pushing for a bridge deal "for the better of the team" or wanted QB to "bet on himself" would never push those things if they were in QB's shoes or represented him, but then expect QB to just not seek a contract that the rest of the league would give him.

If Byfield "bets on himself" and signs a 2 year bridge deal for $5m, the absolute best case scenario is he kills it and signs a $10m deal after it that takes him to 32 where he maybe gets a 3-4 year deal for another $10m. That would be around $120m in career earning. If he signs an 8x8, followed by a 5x10 (remember he'd be entering his age 30 season) that brings him to roughly the same amount of money he'd make in the "bet on yourself" scenario, without incurring any of the risk of getting injured during the bridge deal.

So why is anyone pushing for this player and his agent to accept a bridge deal? What is the upside for QB?

Realistically, Kings hold the cards with Byfield. It’d make sense Byfield would want a long term deal but if I am the Kings I am 100% playing hardball. I would not sign Byfield long term at all. Hes rarely played Center and his long term deal would be aimed at him being a number 1 center.

Byfield has not proved himself to be a competent center in the NHL so a huge deal just makes zero sense to me.

Its the Kings fault too for pretty much not allowing him a spot but if I am Byfield AND if I am confident, I’d sign a bridge deal, make sure I kill it, and secure a bigger long term deal.

 

[Herby]

Sounds like a chronic issue that seems kinda concerning to Fox. To bring it up the way he did usually means there’s more to it but there’s obviously a problem. Height/weigh or whatever doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. It’s sad in general that he’s having to deal with something that’s obviously unceasing. He needs to spend as much time figuring it out because it’s not healthy for him to be going through such drastic changes due to illness.

We will see.

I think this could just be another excuse people are using to justify the decision to not just give him the 8x8 that he'd have signed if he were on any other team in the league.

"Faber wasn't signing with LA"
"Turcotte wanted to sign and their hands were tied"
"Bergevin is to blame for everything"

If there were concerns about QB's longterm health, then he should have been traded by now.

Realistically, Kings hold the cards with Byfield. It’d make sense Byfield would want a long term deal but if I am the Kings I am 100% playing hardball. I would not sign Byfield long term at all. Hes rarely played Center and his long term deal would be aimed at him being a number 1 center.

Byfield has not proved himself to be a competent center in the NHL so a huge deal just makes zero sense to me.

Its the Kings fault too for pretty much not allowing him a spot but if I am Byfield AND if I am confident, I’d sign a bridge deal, make sure I kill it, and secure a bigger long term deal.

The Kings don't hold all the leverage. Byfield could sign an offer-sheet, and he also knows that the Kings are in a win-now situation, and for that to happen the Kings need him to be a 1C (I love AK but you aren't winning a SC with 37 year old AK as the 1C).

Byfield would be signing a similar extension to Boldy and Caufield, who were both wingers.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

Next year there's a significant chance of QB struggling at C in Hiller's line-blender system full of misfit wingers. He absolutely should try to sign long term. There's literally no reason not to, if you're him

I am not really excited about the safe hire of Hiller, but I am sure management didnt want to bring in someone with their own ideas and less controllable