Speculation: Could Bedard be offersheeted next summer?

The owners are the ones fronting the money and assuming the risk. They get SOME benefit from the relationship. Otherwise, why invest and own a team?

Because you own a bunch of buildings downtown and they’re struggling?

Because you need a giant tax write off?

Because you’re a competitive person and don’t care about the finances, just want to beat your peers?

How much risk is being assumed when you artificially restrict the salaries of employees while selling the rights to the ordeal without restriction?

The owners will be fine if you don’t give them everything they want. If they want to retain top talent, things besides an easy button from the cba are my preferred things to do. It’s better, for example, if the team is forced to improve the quality of life of the players on the team. God forbid this is the path chosen and not a new clause in the cba that basically screws one guy harder than the rest because he’s good and the owner can’t figure it out without help.

I’d be in favor of a franchise tag that lessened the cap hit of a marquee player, but not one that forced retention.
 
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As they continuously post record revenues year after year...
Last post. Broadcasting revenue for leagues that generate real growth:

Screenshot 2025-03-26 at 12.19.55 PM.png


Broadcasting revenue for Gary's poverty league.

Screenshot 2025-03-26 at 12.20.34 PM.png


Helpful tip: billions are more than millions.
 
This will really be the true test on whether Davidson is a good GM. He’s made the right rebuilding moves, but those are usually the easy types of moves to make. Transitioning a team from rebuilding to competing is where the hard work comes into play, so it’ll be interesting to see if he is skilled enough to do this.
Yeah, it's hard to know when the right time to transition from "rebuild" to "build". Like I wouldn't recommend trading the 25-27 1st rounders but there will come a point where you need to start adding legit players and can't always do that scrapping the bottom of the barrel in FA or waiting for a prospect you just drafted.

If you do that for too long, big pieces like Bedard might want out unless you start paying him a problematic amount of money that makes it difficult to surround the team with the depth needed (see Toronto and Edmonton).
 
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If, for whatever reason the Hawks can't have him tied up by the draft next year and they feel there's nothing close, he's getting dealt.

The offersheet will be matched by the Hawks and it would have him there until he can reach UFA status. I believe because Bedard came in at 18 he only needs to be 25, so 4 years.

If Bedard really wants out that additional 4 years will be a pain.

Hawks aren't letting him go for almost ceetainly 4 late round picks.

Doesn't seem like a good strategy if he indeed wants out.

Refuse to sign an extension with the Hawks and don't sign an offersheet is the way for him to go, assuming he does want out
 
Honestly maybe the NHL should introduce Franchise Tags for players

The player still gets their max money, and small market teams have the ability to keep their Star

In a league where certain teams are no-go destinations for 90% of the league's Stars, something needs to be done to give these guys a fighting chance.
How does this help, exactly ? They're still constrained by their budgets...
 
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It will take A LOT for the Blackhawks not to match.

As a general rule, Craig Button is wrong about pretty much everything, no I'm not particularly concerned about his position.

EDIT: Why can't I insert a GIF with the "img,/img" tags anymore? WTF is up with these boards? :laugh:
 
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Last post. Broadcasting revenue for leagues that generate real growth:

View attachment 999871

Broadcasting revenue for Gary's poverty league.

View attachment 999873

Helpful tip: billions are more than millions.

The NHL, and every other league in the US, are never going to be remotely comparable or successful in comparison to the NFL in the US, or soccer worldwide. The sooner you get over that, the better.

BTW, you should check into how great the MLB is doing considering ESPN just opted out of the last three years of their TV rights.

... Also strange that you opted to show the other league's TV revenue worldwide, but only the NHL's in the U.S. You left out a significant chunk of money in Canada.

Helpful tip: billions are more than millions.

Helpful tip: $635M in US TV rights +$433M in Canadian TV Rights (The ones you elected not to include) = $1B+ in annual TV rights.

Billions are more than millions, right?

My suggestion would be to sit down before you make yourself look even more foolish.
 
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Helpful tip: The NHL, and every other league in the US, are never going to be remotely comparable or successful in comparison to the NFL in the US, or soccer worldwide. The sooner you get over that, the better.

BTW, you should check into how great the MLB is doing considering ESPN just opted out of the last three years of their TV rights.
The NHL and NBA were once comparable, that train left the station a long time ago. Oh yeah, Gary took the NHL off ESPN and put his league on a cable channel no one could find! He literally did that! And the owners kept him!

What are the odds the new MLB broadcasting deal will be orders of magnitude above what Gary's poverty league gets over the next three years? How long til he gets the NHL kicked off EPSN/Disney?
 
The NHL and NBA were once comparable, that train left the station a long time ago. Oh yeah, Gary took the NHL off ESPN and put his league on a cable channel no one could find! He literally did that! And the owners kept him!

What are the odds the new MLB broadcasting deal will be orders of magnitude above what Gary's poverty league gets over the next three years? How long til he gets the NHL kicked off EPSN/Disney?

Hey bud, remember that time you compared the NHL's US TV revenue to other leagues' worldwide TV revenue so you could rip on them for not bringing in a billion in TV rights fees?

... Even though they do, and you just f***ed up and didn't factor in rights deals outside the US?

That was hilarious.
 
The NHL and NBA were once comparable, that train left the station a long time ago. Oh yeah, Gary took the NHL off ESPN and put his league on a cable channel no one could find! He literally did that! And the owners kept him!

What are the odds the new MLB broadcasting deal will be orders of magnitude above what Gary's poverty league gets over the next three years? How long til he gets the NHL kicked off EPSN/Disney?
The NBA was in a bad spot at that time, the forces that have lead the NBA to dominate over the past 30 years since Jordan are not because the NHL was so poorly run, but structural (it's easier/cheaper to play basketball, interest in college basketball feeding to the NBA, superstar marketing of players without helmets, etc)
 
The NBA was in a bad spot at that time, the forces that have lead the NBA to dominate over the past 30 years since Jordan are not because the NHL was so poorly run, but structural (it's easier/cheaper to play basketball, interest in college basketball feeding to the NBA, superstar marketing of players without helmets, etc)

No point bud. The dude is so emotional that he either outright fudged the numbers to make his point, or carelessly left out the NHL's Canadian TV deal.

When included, it disproves his point that the NHL doesn't make a billion in TV revenue like the others. He's too busy seeing red to know that he shoved his foot right in his mouth.
 
SJ is going to be the worse team in the league next year more then likely is Eklund not going to sign long term?

the Issue is getting him line mates that fit better. Nazar and Donato seem to be better fits then some of the other guys they have tried.
 
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He's 19 you have no idea what he is going to turn out to be later in his career. Look at Nathan MacKinnon's first 4 seasons for reference.
No he wasn't falsely advertised as being generational.
He 100% was

Mackinnon is not a generational prospect nor player (though if he has elite longevity - another 5 years of being top 3-5 player league wide then you can make the case)

A generational prospect should be a top 3-5 player over the course of their ELCs.

Mcdavid was
Crosby was
OV was

Bedard isnt, he has not been a top 50 player his first two seasons.
 
He could be offersheeted (I doubt he is, as he likely knows they match), but after losing so much for Bedard the offer for them not to match is gonna have to be so ridiculous that it would be an insane bet. Not only has Chicago invested a ton of time and effort into developing him, they have also invested a ton of social capital and money in the market branding him as the future in a way they can't advertise 4 future unknown first round picks.

The decision of walking away from Bedard would extend way past it being a hockey decision (this is an ownership level situation), and it's not like the Hawks are some small-market team that would have trouble eating a deal that is bonus heavy and frontloaded (what the Habs tried to do with the Canes on Aho).
 
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Canucks might be a team to make a push here. He would 100% sign it, and the team desperately needs a young franchise center. They have the cap space to make it happen as well. Four 1sts is a steep price to pay, but they have a solid pipeline of defencemen coming in and zero offensive talent outside of Lekkermaki.
Vancouver should probably worry about the fact that Quinn Hughes is 2 years removed from Unrestricted Free Agency with the team facing a rather uncertain future more so than day dreaming about offer sheets for local boys.
 
Yes, I've seen this low threshold for "generational" and I wonder if it's coming from non-native English speakers.
Idk seemed like it was mostly Anglo Canadians pumping his tires on here.

He may not have been a consensus generational player but most on this board seemed in agreement he had a “generational shot” that would give NHL goalies fits, he’d be flirting with 50 goals by his 2nd or 3rd year, and that it was essentially a matter of time before he overtook McDavid as the face of the league.
 
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Did anyone see STL offersheeting both Holloway and Broberg? I can see it happening if Bedard make it obvious that he doesnt want to stay in Chicago. Chicago is the last place a lifelong canuck fan growing up in the 2000s want to play for.

Vancouver should probably worry about the fact that Quinn Hughes is 2 years removed from Unrestricted Free Agency with the team facing a rather uncertain future more so than day dreaming about offer sheets for local boys.

this will help with convincing Hughes to stay though, whats he going to do with 4 first rnd picks?
 
The inevitable Bedard extension is going to hit like crack.

Vancouver fans have been crying about Bedard and Celebrini coming to rescue their irrelevant franchise the entire season.
 
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