Franchise-level players that *didn't* surprise you when they left as UFA?

[Sheppy]

Why bring up Johnny Hockey in this?

There was absolutely nothing wrong with what he said. He was a franchise player who left during free agency. Not one negative thing was said.

 

[Brodeur]

i was too young at the time, but curious to what the vibe was for Kariya and if it was a surprise he left Anaheim after their run, i guess same question with Selanne and SJ?

i just remember being shocked they both signed the Avs at that price that summer lol oh what could have been

Re-reading some articles now and I didn't realize that Selanne turned down a 6.5 mil option in April 2003 for the following season. Found this blip from a THN article:

Teemu Selanne declined an option to play in San Jose for $6.5 million next season, but hasn’t shut the door on a possible return. “He’s saying no thank you to the option, but not to the Sharks,” said Selanne’s agent Don Baizley. “We did discuss the fact no one is burning bridges.” The Sharks, who still own negotiating rights with the team’s leading goal-scorer each of the last two years until June 30, may be ready to move in another direction.

An article from July 2003 indicated that Selanne thought he could do better than 6.5 million on the open market, but a lot of teams were apprehensive since the CBA was going to expire in September 2004.

LOU CAN’T SCORE DEAL FOR DEVILS

The big Shark would not swim in the Atlantic, not with the Devils. Lou Lamoriello was thwarted on every side as he tried to bring in a big scorer at yesterday’s trade deadline, so he wound up…

nypost.com

The deal that made the most sense for the Devils, bringing in Selanne, apparently fell apart because the Finnish winger refused to waive his no-trade clause to come to the Devils. One source said Selanne exercised that veto on several teams.

There was a rumored (March 2003) deadline blockbuster that could have sent Selanne+Sturm+Ricci to the Devils for Gomez+Tverdovsky. In a parallel universe, maybe there's a Selanne vs. Kariya SCF.

So it seemed like the Sharks were moving on from Selanne. Unfortunately for them, Selanne had no interest in being a rental player so San Jose only got a 2004 2nd round compensatory pick from the league when he signed with Colorado.

It's a Duck Gamble

Kariya doesn't get $10-million qualifying offer from Anaheim, making him an unrestricted free agent; Murray hopes to re-sign him.

www.latimes.com

Murray said he had conversations with Don Baizley about signing Kariya to a contract for less money, but those talks became pointless. Kariya could not be reached for comment.

“We never talked numbers and we never talked terms,” Murray said. The fallout probably will be harsh with fans. The Ducks mended fences with fans last season, as Murray turned around a doormat franchise in one season.

Kariya becoming a free agent materialized almost out of nowhere. Anaheim was still fresh off nearly winning the Cup on June 9th when news came out that they decided not give Kariya an expensive 10 million dollar qualifying offer to retain his rights on June 30th.

Anaheim had given Kariya the QO for a few seasons, so I think most of us at the time just figured they'd do it one more time. The article mentioned that they thought it was difficult to field a competitive 45 million dollar team with one guy making 10 million.

GM Bryan Murray gambled that the market for Kariya would be less than 10 million but he probably didn't anticipate Kariya not caring about salary (for at least one season).

Maybe it was just me, but I still expected Kariya to return to Anaheim and was floored when I saw that he and Selanne signed with Colorado on July 4. Somewhat ironically, Anaheim then spent a bunch of money with frontloaded deals for Vinny Prospal (July 17) and Sergei Fedorov (July 19) to save face. Prospal made 6.5 million in 2003-04 and Fedorov made 10 million.

 

[AM]

its not an opinion. Its well documented,.


From Pocklington's own mouth

"Here is the truth:I did not trade Wayne Gretzky so I could generate cash to “prop up” my other businesses, as another Edmonton sportswriter, John MacKinnon, also recently suggested. At the time, most of my other businesses were quite profitable, and it was the security they provided that allowed me to prop up the Oilers. However, I expect all my businesses to pay their own way and that included my hockey team. If the Oilers weren’t generating enough revenue, then either costs had to be cut or other sources of revenue found. I also knew that in another year, Wayne was going to become one very expensive hockey player and that I would not be able to keep him. Better to get something for him while I still could. Wayne knows this. He knew it then."

Peter Pocklington: I didn't sell Gretzky because I needed the money

By Peter Pocklington

nationalpost.com

So excuse when i said he was broke, the oilers were broke.

I also don't care what was or wasn't tried, I was 2 at the time and didn't know what was going on.

Well could have made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

And yes I remember it quite well.

The above comment from puck must be seen in context of players leaving for more money.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

He wasn't exactly a superstar or even a franchise level guy at the end of his tenure, but Paul Stastny leaving Colorado. He arguably should have won the Calder, and was almost PPG in his 4th season so there was once a chance he'd get there but then his play tapered off and the writing was on the wall. With younger guys like Duchene, ROR, and a rookie MacKinnon on the roster, it was hard to see them coming close to what he could get in UFA. They really should have traded him as a rental at the TDL, but Varly was standing on his head most games that season, making them an unexpected playoff team.

No idea what that argument would be.

 

[jetsforever]

Agree with Panarin/Bobrovsky and Gaudreau

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Saku Koivu after being disrespected for 15 years