Confirmed with Link: Panthers sign Dave Bolland (5x5.5)

[Metalcommand]

Stop the overreaction. Bolland is one of the best 3C in the game. So basically a great deal would have been like 5 years for 4 mil a year.

But

a) By the time Florida is going to do anything meaningful there will be 3 or 2 years left on his contract which leads to
b) he can be bought out or traded by retaining like 1-1.5 of his salary if he proves inadequate
c) cap keeps on rising.

Okay deal. Stop the madness please.

 

[PantherCat57]

Stop the overreaction. Bolland is one of the best 3C in the game. So basically a great deal would have been like 5 years for 4 mil a year.

But

a) By the time Florida is going to do anything meaningful there will be 3 or 2 years left on his contract which leads to
b) he can be bought out or traded by retaining like 1-1.5 of his salary if he proves inadequate
c) cap keeps on rising.

Okay deal. Stop the madness please.

And to think, some people said they're going to stop watching the Panthers because of this. Yeah, its not a good contract. But the amount of doom and gloom around here is ridiculous. I know we're Panthers fans, but still.

 

[MintyFresh88]

If he puts the injuries behind him and strings together a couple healthy seasons, everyone will realize how valuable this guy can be. It's a big IF though.

 

[JP Mick]

The amount of whine in this thread is alarming.
Yes we paid too much, but I'd rather have Dave Bolland on the team than not have Dave Bolland on the team.
I just hope he stays healthy.

 

[FlaPnthrsPunk]

As I said in the grading the signings today thread, I've been annoyed all day about this. I would have been fine if Bolland was signed say at the most for $3.5M over 2-3 years. However, paying a 3rd line Center $5.5M a season for five years is absurd. Especially, if he's had a history of getting injured. I still can't believe he deserved $8M per season. He hasn't come close to 40+ points in five seasons. I'm really hoping he proves us wrong and things change because this to me is another Jovo mistake of signing and will equal a buyout at some point.

 

[Erased]

I really like Bolland as a player but not as our second highest paid player. I think there were better options available that were asking for much better contracts.

 

[MintyFresh88]

I really like Bolland as a player but not as our second highest paid player. I think there were better options available that were asking for much better contracts.

Like who? He was arguably the second best UFA Center.

 

[Rattrick]

Like who? He was arguably the second best UFA Center.

Exactly. Why the hell did we sign ANOTHER center instead of a winger?

 

[FlaPanthers11]

Exactly. Why the hell did we sign ANOTHER center instead of a winger?

Because we can't keep playing with all four of our centers under 24 years old. We need veterans and depth never hurts.

 

[MintyFresh88]

Exactly. Why the hell did we sign ANOTHER center instead of a winger?

That's a question for Dale Tallon.

It's going to take pressure off Barkov and Bjugstad though. These guys aren't ready or experienced enough to carry the load yet.

I realize it's a lot of salary, but the leafs were offering 4.9 or 5 or whatever, so it's not like we could have paid any less for him.

 

[Erased]

Like who? He was arguably the second best UFA Center.

Richards and Legwand off the top of my head. Sure they wanted to go to to contenders but neither of them are getting paid as much as we are giving to Bolland. They both would likely have taken shorter deals as well. Bringing back Goc was also an option that could've been had for less.

 

[PantherCat57]

Exactly. Why the hell did we sign ANOTHER center instead of a winger?

It makes Shore/Trocheck more expendable and easier to trade. And I'm anticipating Tallon to be pretty active in trades.

 

[Anth93]

I offer my sympathy, but I really want to emphasize how thankful I am of Dale Tallon. The Leafs would've been dead if we had Clarkson AND Bolland.

 

[I am not exposed]

It makes Shore/Trocheck more expendable and easier to trade. And I'm anticipating Tallon to be pretty active in trades.

I see Shore going for sure.

Not a guy Tallon drafted for a start, and now with Bolland signed to a long contract, it just doesn't make sense for him to hang around.

 

[Laus723]

I offer my sympathy, but I really want to emphasize how thankful I am of Dale Tallon. The Leafs would've been dead if we had Clarkson AND Bolland.

Thanks for the unnecessary post, I'll take Bolland over Clarkson all day.

 

[Cor]

Just a heads up, when he came back from injury, he could barely turn left, and had real trouble skating (not that he's great to begin with)

Hopefully that isn't an issue for you guys

 

[MPGA]

Just a heads up, when he came back from injury, he could barely turn left, and had real trouble skating (not that he's great to begin with)

Hopefully that isn't an issue for you guys

Sounds like he'll fit right in.

 

[FrolikFan67]

ultimately the cap hit for him doesn't matter…yet. it'll only matter if we're over, at, or approaching the cap ceiling. and apparently we have the freedom to spend to the cap, so no internal cap. i doubt we'll be a cap team in the next 3 years, so it really doesn't matter how much he makes. if we want to make additions but theres not enough room because of him, then we can trade whatever years he has left with salary retained, or buy him out. at the moment its not an issue.

and is he really that injury prone? he missed 6 games in '12, 13 games in '13 which is kinda a lot but not too bad and even though he missed most of last season, wasn't it by cutting cut from a skate? thats just a freak accident that could've happened to anyone. as long as he's fully healed from it and doesn't feel any nagging effects, he may be fine.

 

[flapanthersfan]

If healthy,(big if right now) Bolland is one of the best 3rd liners in the game. Excellent defense, can score a bit, play gritty.

Problem is, he's a 3rd liner, and we're paying him money of a first liner. THAT'S why this contract is a disaster.

Are we a better team with Dave Bolland on it than without him? Yes.

But the deal is 5 years long. If we lose anyone because of Dave Bolland, i'm going to blow a gasket.

The only saving grace is we have 3 other expensive third liners coming off the books after this year (Kopecky, Upshall, Bergy) and Fleishmann (2nd liner) as well.

 

[MintyFresh88]

ultimately the cap hit for him doesn't matter…yet. it'll only matter if we're over, at, or approaching the cap ceiling. and apparently we have the freedom to spend to the cap, so no internal cap. i doubt we'll be a cap team in the next 3 years, so it really doesn't matter how much he makes. if we want to make additions but theres not enough room because of him, then we can trade whatever years he has left with salary retained, or buy him out. at the moment its not an issue.

and is he really that injury prone? he missed 6 games in '12, 13 games in '13 which is kinda a lot but not too bad and even though he missed most of last season, wasn't it by cutting cut from a skate? thats just a freak accident that could've happened to anyone. as long as he's fully healed from it and doesn't feel any nagging effects, he may be fine.

Precisely. You can't label a guy injury prone due to that incident last season. Like some leaf fans have mentioned though, if it permanently affects his skating, that's an issue.

Other than that and his back problems, we should be good to go...lol.

Oh and factor in our training staff's pristine record, what could possibLIE go wrong?..oops, possibly.

 

[stavs*]

Leafs fan here, Bolland is a great 3rd line center. Maybe one of the best, however his injuries prevent him from amounting to anything significant over a season. IF he can stay healthy, and that is a very big IF, this contract wont be as bad as it seems. But, given his history, you can't help but expect players like him to get injured season after season. I'd definitely take him over Clarkson, but the plus with Clarkson is he's not injury prone and is still looking for his game. I wish Bolland good luck with his future as a Panther.

 

[CanadianPantherFan]

As I said in the grading the signings today thread, I've been annoyed all day about this. I would have been fine if Bolland was signed say at the most for $3.5M over 2-3 years. However, paying a 3rd line Center $5.5M a season for five years is absurd. Especially, if he's had a history of getting injured. I still can't believe he deserved $8M per season. He hasn't come close to 40+ points in five seasons. I'm really hoping he proves us wrong and things change because this to me is another Jovo mistake of signing and will equal a buyout at some point.

If we want to be a contending team, you need to swing for fences/swing wildly from time to time. Wings, Avs, Flyers, Rangers etc have all done it in the past on free agent day. Some of those teams won cups,some did not. I'm not a fan of this deal, but far from jumping off a cliff.

 

[flapanthersfan]

If we want to be a contending team, you need to swing for fences/swing wildly from time to time. Wings, Avs, Flyers, Rangers etc have all done it in the past on free agent day. Some of those teams won cups,some did not. I'm not a fan of this deal, but far from jumping off a cliff.

Signing David Bolland isn't swinging for the fences though....it's swinging for a single.

and we ended up fouling the ball off our own junk.

 

[teddy83]

This Bolland deal is really gonna hurt if the young players reach their potential, then the cap comes a issue when you need to give them new contracts

 

[jrockett1096]

Vanek signed with Minnesota for 1 million more than our 3rd line center Bolland per season. Im not bothered though because Vanek wouldn't have signed here anyways because we have to show the league we can make the playoffs on a more consistent basis and are money is not any good until we do that. Free agency and the excuses for our management is going splendidly.