Contract Talks Continue Between Pens and Orpik
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Jun 26, 01:20 PM | Hype this story!
Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is reporting that contract talks between the Pittsburgh Penguins and defenseman Brooks Orpik have continued today.
“Today could bring developments involving on-going dialogue between the Penguins and representatives for defenseman Brooks Orpik,” wrote Rossi.
Just yesterday, Rossi reported that a contract in the four year range at roughly $3.5 million per year would be offered to the rugged defenseman by the end of the day. Still, there is no word yet on whether such an offer was made.
Today, Rossi wrote: “Orpik’s agent, Lewis Gross, would not say Wednesday if the Penguins have presented a contract offer. However, indications are the club will soon make a formal offer, if it has not already.”
As I did yesterday, I want to strongly warn Faceoff Factor’s readers that Rossi’s story included no quotes from people close to the situation, indicating that this could be speculation on his part.
Update: Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that Orpik has rejected Ray Shero’s contract offer.
“We did receive an offer, which we turned down,” said Orpik’s agent, Lewis Gross. “But we’re still talking.”
Comments
Pens1967
Jun 26, 01:51 PM
PSI also has the same report, but they cite an offer in the range of 4/15.5M. PSI reports negotiations as “ongoing” meaning the Pens have made a firm offer. PSI says they won’t be surprised if Orpik signs shortly.
PSI reports 2008-09 salary cap will be 56.7M with floor of 40M.
Link to Orpik item:
http://pod08.prospero.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?nav=main&webtag=KDKA_Sports&entry=130
Pens1967
Jun 26, 04:01 PM
PSI reports Gross and Orpik rejected the Pens’ first offer, but talks are continuing.
henkegbgskea
Jun 27, 02:31 AM
is it only me or are alla pens free agents
real gready???
Hossa wantsd supermoey Malone wants supewrmoney after one real good season?
same situation with Orpik…
All talk about discount from Hossa and Orpik was it all smoke ?
i think its sad but pens probably dont have the cash to keep them….
Michael S.
Jun 27, 07:50 AM
There is no doubt in my mind that they gave a low offer to Orpik. My reasoning is because Shero is riding a thin line between having insane cap issues and just making the mark. At the same time, why wouldn’t Orpik/Gross decline the first offer even if it is reasonable? It gives them more leverage for the second round of talks because they know he has already turned down an offer and can do it again.
Not to mention, last time i checked they are athletes, greed is the game.
Crosby was one of the first, if not the first, player in the new NHL to take a pay cut for a team. I wouldn’t assume that there are many more people like Crosby in the NHL (as a person not a player because otherwise my statement is obvious)...
Matt Bodenschatz
Jun 27, 08:32 AM
Henke, the Penguins aren’t being greedy. They’re looking to make what they can, and have the right to make. As free agents, they might get just one opportunity to cash in during their careers.
Hossa doesn’t want “supermoney,” he wants to see if the offers he gets are significantly better than what the Penguins offered. I can’t blame him for looking for the best contract, while still playing for a good team.
It’s difficult to discuss discounts, and here is why. When a player says he’ll take a discount, no one knows how big of a discount or how much he could make with another team. So, if Hossa is offered $10 million by another team, should he have to take a $3 million discount to stay with the Penguins? On the other hand, if his maximum offer is $7.5 million, it would be realistic to expect him to discount to $7 million to stay.
Also, keep in mind that we’re talking about negotiations. These things don’t happen in an instant. It takes time until both sides agree on something, and it usually means reaching a common middle ground.
Michael S., if you look around the league, you’ll see that the true “big name” players all have contracts similar to Crosby’s. Heck, even Vinny Lecavalier just signed a contract that is pretty darn reasonable money-wise. Iginla, Thornton, and others have respectable and “reduced” salaries in comparison to their skills. I think there are many more players taking paycuts than we realize, simply because they don’t make it public.
Regardless, I have a hard time calling what the players do “greed.” These guys have a very short window of opportunity to make a big salary, and I can’t blame them one bit for doing what they have the right to do. If players are greedy for wanting money, then the teams are greedy for wanting players to take reduced pay to stay.
Michael S.
Jun 27, 09:32 AM
“Michael S., if you look around the league, you’ll see that the true “big name” players all have contracts similar to Crosby’s.”
Yes, but being widely known as the best player in the league means that he should be the first person to command the single player salary cap IMO.
Matt Bodenschatz
Jun 27, 10:16 AM
I don’t disagree one bit with that. But I do think there are plenty of players who take paycuts and for one reason or another, the public just doesn’t hear about it.
Pens1967
Jun 27, 10:37 AM
IIRC, the Pens have the 4th or 5th most cap room in the NHL. I think they have enough money to accomodate a 5M raise for Malkin as well as a 3M raise for Fleury. That still leaves them 14M under the cap to dole out.
I’m not opposed to players taking advantage of the window to make a lot of money, but we should also keep in perspective how much money a million dollars is. If one would plan on working 30 years, that would be over $33,000/year
if the money was just distributed without even earning any interest!
Michael S.
Jun 27, 11:44 AM
@Matt
You are absolutely right. I would estimate that the majority of players in the NHL do not take pay cuts to play for certain teams.
However, this is obviously speculation and I can’t prove that at all…
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