Inside The Penalty Box 02.18.08: No-Trade Clauses Hindering Deadline Deals
Posted by Neil Borenstein on 02.18.2008
Wade Redden refuses to leave Ottawa. Mats Sundin wants to go down with the sinking ship that is Toronto. And Rob Blake will apparently leave Los Angeles only for the two other teams in California. In this week’s edition of Inside The Penalty Box, Neil Borenstein looks at the trouble general managers have nowadays in completing trades with the heightened willingness from players to exercise their no-trade clauses.
The Price Of Loyalty
No-Trade Clauses Hinder Deadline Deals
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports/Getty Images
A lifelong Senators, Wade Redden refuses to leave Ottawa at the deadline with the help of his no-trade clause.
s general managers begin the negotiation process for a trade, the last thing they want to hear is that one of their players is exercising his no-trade clause.
With eight days remaining before the trade deadline in the National Hockey League, general managers are working around the clock with several rounds of back and forth banter to try and piece together trades before the freeze goes into effect on Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. From the beginning stages of trade to the final approval by the league, the wheeling and dealings of general managers to complete a transaction for that final push into the playoffs or the offseason is a pretty arduous process. With one felt swoop, though, just one player involved in the deal can cancel the whole thing by simply playing his no-trade clause card.
Recently, players fro all sports have been very open with using these clauses. The biggest case right now is taking place in the National Basketball Association. Thanks to a request from point guard Jason Kidd, the New Jersey Nets were forced to deal off their most popular star. Being that there are many teams interested in a take-charge, veteran point guard, this wasn't exactly an impossible task. The Dallas Mavericks came up with the winning offer, willing to send guards Devin Harris and Maurice Ager, forwards Devean George and Jerry Stackhouse, center DeSagana Diop, cash and draft picks to the Nets in exchange for the nine-time All Star. George held up the trade, however, claiming to be protecting his interests and free agent rights at the end of the year.
In the NHL, players are holding their no-trade clauses near and dear, as well.
About a week ago, Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray approached Wade Redden about an interest from the San Jose Sharks in his services. The potential deal that would have been made between the Senators and Sharks is unknown. But Patrick Marleau heading to the Senators wouldn't have been surprising. None of that matters, though, because Redden didn't want to hear anything of a possible trade. He told Murray that he would not waive his no-trade clause, and wanted to remain a Senator.
On the one hand, it was a noble move from Redden. He has remained pretty stagnant in his stance to want to remain with Ottawa. Redden was drafted second overall by the New York Islanders in 1995, but he has played his entire 11-year career with the Senators. He really wants to help bring a Stanley Cup to Ottawa. And the team hasn't been in a spot to win the ultimate prize in hockey more than where it's at now.
Staying with the Senators for the rest of the 2007-08 season does not guarantee Redden will remain with the team past it. The salary cap is tricky business, and there really isn't a whole load of room on Ottawa's payroll to bring Redden back following this year. He is playing the final year of a two-year, $13 million dollar this season, and he's going to have a market value of at least $6.5 million per year this offseason, if not more. Even if he is willing to give a discount to Ottawa, which he has stated he would, it's hard to believe he would accept anything under $5.5 million per season. That's still a bit too pricey.
Redden still has the rest of this season with the Senators, though. And he doesn't want to lose that. Moving to San Jose wouldn't give him less of a shot to win the Cup, as the Sharks are definitely contenders. But in Ottawa, he can remain with the only team he has ever played for in the NHL, which also happens to be the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference.
Mats Sundin is also feeling a bit of loyalty to his current team. Sundin was drafted first overall in 1989 by the Quebec Nordiques, and he also played his first four seasons with them. But ever since the 1994-95 season, Sundin has been with the Toronto Maple Leafs. A team full of history, Sundin will go down as one of the greatest to don a Maple Leafs sweater.
The Maple Leafs have plummeted in the Eastern Conference, though. They are 14th with 57 points, just one ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. And they have not played well enough all season to really be considered contenders for the Cup or even a spot in the postseason. As the trade deadline approaches, Toronto is likely recognizing that they will need to be sellers. And they have several chips, including Jason Blake and Tomas Kaberle.
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports/Getty Images
Mats Sundin would rather remain with the Toronto Maple Leafs than join a legitimate Cup contender.
The biggest chip, however, is Sundin. Many teams are looking for a veteran, playmaking center. That makes Sundin a hot commodity that can really bring in several young pieces to help a rebuilding franchise in Toronto – one that doesn't even have a legitimate general manager right now. Toronto definitely doesn't want to deal its captain, but it's hard to turn away the kind of offers he will command.
Sundin can block any deal put on the table, though. And he will. Sundin wants to remain in Toronto, even if it means he stays on a sinking ship. He's okay with being a part of a rebuilding organization.
This is reminiscent of what happened to the New York Rangers and Brian Leetch in 2004. Leetch was a lifelong Ranger and wanted to spend his entire career with New York. He was okay with remaining on a team that had a few years ahead of it before it would once again be competitive, which was sped up by the lockout. But with the Rangers on pace to miss the playoffs for the seventh straight season, general manager Glen Sather finally realized it was time to rebuild as opposed to gathering as many aging and pricey veterans as he could. Trading Leetch brought in valuable young pieces (at least at the time) for the Rangers. And as Sather proved in recent years that he didn't have a sense of loyalty to lifelong Rangers such as Mike Richter (who he really wanted to replace) and Adam Graves (who he traded), he took what is still the unpopular approach.
The difference between Leetch and Sundin is that Leetch didn't have a no-trade clause. The Maple Leafs aren't going to make the playoffs and would be better off bringing in young pieces for rebuilding. But the popular choice is to keep Sundin in Toronto, where the fans love him and he should really play the rest of his NHL career. Unlike Leetch, Sundin can and likely will void any deal put in front of him that would send him packing from the Air Canada Centre.
If there is any room for optimism in the Maple Leafs camp, it's that there are only eight points separating the Lightning at 56 points and the Boston Bruins, who are in eighth place with 64 points. So even though the chances are very slim and it would take a miracle for them to make the playoffs considering their play, it's not an impossibility.
It is highly unlikely for the Los Angeles Kings to make the playoffs in the Western Conference at this point, though. The Kings are last in the entire league with 53 points, and are behind the West's No. 8 seed, Vancouver, by 13 points. They are guaranteed sellers, with many trade chips to dispose of by the deadline. The leader of the pack is Rob Blake.
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports/Getty Images
A hot defensive commodity this season, Rob Blake is reportedly interested in joining only the Ducks or Sharks if dealt by the deadline.
Blake is another veteran who can provide an instant spark to a Cup contender. Though currently injured, Blake is a physical player that can be both an asset in the offensive end and in his own zone, as well. He's a complete package defenseman, even if his skill has dropped somewhat from when he was younger.
Several teams are interested in brining Blake in, including those buyers in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for them, Blake may not be so quick to jump to the East. A lifelong Western Conference NHLer, Blake must have become too accustomed to the more fast-paced game out West and is reluctant to change his game with an Eastern Conference squad at 38 years old.
Latest reports have Blake waiving his no-trade clause to go to either the Anaheim Ducks or Sharks, only. For the Sharks, that would eliminate the need for any trade they would have put on the table for Redden. With Anaheim, it's just a story of the league's richest blue line getting even richer. Can you imagine a defensive unit that consists of Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Mathieu Schneider, Francois Beauchemin and Blake? That's freakin' insane!
Regardless, the point of moving to either California team is because it allows Blake a simpler transition back to Los Angeles following the conclusion of the season, according to The Boston Globe. That seems rather backhanded, of course, and leads us to similar dealings from last year when the St. Louis Blues played around with sending Keith Tkachuk to the Atlanta Thrashers with the well-known understanding that Tkachuk would end up back in St. Louis by next September.
Redden, Sundin and Blake have shown through their dictation of where they will go and where they will not that general managers have a tougher time putting together trades than ever before. No-trade clauses have been around for some time, but much like the restricted free agent offer sheet, I don't remember them being utilized so frequently. It's certainly a right players have if general managers allowed the clause to end up in the contract in the first place. But one has to wonder why general managers are so willing to allow no-trade clauses in contracts when it can, at some point, come back to bite them.
Trading Redden is not really a necessity for Ottawa, but Sundin could land Toronto some bright young prospects and draft picks for rebuilding. And with Blake, while willing to be dealt to certain teams, the limited amount of clubs he's willing to waive his no-trade clause for really hinders Kings general manager Dean Lombardi's options.
I think general managers need to start looking into eliminating these clauses completely from contracts. Both Alexander Ovechkin and Henrik Lundqvist have received limited no-trade clauses in their recent deals, so general managers are starting to leave themselves open for some freedom. But with the money these players are being paid, do they really deserve to have a say in which team they play for in any future transactions? After all, making trades is part of the game. I understand players want security. But moving from team to team is part of the business. Loyalty is certainly commendable, but sometimes not at a time when teams really need to make moves for the betterment of an organization.
Over the years, I have come to grips with the reason why Glen Sather traded Brian Leetch in 2004, even though I still hate the move. Much like Leetch had no choice, neither should these other players. One player should not have the authority to hold up the progression of an entire organization, whether it is toward a move for the Stanley Cup or an early jump into rebuilding.
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I totally disagree. players should have every right tod ecide where they play ie. work. I think the idea of trades, while fun for us fans to discussa nd fantasize about, is a horrible concept.
It's like allowing McDonalds the right to trade their employees to KFC or Bell Canada trading theirs to Rogers Cable. imo, Trade sshould only be allowed if all parties - including the players - okay it. I don't think the amount of money should make player snothing more than an ornament who have no say where they'll hang their jersey. Why should a player whose about to be traded really care if he's possibly hurting the team who want to trash him by kicking him to the curb. People talk about player selfishness; but the real selfishness comes from teams, and 'fans' who want players to be robots who dance for their amusement. It's disgusting!
Posted By: Volourn (Guest) on February 18, 2008 at 05:30 AM
s general managers begin the negotiation process for a trade, the last thing they want to hear is that one of their players is exercising his no-trade clause.
