The Islanders have officially gone batshit.

The winner in that has to be Neil Smith for being fired as the Isles GM after only 40 days. A deal that long seems ludicrous.

Posted by gspm at 2006-09-12 11:19 AM | Reply | Flag:

I am not that up with hockey these days like i used to, but i was wondering if they signed him for that long to stretch out the amount of dough he wanted total each year. Maybe this would free up more year-to-year money for Islander operations, player signings, etc. Maybe the real loser here is DiPietro who will almost certainly not play there (or in the league) that long, and won't see all of that.

Posted by brainofdtrain at 2006-09-12 11:26 AM | Reply | Flag:

Look, I really like Dipietro as a goalie, and I truly believe his best years are still ahead of him. But deals like this one leave neither party happy; the team's budget winds up being weighed down for decades, while the player winds up being underpaid after the first few years. My first thought when reading this was that Garth Snow was making a point of taking care of his best mate as his first order of business. Which is not good business.

Posted by chicobangs at 2006-09-12 11:28 AM | Reply | Flag:

Any sports contract over 4 years is "batshit", in my opinion. Maybe the real loser here is DiPietro who will almost certainly not play there (or in the league) that long, and won't see all of that. The only way he won't see every penny of that is: 1) he retires prematurely (due to injury) and forgoes any future earnings (and doesn't have insurance to cover such an event) 2) he get's bought out, but that would still mean 75% of his remaining dough in one lump sum and becoming an unrestricted free agent All NHL contracts are guaranteed money, except for the points mentioned above.

Posted by grum@work at 2006-09-12 11:30 AM | Reply | Flag:

My first thought when reading this was that Garth Snow was making a point of taking care of his best mate as his first order of business. According to Bill Watters this morning on Toronto radio, DiPietro and Islanders owner Charles Wang are bestest buddies, and Wang feels this is the best way to take care of his goalie. I also learned Wang's tennis partner is Carol Alt.

Posted by wfrazerjr at 2006-09-12 12:19 PM | Reply | Flag:

Oh, and regarding the FPP: 15-year deal for DiPietro, $67.5 million. Second in length only to teammate Yashin, who's is a 10-year deal. Is 15 years second in length to 10 years?

Posted by wfrazerjr at 2006-09-12 12:27 PM | Reply | Flag:

Grum, correct me if I'm wrong, but if he gets hurt and doesn't retire he still collects. The only way he wouldn't collect is if he decides he voluntarily walks away from the deal. From cbc.ca... "(Owner) Charles Wang is trying to show he's committed to a building project, and DiPietro showed he's committed to the team and wants to be on Long Island," Newsaday quoted an unidentified NHL executive in a report Tuesday. Looks like there's a typo there in "Newsday". I wonder if that's another typo and it should instead read "...Wang is trying to show he should be committed."

Posted by SummersEve at 2006-09-12 12:28 PM | Reply | Flag:

Maybe the guy who wrote-a the article was-a typing-a with-a de accent. And Carol Alt is Long Island royalty, and she's seeing Alexei Yashin. It would follow that she's playing tennis with her boyfriend's boss.

Posted by chicobangs at 2006-09-12 12:51 PM | Reply | Flag:

Well that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Since, of course, their first dumbest move when they fired Neil Smith for G. Snow. Who does that?! Unless Wang is printing $ in the basement on the collesium, this is so foolish. I was ok with Yashin's 10 year deal...kinda...but to sign a goalie for that long is un real...i can't even find the words to express how stupid, foolish, and wasteful this deal is. This is a fireable offense. Nothing against Di Pietro...but we are not talking about Patrick Roy or Brodeur in thier prime. Hey I played Div 1 college hockey, maybe they need another manager with no expeirence that they can throw buckets of money at.

Posted by NYRBeeker16 at 2006-09-12 12:54 PM | Reply | Flag:

And Carol Alt is Long Island royalty, and she's seeing Alexei Yashin. Didn't she used to be married to a Ranger? She and Anna Kournikova . . . I know hockey players are supposed to be the best interviews and nicest guys in sports, but I also know hockey players.

Posted by yerfatma at 2006-09-12 01:08 PM | Reply | Flag:

My first thought when reading this was that Garth Snow was making a point of taking care of his best mate as his first order of business. Which is not good business. This isn't the case - Wang actually tried to do this last year, but was apparently shut down by Bettman and/or the NHLPA. From the Wikipedia entry on DiPietro: The New York Newsday reported that the team offered him a 15-year contract in September 2005, but the League discouraged this, instead he signed a one-year offer. If it was a bad idea last year, it's probably still a bad idea this year. I can't believe my favorite team has turned into (or rather, kept on being) such a joke. At least they haven't moved off of Long Island, yet.

Posted by skwm at 2006-09-12 01:18 PM | Reply | Flag:

Yerfatma, she was married to Ron Greschner. I rode in an elevator with her once... Sigh...

Posted by ajaffe at 2006-09-12 01:22 PM | Reply | Flag:

I am sofa king we todd ed. This is what happens when back-up goalies get put in charge immediately one-year after getting hit in the face by pucks during the previous ten. Boy, the Islanders are going to fun to follow in the papers this year. Isiah Thomas' brow is intensely furrowed right now. He's not sure if he's intrigued, confused (assuredly) or hungry - but one thing's for sure. He needs to meet with Garth Snow. Stat.

Posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 2006-09-12 02:39 PM | Reply | Flag:

Any sports contract over 4 years is "batshit", in my opinion. Absolutely. Really though, this guy is laughing now but in 10 years when hockey explodes in popularity and contracts double, boy will he be pissed

Posted by timdawg at 2006-09-12 03:03 PM | Reply | Flag:

I think its a dumb move for both New York and Rick and that it will bite them in the ass sooner then later and thats all I will say GO DETROIT GO DETROIT!! The Wings Will Win The Cup This Year but under Witch Goalie HASEK or OSGOOD or maybe HOWARD we will see but they WILL WIN

Posted by sirtt22 at 2006-09-12 03:08 PM | Reply | Flag:

That's one hell of a commitment, especially for a goaltender that does not have the skill to take the Isles to a Stanley Cup, perhaps not even a second round matchup. Shouldn't this deal have been made after at least a playoff year for them? This deal is not only longer than the Yashin deal, it's also dumber.

Posted by AvsJacket at 2006-09-12 03:27 PM | Reply | Flag:

I don't know. I think DiPietro has it in him to raise his game past what he's done so far. He's certainly not seen a lot of support over his career so far, and if by some miracle the Isles wind up with even a partway decent D-line one of these years, he'll win himself a Vezina. (sirtt22: just a note - please, mind the guidelines, and keep the rah-rah stuff to a dull roar.)

Posted by chicobangs at 2006-09-12 03:58 PM | Reply | Flag:

I'm not at all an expert but could the 15 year contract term just a way of keeping his portion of the yearly Sal-Cap low?

Posted by hb74147 at 2006-09-12 04:23 PM | Reply | Flag:

DiPietro will be a flash in the pan goalie at best. Wings will win the cup this year by getting rid of dead weight scorers in playoffs, but Hasek will he make the whole year? If he does he will carry them thru playoffs, my bet is Howard comes to the rescue

Posted by Number6 at 2006-09-12 04:36 PM | Reply | Flag:

Grum, correct me if I'm wrong, but if he gets hurt and doesn't retire he still collects. The only way he wouldn't collect is if he decides he voluntarily walks away from the deal. Agreed. It's possible that he might retire as a result of the injury, only because he doesn't want to go through the team-mandated physiotherapy/surgery/whatever to get him back in shape. If the injury isn't truly career ending (a broken leg CAN heal, a torn ACL CAN be mended, but being blinded in both eyes is career ending), then he might not qualify for the insurance policy, so he'd be getting no money from anyone (team or insurance). In general, retirements usually get the team off the hook from paying the rest of the salary. I'm not at all an expert but could the 15 year contract term just a way of keeping his portion of the yearly Sal-Cap low? As I understand it, the total value of the contract is divided by the number of years in the contract, and that number is the salary cap number for every season of the contract. In this case, it would count as $4.5million each year, even if it's structured as 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 5.5, 6, 6, 6.5, 6.5, 7 If it isn't, then they've set themselves up nicely for the first 8 years or so, but if his skills decline at that point, they'll be in for an average >6mil/yr on a worsening player. Buying that out to avoid the salary cap hit (assuming the last 7 are to be avoided) would cost them $32.25million to dodge 7 years of dead weight. Someone should really look up the rules about salary cap cost for long term contracts and the buyout option... Either way, I'm pretty sure that Snow will not be around to see the end of that contract...

Posted by grum@work at 2006-09-12 04:48 PM | Reply | Flag:

I remember reading that when Scottie Pippen signed his seven year deal with the Bulls that his agent and owner, and GM told him that by the end of the deal, he would be grossly underpaid. After three years Scottie started complaining about how underpaid he was and it continued and continued and continued for four boring years. How many years of this do we get to listen to DiPietro complain for?

Posted by jc at 2006-09-12 05:48 PM | Reply | Flag:

How many years of this do we get to listen to DiPietro complain for? After signing this...this...this...I can't even think of the correct term to use...DiPietro better not complain about a damn thing for the next 15 years! If he gets a salmonella sammich from the vendor outside MSG, he better smile while they pump his friggin' stomach. To paraphrase the late great Doctor, "in his suite at Madison Square Garden, Isaiah Thomas laughed and ordered a methuselah of Dom Perignon..."

Posted by The_Black_Hand at 2006-09-12 07:07 PM | Reply | Flag:

>Oh, and regarding the FPP: >15-year deal for DiPietro, $67.5 million. Second in length only to teammate Yashin, who's is a 10-year deal. It's longer than Yashin's, but for less total money.

Posted by Philfromhavelock at 2006-09-13 08:39 AM | Reply | Flag:

I wonder how much the Isles just spent on Kozlov. Viktor has great potential, it's just hard to get him to show up for every game. He is awesome in a shoot-out though.

Posted by MrFrisby at 2006-09-13 11:25 AM | Reply | Flag:

Whoops.

Posted by adampsyche at 2006-09-13 11:55 AM | Reply | Flag:

He is awesome in a shoot-out though. Or if you need something off a really high shelf.

Posted by HATER 187 at 2006-09-13 12:01 PM | Reply | Flag:

What is the point to signing a person for that long? I don't know all that much about hockey, but 15 years? If I remember correctly, he is 25 years old... so they want him around untill hes 40? They could have signed a contract for half that length, and saved lots of money with taxes. Even if they signed him to a 10 year deal, he prolly would've been cheaper to re-sign when the deal ended. This seems like a publicity move more than anything, but for that price its rather costly. Like I said, I don't know much about hockey, so maybe im out of line- but this seems riduclous and rather unnecessary to me.

Posted by Kendall at 2006-09-14 03:45 PM | Reply | Flag:

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