January 27th, 2009-Henrik Zetterberg may have been suffering from back troubles, but a new contract will cure all. In 2009 the Detroit Red Wings signed Zetterberg to a 12 year, 72 million dollar contract that all but insured he will play his entire career with the Winged Wheel on his sweater.
Leave it to Wings General Manger, Ken Holland, to come up with a very inventive way to skirt the rules of the NHL Salary Cap. Holland signed the deal knowing that the final two years of the deal were only worth one million dollars. This lowered Zetterberg’s cap number to slightly more than six million dollars. Nonetheless this was the most lucrative contract in team history, and it would have ramifications around the NHL as well.
Since NHL players salary cap numbers are determined by the average amount of money the player makes over the length of the contract, adding two years at a million dollars per, is the perfect end around the NHL salary cap. Taken to an extreme it could effectively make a salary cap ineffective.
After signing Johan Franzen to a similar long term deal in the spring of 2009 the other teams in the league learned the lesson. After the Chicago Blackhawks signed away Marian Hossa, form the Wings, the NHL cried foul and began looking into the matter.
The very best of General Mangers find a way to get out of the box their leagues try to paint them into. This is exactly what Holland did here, and the league is going to end up changing the rules because of it.
Related Links:
•Detroit Red Wings News and Notes
•January in Detroit Sports History
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