The $36 million question: Would a new NHL collective bargaining agreement break up the Avalanche?
The answer: Maybe.
Avs general manager Pierre Lacroix declined to talk at length Thursday about the ramifications of a $36 million salary cap, the top-end figure being circulated in reports coming from Canadian outlets covering the collective bargaining agreement negotiations in Toronto.
“When the new rules are set,” Lacroix said, “we will adjust, like all 29 other teams.”
The other reality is with both sides saying considerable work remains on other issues before a new CBA is finalized, even a tentative agreement on portions of a package can fall apart.
But if the NHL returns in 2005-06, Colorado probably could come in under a $36 million salary cap without a drastic paring of Avalanche veterans if Lacroix doesn’t attempt to re-sign Peter Forsberg, who will be an unrestricted free agent.
However, if the Avs re-sign Forsberg, getting under that cap figure would require cutting elsewhere, or perhaps salary sacrifices by big-name players that go beyond the 24 percent rollbacks expected to be part of a new NHL economic order.
Documents released during CBA negotiations last winter listed the Avs with 12 players under contract for next season, for a payroll of about $30.5 million. However, that is before the 24 percent rollbacks. Plus, there were minor-league players with two-way contracts on that list, and two veterans – Chris Gratton and Vincent Damphousse – who will be under contract only if the Avalanche picks up their options for 2005-06.
If Colorado doesn’t commit to Gratton and Damphousse, that would leave seven major players under contract to the Avs next season, at a post-rollback payroll of about $18.6 million. The seven and their rounded-off, rolled-back 2005-06 salaries: Joe Sakic ($6.6 million), Rob Blake ($6.4 million), Ian Laperriere ($1.14 million), Antti Laaksonen ($646,000), Steve Konowalchuk ($1.9 million), Bob Boughner ($950,000), and Ossi Vaananen ($950,000).
Colorado then would have about $17.4 million available to spend on the remainder of the roster, including on any or all of the following 10 players: Forsberg, Adam Foote, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay, David Aebischer, John-Michael Liles, Dan Hinote, Marek Svatos, Peter Worrell and Karlis Skrastins.
Those are the major Avalanche veterans who aren’t under contract for next season.
Their 2004-05 salaries would have totaled $21.5 million, and that doesn’t include Forsberg. The Avalanche’s qualifying offer to Forsberg was $9.5 million, and throwing that in makes the 10 salaries add up to $31 million. If the players consider those figures their bench-mark salaries but accept 24 percent pay cuts in line with the expected rollbacks in existing contracts, it would take $23.6 million to re-sign them all.
Including Forsberg, the total figure for 17 players would be $42.2 million. But Colorado also would have to add at least three more role players, including a backup goalie and additional skaters. The other catch is the NHL cap is expected to be for all player costs, including benefits, so team payrolls actually would have to be lower than the cap figure.
“I don’t know what the cap number will be, but whatever it is, teams will always have to be a little below it, in case of injuries where they need to call up a guy from the minors or something,” former Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman said from his home in Buffalo, N.Y. “I’m sure Colorado would have to make a couple of tough decisions with signing players, with the guys they’ve already got signed.”
Staff writer Adrian Dater contributed to this report.
Terry Frei can be reached at 303-820-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
