This has to be one of the worst offseasons in Detroit Red Wings history.
Rather than belabor the point about Dylan Larkin or Steve Yzerman or the fact that the team is relying on an interim GM, let's focus on something much more immediate.
Last night, the NHL's new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) rules came into effect. Along with a few minor rule changes comes a caveat with contracts: say goodbye to the era of eight-year deals. Now, NHL franchises can only sign players for up to seven years at a time.
This means that both restricted free agent Simon Edvinsson and pending unrestricted free agent Alex DeBrincat can only be signed for up to seven years now.
Worse still, the new CBA rules don't allow teams to front-load their contracts anymore, preventing financial flexibility in later parts of the contract. While this doesn't affect the salary cap, it can certainly hamstring franchise owners (especially notoriously cheap franchise owners).
Needless to say, the Red Wings have fumbled a major component of two of their biggest signings the next GM has to undertake.
Why this is especially frustrating
If reports by Elliotte Friedman are believed to be true, Steve Yzerman stepped down from his role as general manager as early as July 2. This means that the Red Wings have had over two months to find his replacement. That's 60 plus days to hire the outside firm, conduct the interviews and prepare the offer.
The fact that it all resulted in a proverbial kicking of the can down the road is baffling.
It's even more insulting for Edvinsson, who is still showing up to camp despite not signing a contract extension. He and his agent have been willing to wait patiently for the next GM to take over, but even they are out of the loop on the situation. Edvinsson's agent openly said he doesn't know who to speak to regarding the next deal.
The issue is, thankfully, less pressing for Alex DeBrincat, but it should still signal alarm bells.
Other changes arising from new CBA
Contract length and front-loading contracts aren't the only things that change under the new CBA. Signing bonuses change as well. Here's how Puckpedia puts it:
"Total signing bonuses across a contract will now be capped at 60% of the deal's overall value. A team can still front-load a specific season with a bonus above that 60% mark, but the sum of all signing bonuses in the contract can't exceed it."
Teams are also now required to travel with an emergency backup goalie (EBUG). The EBUG will be a staff member that suits up in case both the starter and backup goaltender are injured before gametime.
The most impactful change (outside of contract shifts), however, comes from emergency call-ups. Under the new CBA, teams will have to play a game short one player before using their emergency call-up, something the Red Wings have done multiple times in the past. When used as an emergency call-up, the team is charged a cap hit equal to the space they have available. The difference is charged the season after, similar to a performance bonus.
All in all, the Red Wings have fumbled yet another major deadline this offseason and continue to frustrate fans across the board.
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