Simmons: Can you put a price on winning – or not winning?
Article content
Connor McDavid will sign a contract soon that will pay more than $100 million, which will make him the highest paid player in hockey history.
But when he’s finished, and he’s set for his life and on his own island, what will matter more? The money or the number of Stanley Cup rings he has won.
Knowing McDavid, the rings, the championships won, will matter more to him than the numbers in his bank account and investment portfolio. And you wonder: Will a deal paying him more than $13 million a season impede the Edmonton Oilers ability to win championships?
And it gets more complicated with the contract of fellow centre and restricted free agent Leon Draisaitl. How much can the Oilers pay Draisaitl? And will the Oilers have to the Blackhawks annual salary cap dance.
McDavid might be smart to take less than $13 million a year in order to enable the Oilers to build strength at a time when there is no assurance the NHL salary cap will be increasing significantly in the coming years.
Being set for life is wonderful: But can you place a price on winning, or in this case, not winning. It’s something the McDavid team needs to think one more time before coming to terms for the best years of McDavid’s career.
THIS AND THAT
New York Rangers - where free agents go to disappear. Hello and goodbye Kevin Shattenkirk. It was nice knowing you ... Big winner on free agent day in hockey: Rangers beat writers. Shattenkirk is one of the best quotes in hockey ... Asked an agent how his contract negotiation was going with Lou Lamoriello. His answer: “You know I can’t tell you. If I tell you, Lou will know where it came from and won’t talk to me anymore.” .... Word is, after Anaheim made a deal with Las Vegas, Sami Vatanen is no longer on the trade block with the Ducks. The market for a quality defenceman is limited for the Maple Leafs but I wouldn’t discount Lamoriello, who has a way of being creative ... Ron Hainsey punched above his weight for the Stanley Cup champions in Pittsburgh, which earned him a nice contract with the Leafs. Matt Hunwick did the same for the Leafs in their playoff series against Washington, which earned him a two-year deal in Pittsburgh. All of it reminds me of a Scotty Bowman line about a deal he once made: “Nothing for nothing.” ... The betting is Todd Nelson will be the next coach of the Arizona Coyotes but almost mysteriously after turning down other positions, Ralph Krueger’s name is circulating again ... I’m in the minority on this. I like the Karl Alzner signing in Montreal. Alzner is a real pro. Teams never get worse when they add pros to their lineup ... Not sure I understand Brian Boyle signing in New Jersey. He almost won a Cup in New York. He almost won a Cup in Tampa. He played on a great young team in Toronto. And now, what? ... All Dominic Moore does is make teams better at an annual reasonable price. Leafs got a fourth line bargain signing the free agent centre Saturday.
HEAR AND THERE
Two words on the Blue Jays season: It’s over. Four more words: It’s not early anymore ...My weekly Jays prediction remains the same this week: 80-82. That would mean finishing the season at 43-39. And I’m not certain this team, which can’t pitch, field or hit these days, can even manage that much ... Here’s a problem for Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins: If you begin to sell, what are you selling? You can’t get a lot for Jose Bautista, if he agrees to be dealt. You can’t get much of anything for Troy Tulowitzki. You may be better to wait for the off-season before shopping Josh Donaldson, if that is indeed the plan. The best value comes from dealing Roberto Osuna or Marcus Stroman, but why would you want to trade away your young players, still on near entry level contracts ... This is how great the Houston Astros are: They have 140 more hits than the Jays, have scored 116 more runs, have hit 22 more home runs and a 13.5 game lead in the American League West of Saturday afternoon ... It is now official: Benedict Farrell has now abandoned two AL East teams in his lifetime. He is heading back to the Red Sox today after his son was pelted in his major league debut ... Bo Bichette’s numbers are close to insane with the Lansing Lugnuts of A ball. He’s hitting .395 with a .457 on base average and an OPS of 1.092. And not far behind him is the Jays No. 1 prospect, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., born in Montreal, who trails Bichette in homers, RBI, average and just about every hitting stat.
SCENE AND HEARD
On their best day, they were better than Dave Andreychuk, now a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame: Jeremy Roenick, Alexander Mogilny, Rick Middleton, Steve Larmer, Dale Hunter, Daniel Alfredsson and Theo Fleury ... Earth to Joe Sakic: Come in Joe ... Is it me or are the Winnipeg Jets becoming the Philadelphia Flyers West? They are a great goaltender away from being a decent team and they’re still a great goaltender away from being that ... I go crazy when the fancy stats people try and tell him who the great and not so great defenceman are. A good NHL defenceman plays 20 plus minutes a game. Most will have the puck on their stick one minute a game. So how can you statistically quantify the 19 minutes he isn’t touching the puck? ... Is Bobby Webster really the Raptors new GM? He looks like he just graduated college ... There is an organization now measuring speed in baseball. Problem is, it indicated that Justin Smoak is slower than Kendrys Morales, and I don’t think that’s possible. According to the numbers, the Jays have the slowest first baseman, shortstop and right fielder in baseball.
AND ANOTHER THING
If the Raptors can get Kyle Lowry for three years and DeMar DeRozan money, that’s a great deal for the NBA team ... Masai Ujiri never said he wasn’t going to the New York Knicks. He should have said something. He should have been more public about whatever pursuit the Knicks were dancing around. By staying quiet, he fed the non-story, if it was, in fact, a non-story. Not sure he would have made that call if his No. 1 media relations person hadn’t left the team for league headquarters ... This just in: J.J. Reddick signed a one-year $23 million contract with Philadelphia. God bless the three point line, I say ... Jason Grilli made fans believe and made the Blue Jays clubhouse a better place to be. He won’t be missed on the mound. He will be missed around the team ... Phil Jackson was an equal opportunity leader, consistent with the New York Knicks. He didn’t care to talk to his players. He didn’t care to talk to agents. He didn’t care to talk to media. Other than that, he did great ... So long Peter Mansbridge. And thanks. Thanks for enhancing our lives ... Happy birthday to Bret Hart (60), George McPhee (59), Joe Thornton (38), Jose Canseco (53), Brett Cecil (31), BenJarvus Green-Ellis (32) and Joe Pisarcik (65) ... And hey, whatever became of Bob Rouse?
As Clare Drake was rewarded with election to the Hockey Hall of Fame last Monday, a wonderful accomplishment, a thought occurred to me: Why not Tom Watt?
Watt and Drake were university hockey in this country. Watt won nine national championships in 15 years coaching the University of Toronto, Drake won six in 26 seasons at the University of Alberta. The two, you probably don’t remember, were co-coaches along with Lorne Davis on the Canadian Olympic team in 1980. A team that was actually better than the Miracle on Ice American team - until the Olympics.
The two also worked together as GM and coach at more than one international event. “Clare and I were competitors for as long as I can remember,” said Watt. “I think we faced each other five times for national championships. Then we worked together on so many projects. We were part of putting together the first national teams in the country.
“I’m very happy for him. I know he’s not well but I’ve been in contact with Dolly (his wife). I’m very proud of all he’s done.”
A few years ago, some of Watt’s old players came to him and suggested they were going to nominate him for the Hockey Hall of Fame. He didn’t encourage them to do so. He didn’t think he had a chance.
Someone should nominate the Maple Leafs scout now. Drake is a deserving member of the Hall. And if he is, so, too, is Tom Watt.
David Price must look back fondly at his brief time with the Blue Jays.
He bought monogrammed robes for everyone. He brought scooters to the clubhouse. He was generous as all get out. For the most part, he was a decent guy to deal with. And he won a whole lot of regular season baseball games.
Then he made probably the biggest mistake of his professional life.
He signed for huge money with the Red Sox, one of the toughest markets in the game, where he has never really fit in. He hasn't pitched like Price or acted like Price. And clearly, it’s gotten to him.
Price’s latest escapade in Boston involved a giant argument with Dennis Eckersley, the Hall of Fame pitcher and Roberto Alomar’s close friend. Not a great idea to be fighting on a team airplane, and especially not a great idea to be getting into it with Eckersley, who now broadcasts the Boston games.
In Tampa, Detroit and Toronto, Price seemed like Mr. Cool. He had that way about him. Almost everything went his way. He was among the best pitchers in baseball. He walked, talked, looked like a leader, a winner, the kind of player you would want to build your team around. And then he agreed to go to Boston for only $217 million dollars.
As Bob Dylan once wrote: “Money doesn’t talk, it swears.” In this case, Price would likely agree.
Louis Sutter lived in Viking, Alta., was did something that has never been done before: He was a father to six NHL playing sons.
And when he still alive and his kids were still playing in the NHL, Sutter wanted nothing more than for his kids to hit Wayne Gretzky. He hated the fact that no one every hit Gretzky. He wanted his kids to hit Gretzky the way they hit other players in the league.
Duane Sutter listened to his dad. He played 11 seasons in the NHL, most of his time with the New York Islanders, one of the great rivals of the remarkable Edmonton Oilers team. He took his dad’s plea to heart and in a game in Edmonton against the Oilers, he skated in the direction of Gretzky with full intention of hitting him.
Like most who tried to hit The Great One, he missed. Hitting Gretzky, the late Brad McCrimmon once said, was like trying to catch the wind.
Dave Semenko saw what Sutter attempted. With the two beside each other on the ice, Semenko stared Sutter down, grabbed him around the throat and said: “Don’t do that again.”
That’s what Semenko did. He didn’t fight that much. He didn’t have to. He made life comfortable for his teammates, wherever he played. All he had to do was look at you.
The great protector, Semenko, passed away the other day. It’s not cliche to say - and the Sutters would agree - he was one of a kind.
