By Mike Prisuta
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Ray Shero doesn't yet consider himself an infallible cap-ologist, but in projecting where Sidney Crosby's riches would fit into the Penguins' salary cap, such expertise wasn't needed.
"I had to put him at the maximum," Shero said. "He's the best player in the league. And if he came in and said 'Here's the deal; take it or leave it,' then obviously our hands were gonna be tied and we were certainly gonna have to take it."
Fortunately for Shero and the Penguins, Crosby was more team-oriented than greedy.
He "settled" for an annual average of $8.7 million starting in 2008-09, a relative bargain price that will save the Penguins about $1.3 million of cap room that season and more thereafter as the cap increases.
Other contracts are a little more complicated in the new NHL, but not as much as you might suspect in Shero's estimation.
"It's not rocket science," he said. "Some of it has to do not with finances but with player projection."
That helps explain why the Penguins extended Ryan Whitney and jettisoned Michel Ouellet.
Both had breakthrough years in their second NHL seasons in 2006-07. But Whitney, who was by far the more expensive of the two players, is perceived to be just scratching the surface of what he might someday achieve.
Ouellet, clearly, was characterized as having played over his head, which meant that even at a more affordable rate, he would have proven too expensive if re-signed.
At least that's the theory.
Project what a player might be capable of, decide what you'd be willing to pay for such production and never, ever deviate from the original blueprint.
Sound familiar?
It ought to.
The Steelers have been adhering to just such a philosophy for years.
The Pens' mimicking it during their salary-cap infancy is no coincidence.
"I have had some discussions with (director of football operations) Kevin Colbert of the Steelers," Shero said. "I look forward to having more on how they're doing their business vs. ours and vice versa.
"It's a work in progress. We've made mistakes, other teams have made mistakes, but you learn from that."
Colbert, a Penguins season-ticket holder and a member of the Pittsburgh Celebrity Hockey Team, maintains Shero has little left to learn when it comes to the nuances of salary regulation while compiling a roster.
"We just talk informally," Colbert said. "Trust me, I think he's much more versed on the salary cap than I'll ever be.
"It's real exciting to see him keep those young guys."
The extensions for Whitney and Crosby aren't the last Shero hopes to hammer out.
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is apparently next on the list as the Penguins continue to nudge their payroll ever closer to the cap.
"Fleury's new contract will kick in at some point," Shero said "We're going to get there sooner rather than later."
Should any of Colbert's advice help facilitate such a deal, he won't be expecting any sort of return on the favor.
Not even a discount on those season-tickets he covets.
"No," Colbert said. "I'm just happy to have 'em."
Shero was happy the Crosby deal proved to be as simplistic as it was significant.
"You didn't have to be too smart to do that one," Shero said.
Three years into the NHL's salary cap era, the Penguins' second-year GM also appears to have a handle on how to navigate negotiations that are much more involved.
Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com or 412-320-7923.
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