Roberto Luongo: Know the Risks

by on January 7, 2013 in League News - 147 Comments

Roberto Luongo: Know the Risks
Joel Auerbach/Getty Images
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This just in tonight from Pierre Lebrun of ESPN, describing the cap benefit recapture component of the new CBA on existing deals over 6 years.

To wit: let’s say the Canucks trade Luongo soon. Luongo has played two years of his 12-year contract, the Canucks paying him $16.716 million in salary but only absorbing a $5.33 million cap hit each year. That’s a cap savings of $6.056 million over two years so far for Vancouver. Under this new rule, should the Canucks trade him now and he retires with three years left on his contract, Vancouver would be charged that $6.056 million in cap savings over the final three years left on his deal from 2019 to 2022. However, let’s say for argument’s sake Luongo gets traded to Toronto, the Maple Leafs also would be subject to cap penalties if Luongo retires before the end of his deal.

To wit, part 2: If Luongo were to play the next seven years of his deal in Toronto before retiring, the Leafs would be paying him $43.666 million in salary but only counting $37.31 million against the cap over those seven years, a cap savings of $6.356 million. So if Luongo retires with three years left on his deal (because his salary falls to $1.618 million in the 10th year and then $1 million in the last two years of the deal), the Leafs would get charged that $6.356 million on their cap spread evenly over the remaining three years of his deal.

The Leafs would be on the hook for 6.356/3 or around 2.12 million per season on the cap for all remaining seasons of the contract if they were to acquire Luongo and he were to retire with three years left on his deal.

On the upside, if Burke were to acquire Luongo in a trade, the return value should reflect that the Leafs will likely be incurring this part of the penalty. I can’t see Luongo fetching significant value with these conditions in mind.

In other CBA news, Brian Burke’s wish for a rule allowing the retainment of salary in trades has been granted with a limit of up to 50% of the contract value of the traded player.

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  • mcloki

    Depends on how many playoff games he wins us.

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  • Waiting4LSC

    I think the bowl games are nuts. 4+week layoff, underdogs have a much better chance at an upset. Then there is the lop sided games. 

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  • B_Leaf

    So lets get this straight…Burke thought it was wrong to sign these types of contracts and wouldnt do it to acquire some very good players. Now the league has essentially penalized these contracts so now that a penalty is in place Burke will go out and get one of these players? Sounds a little odd to me, just sayin!

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  • Bon Scott was a Leaf fan

    LOL…yeah, when you look at it that way….

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  • gilmour2hall

    It was Alabamas QB up 42-14. They just showed it again

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  • mcloki

    Ya it’s real high level thinking that needs doin’

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  • Alec_Brownscombe

    @B_Leaf:disqus Burke has told me he doesn’t approve of signing them but isn’t as opposed to trading for one that’s already been signed. 

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  • Bon Scott was a Leaf fan

    Sure, but that was before he found out he’d be penalized for it when trading for one.

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  • Alec_Brownscombe

    Obviously, that’s the question now with tonight’s news. However, the idea that it was against his philosophy just to trade for a back diving deal isn’t necessarily true.

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  • Optimustic

    I’d hope to get a better deal on another goalie.  I wasn’t saying this two hours ago, just since I’ve learned about the Cap penalty.  Before, I’d have accepted some of the trade proposals that have been presented for him.  Now, I’d give up very little for Lou.

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  • B_Leaf

    Again that is strange logic

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  • Bon Scott was a Leaf fan

    I think he’s gonna pull the trigger anyways….but that’s just me.  Shannon wouldn’t be pumping this tire for 3 months straight if there wasn’t something to it.

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  • Alec_Brownscombe

    Not really. Not the player’s fault a club offered them a deal structured that way. Burke wouldn’t hold it against the player.

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  • keon

    very key point

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  • Skip2myLUUUUUU

    Fuck Luongo…says the same people that hated toskala, raycroft, and the rest of the crap we’ve put up with since the lockout. Its timewe get a goalie that’s fricken good for once and Luongo is just that. If were gonna say Fuck anything say Fuck salary. Its not our s to pay and we aren’t gonna find better for near the same price.

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  • Alec_Brownscombe

    Strong username to post content correlation.

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  • Shift_Disturber

    So if he was traded here and played out the contract we would have no penalty. But would Vancouver for the number of years/amount they benefited from the cap savings or again only if he retires early? Wow what a clusterfuck of a way to do it. I think they’ll need more lawyers and CBA specialists to keep all these things straight.

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  • Waiting4LSC

    I’m asking about Halak.

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  • Kurt!!

    man this is getting over my pay grade haha call me when cap geek has it figured out

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  • Optimustic

    It’s not salary that I have a problem with,  It’s the cap hit that hurts the team and I don’t want to go back to having a player on our cap who isn’t playing.  I liked Tucker, but wish he wasn’t still taking up space in our cap.

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  • Skip2myLUUUUUU

    Four years of one of the best goalies in the world is worth Kadri n Bozak. I wouldn’t regret the Morale he’d give our youth and draw via free agency. With Lu here we actually have a chance at getzlaf and perry.

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  • Optimustic

    Yep and anyone else who’s available that can stop the bleeding.  Backstrome?

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  • mcloki

    That’s a good thing. Teams still have to pay his salary and take the cap hit. It seems even more likely he comes to Toronto.

    Well played mr. Burke.

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  • Shift_Disturber

    Sure ups the ante on acquiring a contract like that. Interesting twist to take into account.

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  • Skip2myLUUUUUU

    Meh, i live in van, i hate the luxury they have of him being their goalie. I’d love them to see how they’d really fair without him. It won’t be as pretty a they think.

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