Can Players Spend Whole Careers on One Team in Salary Cap Driven NHL?

In light of the recent Simon Gagne trade, it occurred to me to question whether or not it was practical to ever believe that he would be a lifetime Flyer, especially in a salary cap driven NHL.  John Boruk of CSN reported after the trade that according to Gagne, “If there’s one thing he would tell those younger players, try to sign a long-term contract, like Mike Richards’ who inked a 12-year deal, $60-million deal that won’t expire until 2020… tenure is almost more valuable than having a NTC.”  No-Move- or No-Trade-Clauses can help prevent a player from being sent to a losing team or undesirable location (think Edmonton), but they can also be frustrating to cope with as a player when you become fodder for trade talks.  Defenseman Tomas Kaberle of the Toronto Maple Leafs has been involved in trade rumors for the better part of a year and he’s got to be tired of hearing them by now.

In recent years, hockey legends Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman were able to retire as lifetime Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wing players, respectively.  Yzerman is sixth in the NHL for total points in a career; Sakic is eighth.  Yzerman is the longest-serving captain for a single team in NHL history; Sakic is second. In the case for each player, they were able to retire within a few years of the NHL lockout, which prevented them from being casualties of poor team contract management.  Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars, who is the all-time goal-scoring and points leader for American-born NHL players and has spent his entire career with the Stars, was told this past season he will not be brought back next season.  He is currently rumored to be signing a 1-year deal with Detroit.

The disappointment that could be heard in Gagne’s post-trade discussions reminded me of the Rod Brind’Amour trade in 2000.  Brind’Amour was one of the pillars of the Flyers line-up during the 1990s, where he developed into one of the best centers in the league and was a fan favorite.  He was traded for Keith Primeau in 2000 to the Carolina Hurricanes, where he would eventually captain the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup championship. From “Orange, Black, and Blue: The Greatest Philadelphia Flyers Stories Never Told” by Chuck Gormley, Brind’Amour felt the trade was “below the belt.”  Brind’Amour stated, “It worked out great for me, but honestly I hoped I could have been a lifetime Flyer. I have tons of respect for someone like Bill Barber, who spent his whole career in Philadelphia, and that’s what I wanted… I was the one that bled orange and black and it left a bad taste in my mouth.”

Brind’Amour announced his retirement on June 30.  The Hurricanes subsequently announced that they will be retiring his No. 17 sweater prior to the February 18 game against- you guessed it- the Philadelphia Flyers.  I am not looking forward to the day that a Tampa Bay Lightning “Gagne” Jersey is hung from the rafters of the St. Pete Times Forum.