Sharks Chatroom: TOO MUCH TOO SOON? - Sharks Chatroom

Los Angeles Kings President and General Manager Dean Lombardi was on a national sports talk show last week. The interview was really interesting as he gave insight into how he's trying to sign Drew Doughty, his outstanding young defenceman.

Doughty is seeking his second contract as he just played out his three-year entry- level deal. He's due for a big raise. As was the case with Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos, that second contract has become a challenge for National Hockey League general managers.

Lombardi talked about how, in years past, seniority was rewarded with lucrative contracts. A player had to prove himself to be a game-breaker, a star and a winner before he became rich.

Years ago, Joe Sakic had played 655 games, notched 307 goals and 820 points before he was offered a three-year, $21 million contract from the New York Rangers. Colorado matched that offer and "Burnaby Joe" took the Avalanche to two Stanley Cups.

When he played in Detroit, Steve Yzerman didn't make big money until his third contract. He went from $1.5 million a season to $3,214,520 -- a raise of 114 percent. As Tampa's general manager, he just signed Stamkos to an 814 percent increase! (By the way, feel free to check my math as it was never one of my strong suits.)

So Lombardi has legitimate concerns. He has a budget and has set parameters of where he wants his team to be after the process is over. When a general manger is trying to build his club in the traditional way, like the Kings, this second big-dollar contract presents many problems.

From an on-ice performance level, Doughty is off to a terrific start in his NHL career. But he's a long way from being a sure bet finished two-way player.
As Lombardi said, the evaluation isn't that much different than drafting a player in the first round. The projections are fraught with pitfalls and the gamble is a high pick.

Lombardi went further by saying that the second contract becomes a very expensive leap of faith. When a draft pick doesn't pan out, you lose an investment of scouting and coaching man hours and thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of dollars. But if the projections of a player like Doughty are wrong, there's a loss of tens of millions of dollars. A very expensive mistake.

Lombardi was also very perceptive in talking about the off-ice impact a Stamkos-like contract has on the individual. It gives the very young man a sense that he has already made it big.

A huge contract has the potential to take away the desire to strive for something more. The big dollars requires a huge adjustment outside of the arena. It takes away the focus of why he played hockey in the first place.

Since the lockout ended, the second contracts have had the most significant effect on team budgets and salary structure. Bobby Ryan, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith had gigantic jumps in their salary after their entry-level deals were fulfilled.

Yes, they're wonderful players and deserved a raise. But the raise used to be to the $2.5-3 million range. Now you don't even get out of the gate unless the starting point is at the $5-6 million level. I'm sure Dean is in the $6 million range with Doughty. Good luck with that.

Looking ahead, it makes me wonder how much Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson will have to allocate next summer for Logan Couture's second contract.