The Kevin Lowe Situation

by user Pbcoyotes

The actions of Kevin Lowe, Edmonton Oilers General Manager, have caused a stir in the hockey world. Going after Restricted Free Agent Thomas Vanek with a huge offer that Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier later matched, showed what kind of pressure Lowe is under to make his team better.

Unfortunately, the ramifications of the Vanek signing could cause unintended consequences and all because Lowe is upset that no one will play for him and his storied Oiler franchise.

The consequences are simple. Players who are now Restricted Free Agents can instruct their representation to look for outside deals that would force the negotiations to sky rocket. Players that were set in value for one level of payment, now can entertain the possibility of looking for a higher pay scale for the upcoming year. It seems that if Lowe is going to fall, he plans to take the rest of the GMs with him.

There are some players that will be worth the pay increase. Ray Emery plans to take the cash strapped Ottawa Senators to arbitration, but there may be others whose value have now become inflated.

Is Vanek worth the money? The third year player, first round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres had these numbers last year: 84 points with 43 goals and 41 assists, so quite possibly he was. Lowe definitely thought Vanek would have made a significant impact for his club. However, should we expect the same scenario for other players in Vanek's position?

Take for instance defenseman Keith Ballard. The third year Phoenix Coyote is currently a Restricted Free Agent and an offer was tended to him last week. There have been no reports of him accepting the offer or signing it.

Can other players and organizations suffer through the inflation that Kevin Lowe caused with the Vanek signing? Or was this just an isolated incident?

I would like to think that the Kevin Lowe situation was just limited to him and his desperate attempts to save his neck, but I would not be surprised to see far reaching effects with other Restricted Free Agents and with other GMs that might consider tyring the same thing that Lowe did.

Desperate people will make irrational decisions so that, in their minds, they can make their lives better. But these decisions come with disastrous consequences.

ChristofMVP

876 days ago

Score 1

What Lowe did was not wrong. The rules are the rules.

The NHL has leveled the playing field in regards to salaries for all 30 teams. The Oilers blew up their team because they could not afford their stars under the cap last season. They have room under the cap now. They should be trying things, if not, the fans should be on them for not trying to win.

The Oilers have a rich tradition of being a top team. WHat Lowe tried to do was continue this tradition. His actions were not, in any shape or form, wrong.

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PbcoyotesWaterboy

875 days ago

Score 1

I'm not saying what he did was wrong, my position is that Lowe's actions could inflate the other contracts for the Restricted Free Agents, which could be problematic for everyone. Also, Lowe would have to blow up his future Oiler team for one player. At the contract price, he would have to fork over four first round draft picks to the Buffalo Sabres if the deal with Vanek went through. I'm really not sure that's a wise move.

Lowe is under extreme pressure to alleviate his fan base in Edmonton. Sure, he followed the rules, and he played his hand legally, but at what price?

Of course, given my perspective of looking at a team filled with prospects next year, I am forced to view these issues long term...

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The Hockey RabbiSoccer Kid

863 days ago

Score 0

Nice article and two great comments showing both sides of the coin. On the one hand, the rules are the rules. Lowe didn't write them but he is absolutel entitled to use them. On the other hand, with a cap in place in order to dress a deep team you have to be able to sign your young players who lack UFA leverage on the cheap. Lowe's actions gave every young RFA more leverage then he had prior to the Vanel offer sheet. That means a salary raise. That also makes it harder to dress a deep team. On th eone hand the Oiler$ are trying to appease their fans and become competitive. On the other hand, they've just made it harde on themselves to STAY competitve. To me, it's another case of cutting off you nose to spite your face.

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KelsdadAll-Star

863 days ago

Score 1

In baseball, this is called the Scott Boras effect. The solution is simple, stop getting into bidding wars. Each team has its own scouting and player development departments, so they know based on the style their team's play who would be a good fit and who wouldnt. Don't bid on a guy just to jack him up so a competitor in your division can't afford him, especially if you have no intention of signing him yourself. Bid on the guys who you think can help you, and have a budget in mind first. If a guy gets too expensive, and your scouting department has done its job, then you should have a list, just move on to the next guy.

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