lowe will be lucky to keep his job longer than one more season, and it appears that his current moves are being made in the "if i can't have it, no one can" tradition of the jilted everywhere. if he does manage to float along into the 2008-2009 season, he will probably find himself drowning in his own smelly creation. the nhl has a salary cap for a reason; inflating salaries is ridiculous and self-destructive. put your mouth on the dotted line and blow away, little man; blow until your lungs explode.
the sabres took the bait and re-signed vanek; they had to. other general managers need to sit back and throw the hand brake. we love dustin penner. we've written about him, talked about him, and (once, after too much beer) drooled on him. he deserves more money. he is an outstanding physical presence with skill and smarts. if penner was to receive a reasonable offer, it would be around $5 million for three years-- maybe $6 million. kevin lowe offered penner $21.25 million for five years.
we love penner; the ducks love penner; the fans love penner.... and that is why we have to let him go.
if the ducks resign him at this over-inflated price (last year was his first full season in the nhl), it is entirely possible that the negative effects will be felt in the nhl for years-- further crippling a league that isn't exactly thriving. penner will understand; his love of the game is what got him past the thousands of stop signs that tried to convince him that he wasn't good enough to play pro hockey. the ducks should say "no. no, thank you" to matching the offer sheet, thank penner for everything he has contributed to the ducks, and wish him luck.
penner can then laugh his way to the bank and recognize that he will be making $4 million dollars a year to play a game he loves, because some desperate suit thought he could continue to force other teams to make bad decisions rather than make sound ones of his own. by not matching such a ridiculous offer, the ducks might throw up a dam against the flood of crap lowe has tried to bury the nhl in.
thank you, large human. we'll still cheer for you when you come to town.
