Luongo gets 12-year extension
We admit we don’t understand the NHL salary cap and that’s evidenced by the fact that we don’t understand why a 30-year old guy would get a 12-year contract. Well, Roberto Luongo just got one from the Vancouver Canucks and it’s reportedly worth some $64 million.
“I’m very excited,” Luongo said during a conference call. “Once the season was over I took a few weeks and it was a clear decision for me and my family. We love Vancouver and I think the organization has handled us really well and this gives us a chance to win, so we’re really ecstatic.”
“Today is a very exciting day for the Canucks organization,” said Canucks president and general manager Mike Gillis. “Roberto Luongo is the leader of our hockey team; he is in the prime of his playing career and has a tremendous desire to make the Canucks a championship team. His leadership, competitiveness and character are what this team will represent for many years to come.”
This is what is called a front-loaded contract. If you read further for the details of the contract it gives him big money in the next few years and then it dribbles off into 1 million for the last two years of the contract. Through averaging, it means the contract means about 5 million per year which gives Vancouver the space to sign more players to stay underneath the cap. It doesn’t really mean that Luongo will play until he is grey (though recently Dominik Hasek did at age 43). In practice, Luongo will probably retire once his game declines which coincides with his annual pay dribbling down. Once Luongo retires, he is not paid for the remaining years of his contract. That is the case if he suffers a career-ending injury. He retires, collects insurance money and the Canucks can go looking for another goalie with the money they will save.
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I think that Vancouver has invented a machine that stops the aging process. Hence the 12 year extension?
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