With more star players staying put, would NHL be better off like the NBA?
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By show of hands, who’s actually surprised that Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane agreed to identical eight-year $84 million extensions that’ll keep them in Chicago through 2022-23? A year away from unrestricted free agency, the Blackhawks dynamic duo will stay in the Windy City until they’re in their mid-30’s. Each enters the final year of matching five-year deals that pay them $6.3 million. Of course, nobody blinked. It was no secret they each wanted to stay with the only franchise they’ve known having led the Hawks to two Stanley Cups.

“There’s no organization in sports that cares more about the overall experience of their fans and the success of their players,” Toews said in a statement released by the team yesterday. “There’s nothing we want more as players than to continue to win Stanley Cups for the best hockey fans on the planet.”

Who doesn’t love winning? Any star athlete would sign up for the chance to compete for championships daily. Even in a salary cap era, the Blackhawks have five players signed into the next decade. That includes two-time Norris recipient Duncan Keith, goalie Corey Crawford and the majestic Marian Hossa. Third defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson is also signed through 2018-19. Brent Seabrook has two years remaining at $5.8 million per season. Think they won’t re-sign him?

Let’s face it. When it comes to July 1, hockey is a loser. Sure. It’s practically a national holiday for legions of puckers and experts. It’s also doomsday for general managers who lose their minds morphing into Martians handing out outlandish contracts to mediocre talent. How else do you explain Brooks Orpik receiving $5.5 million over the next five years in Washington? The same for Benoit Pouliot, who coaxed $20 million from Edmonton over the same term. Even vets Mike Cammalleri and Mikhail Grabovski are overpaid. But in today’s NHL, $5 million doesn’t get what it used to. Does anyone think Matt Niskanen is the ‘missing piece’ in the nation’s capital? $40.25 million over seven years for a third defenseman who largely benefited playing with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But if defensive defenseman Anton Stralman can score $4.5 million per over the next five in Tampa, anything’s possible.

My favorite WWE wrestler Ted DiBiase had a classic line which goes like this. “Everybody’s Got A Price!” Here’s the thing. What if hockey’s marquee talent were available? How much would they get? Imagine Crosby, Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Toews, Kane and Henrik Lundqvist on the open market. It’ll never happen because all are signed long-term with Lundqvist becoming the league’s richest goalie. His new deal kicks in starting this October. He’ll earn $59.5 million over the next seven years. A whopping average of $8.5 million per season, that could make him a Ranger for life. He’ll be 39 after 2020-21.

There’s nothing wrong with envisioning how much the game’s best could get if they hit unrestricted status. It would make the summer much better. Perhaps you’d even see GMs show economic restraint. Sometimes, they’re tossing away dollars just for the sake of tossing away dollars. In special cases such as the Islanders who needed to get to the salary floor, it better explains why they overpaid Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin. It still would be better used on premium talent. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

In a game where you can use an amnesty clause to buyout a high salaried player like the Rangers did with Brad Richards, one ponders what it would be like if hockey was more like basketball. The NHL and NBA are completely different. While a flurry of activity took place last week, hoop fans are still anxiously awaiting the decisions of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. When James opted out, it was originally thought he’d re-sign with Miami alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who would take less to create room to attract missing pieces. Instead, rumors are swirling that King James could return home to Cleveland. With the game’s best taking his precious time, Anthony hasn’t decided if he’s staying with the Knicks. Even with rumors he would, there’s still a glimmer of hope for the Bulls and Lakers. Unless there’s some contingency plan to pair up with James.

Much is left to the imagination. Maybe that’s why I am enjoying the latest popular trend on Twitter appropriately entitled #LeBronWatch2014. It’s fun and exciting. There are also proposed sign-and-trade scenarios that generate buzz. What if NHL free agency was more like the NBA? Where your biggest stars could opt out and either renegotiate a more affordable deal to attract other players or decide to take ‘their talents’ elsewhere. Instead, we’re left debating over who is actually worth what they got. There aren’t going to be many yes’s. Not even for Cory Schneider getting his 7-year $42 million extension with the Devils with a year left on his original deal that pays him $4 million for 2014-15. An unproven number one goalie whose future salary is based more on statistics and potential.

For hockey fans, it’s all quiet with minor happenings. Deals are announced without fanfare like former sniper Dany Heatley landing in Anaheim and Steve Ott re-upping with St. Louis after they lost Vladimir Sobotka to the KHL. These are the real dog days. Arbitration awaits for key RFA’s with Derick Brassard, Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello all taking the Rangers there for pay increases. A tedious process that never satisfies anyone.

And here we are again left stating the obvious. In a cap system, flawed talent goes to July 1 and get paid. Meanwhile, elite talent such as Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are staying put in Anaheim. Everywhere you look, this is the norm. Tyler Seguin got his with Dallas. P.K. Subban will soon get a megadeal with Montreal rewarding him as one of the game’s top defensemen. In case you’re wondering about the future, Steven Stamkos and Anze Kopitar each can become UFA’s following 2015-16. Both are superstar centers who’ll have strong cases to make between $1o-11 million per year. Given how quickly teams work to re-sign their studs, don’t dream they’re leaving.

That’s not how it works in a vanilla league where few stars ever reach July 1. Ilya Kovalchuk is probably the best example before he got homesick. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are very good players who scored identical paydays back home in Minnesota. Those are exceptions. Until that changes, there’s little reason to believe Chicago and Los Angeles won’t challenge for dynasty status. At least they play out West where competition is strong. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to admit that the East is weak by comparison. Even with two extra teams, they don’t stack up.

If you had the game’s best on the market vying for $11-12 million on average, it might raise the bar instead of lowering it. There are few bargains. Ryan McDonagh is paid an average of $4.7 million over the next five years to anchor the Rangers blueline. By comparison, role player Bryan Bickell makes $4 million for the Blackhawks. The difference being McDonagh re-upped as a Group II last summer while Bickell cashed in a big postseason and re-signed as an unrestricted. This is the norm.

I’m not advocating bit players not being paid. At what point is it enough? The answer is there’ll always be teams willing to overspend. It would be nice if it was for premium talent.