This morning SovSport.ru reported that SKA Saint Petersburg had signed forward Maxim Afinogenov to a 5 year contract with an option for another year. It is rumored that he will make 2.5 million a season.

Maxim, spent the last season with the Atlanta Thrashers after playing nine years in Buffalo. Last off-season a lot of clubs just didn’t want to give him big money, so he signed a 800,000 deal with Atlanta to try and prove himself. He put up 61 points in 82 games for the Thrashers, but unfortunately could find a suitor in the NHL thisoff-season.

So with this deal, he will be 35 when it’s complete. It’s a very good chance that we won’t see Maxim in the NHL anymore, unless he tries to return after this contract. He should be able to succeed in SKA, not only because they have a good team but he will be able to use his speed on the bigger ice surface. He makes SKA a bigger contender for the Gagarin Cup, they really don’t have any excuses to not win it.

http://ihockeytalk.wordpress.com/201...up-afinogenov/

Lame, was hoping we could get him somehow. No way we could do anything like that though

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Haha and everyone thought he'd sign in the NHL short-term for 1.75 or something like that. Hockey fans make me chuckle.

Good riddance.

The value in Russia is not the same as it is in North America. Russia has to overpay more in order to get player to go to the KHL. I don't think Nabakov would have gotten anything close to the contract he signed with the KHL. Especially the length.

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This ^

Maybe I'm the only one that's not normal here but I would take 2.5 million a year guaranteed for 5 years to play in my home country over 1.75 million a year for one or two years to play in a foreign country any day.

I understand the lure of playing in the top league in the world and trying to win hockey's greatest prize. But realistically, unless you're a big name like Kovalchuk or Volchenkov or the like, you don't get to play for any team you want, you don't get to say "this team has a good chance at winning the cup, I'm going to play for them", you have to play for whatever teams will take you. And you're not going to get a long term deal, you probably won't get a no-trade or no-movement clause and you could end up stuck on a 3rd or 4th line, or worse, a healthy scratch or in the minors. A player like Afinogenov will be playing top 6 forward minutes in the KHL, guaranteed.

So why do Canadian hockey fans have this idea that Russian hockey players will want to play in the NHL for a fraction of the money they'll get in Russia? And then if they take the big pay-cheque to go home, a lot of fans say they're greedy? **** that.

After all of his injuries, Afinogenov took a huge paycut for a one year deal to re-prove himself, and he did. He had a very good season, and then fans are saying "oh, he is good now, lets sign him for only 1.75 million a year". Who the **** scores 60+ points and makes only 1.75 million? He would be mentally retarded to have taken that. He deserved AT LEAST 2.5 million a year, and he got it. Good for him. I hope more Russian players smarten the **** up and do the same thing. Open up roster spots for some good North American kids who can't make it otherwise.

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Well said IB, totally agree.

And isn't their salary tax free over in Russia?

yep..

Yup...

Nope it's actually quite normal, I didn't see anyone anywhere on here confused to as why he took the deal...

I haven't seen anyone confused either. I did, however, see quite a few people who were expecting him to take a lot less. But now they're all either pretending they knew he would get more or are nowhere to be found.

Funny how that works.

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You're pretentious attitude is getting old (not just on this subject as well). "Hockey fans make me chuckle"? You must have self-deprecating humour then, unless you don't classify yourself as a hockey fan? An expert maybe? Would explain your push for sutton...

It's not as if you called he'd be signed by the KHL for more, and a guess of 1.75 mill is not that far off of 2.5 (when comparing NHL to KHL). To suggest our guesses were way off after a deal was done is laughable, as obviously our guesses were if he was signing in the NHL, and obviously no one was willing to sign him here for that much.

I was one of the people saying it'd be good to have him, and it would have been. I was also the one who posted the link saying it is no longer an option, so wtf are you talking about? You like to post and mock other's posts when you get the chance, even when it doesn't make sense.

That is why I also quoted you in this topic when you suggested members here were unable to see which deal is the better one, and that you were "above the norm" in identifying the ideal situation. More money and a longer term is better?!?!? Oh rly?

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Thanks for the input. Your opinion has been dually noted.

Yes, looking back at things I've said in the past, sometime I do make myself chuckle. I remember one time I was in an argument about Brian Lee and said that Lee was "clearly an offensive defenseman, just look at the numbers he put up in high school". Only to later be embarrassed by Bryan Murray himself saying "Brian Lee is not an offensive defenseman. He wasn't drafted him to be an offensive defenseman...".

Another time I got into an argument and claimed that Lars Eller was among the St Louis Blues "untouchables", and that they wouldn't even consider trading him because they regard him so highly... Apparently not as highly as Montreal.

What's wrong with self-deprecating humor? That shit is hilarious.

The difference is, some people can admit when they're wrong, others can't.

The only point I was really trying to make is that people put ridiculous and unrealistic price tags on NHL players. I'm not gonna try to argue with you anymore but Afinogenov earned way more than 1.75 million with his performance last year. If you can't see that, I don't know what else to tell you.

And I do consider myself to have a more valid opinion on such matters than the average hockey fan. The reason? Not because I'm an expert or because I know a whole lot more about the game or the league than anyone else, but because I actually do some research before I get into debates and discussions like this. Honestly, just look up players who have scored 60+ points in a contract year. If you can find me ONE, just one, in the past decade who went on to make 1.75 million dollars or less, then I'll admit that I'm wrong.

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Points don't tell the whole story. Just because someone deserves 2.5 mill, doesn't mean that they will get it on the market. If I was to guess before the season ended, I probably would have been in that range as well. But considering the player's previous contract, history with injuries, and the fact he had still not signed into August. I did do research, and I worked out the cap, and I still think the guess (maybe not the term) was reasonable. That's what I based the salary off of, not what he should be paid based on performance in a perfect world. If that's how contracts worked, contracts like wade redden's and brian campbell's wouldn't exist.

My biggest qualm with what you're saying is that you're acting as if you posted these numbers and terms before hand, when you're only critiquing the previous guesses based on the deal afterwards. The fact that you made no substantial guesses beforehand is just allowing you to say that this was what you thinking this the whole time. How can I prove wrong a claim you never made?

Edit: Also I just looked back to the topic, and realized I used a 2.2 mill cap hit for afinogenov, and said his range would prob be 1.8-2.2 mill (not 1.75, but that's my fault for going with what you posted). Fairly close guess imo. Also the only real claims you made in the topic in regards to afinogenov was that you weren't against getting him.

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I don't know how the statement "hockey fans make me chuckle" can be interpreted to be directed at anyone on this board in particular.

That would be an example of his pretentious attitude, which is why it follows my statement that he is pretentious.

These are where he refered to members on the board, he was in the discusion he's refering to.



Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a snarky comment here or there (I use that type of humour as well), but seems constant and unfounded most of the time. Your first comment I didn't mind, but post #6 rubbed me the wrong way.

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How is it pretentious if he acknowledges that it's partially self-deprecating as well?

"Maybe I'm the only one that's not normal here", IMO, does not refer to "here" as in the boards or this thread (as you say, no one in the thread even mentions their expectation for him to sign in the NHL), but "here" in the sense of amongst the public or regarding a much larger group e.g. reporters as well as fans.

Obviously "everyone" cannot be directed at solely the thread participants either.

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If you read the topic, I bring up self-depracting humour sarcastically to prove a point, in the same post where I say he's pretentious. He later admits he uses it partially in his posts. So either you again didn't read the posts/topic or you are suggesting I go back and edit a previous post due to a response he had later?

Either way these are just technicalities matt, and not the main point I was making.

Fyi, I don't dislike anyone on the forum, and actually like your posts (negating the last couple )

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I'm sorry but I don't understand this statement. The market is based largley on a combination of supply and demand + precedents. Afinogenov deserved upwards of 4 million a year based on precedents, but based on supply and demand, he obviously wasn't worth that. We'll never know exactly what he was offered from NHL clubs, but he did actually get 2.5 million on the market because he clearly deserved 2.5 million, no?

Taking one of your examples, Brian Campbell, in retrospect, is clearly not worth 7+ million (although he did help them win a cup, and perhaps the argument could be made that any ridiculous contract given could be deemed "worth it" if that player helped his team to win hockey's ultimate prize, but that's another story for another day). Based on precedents he, again, he was not worth 7+ million (although looking at Redden and Timonen's contracts, the argument is there to be made). But based on supply and demand, he was obviously worth 7.14 million. Maybe I'm just arguing semantics here but would you not agree that quite the reverse of what you said is true, and that what a player earns on the open market IS, in fact, what they deserve?

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