Forget Jordan Eberle, Linus Omark or Sam Gagner; the legacy of the Kevin Lowe managerial era is the albatross of a contract he gave to Shawn Horcoff, a contract with a cap hit of $5.5 million until 2014-15. It was a contract Charles Wang would disapprove of.
But for all the negativity that surrounds this contract, there's something else to consider: Did it prevent the Oilers from taking Tyler Seguin at last year's NHL Entry Draft?
Last offseason the Oilers cleaned house in an attempt to purge the team of the losing culture they acquired during the debacle of 2009-10. Gone were the likes of Ethan Moreau, Robert Nilsson, Fernando Pisani and Patrick O'Sullivan, among others.
Why wasn't Shawn Horcoff among that group? He's a veteran, right?
Part of the reason was his contract. If the Oilers had attempted to bury him in the minors and hope someone claimed him on re-entry waivers, the team would still have been on the hook for half of Horcoff's $5.5 million cap hit, or $2.75 million.
If bought out, the team would endure a minimum cap hit of $1.625 million until the 2018-19 season, including a $4.125 million cap hit in 2014-15. A ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Salim Valji
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November 17th, 2010 by Salim Valji Leave a reply »
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