Don Meehan Reaches Into Ted Leonsis's Pocket

Two weeks ago we speculated that Mike Green's negotiations with the Caps might have stalled in part because Green's agent-by-extension, Don Meehan, had a bone to pick with the Caps after being fired by Alex Ovechkin (to clarify, Green's agent is Craig Oster, an agent in Meehan-founded Newport Sports Management).

Well, today's Newport Sports Management Happy Hour is likely sponsored by the Washington Capitals, as Green signed a four-year, $21 million deal and Meehan client Jose Theodore signed a two-year, $9 million contract. And while the annual total ($9.75 million) is just a shade over what Ovechkin's cap hit will be this year, one wonders if Meehan's thirst for possible revenge is now slaked.

Wait a second - he's an agent. Nevermind. Maybe he can soak the team for another million or more on a new deal for Eric Fehr.

Green's Green

Maybe we're all wrong to be fearing the worst in the Mike Green situation.

The Fourth Period claims that the Caps and Don Meehan (founder of Newport Sports Management, the agency representing Green) are talking, but that "there is a major gap between the two parties," and that "Green is believed to be looking for around $3.5 million to $4 million per season."

First of all, while I have no doubt that Don Meehan is involved in the Green negotiations at some level, Craig Oster is Mike Green's agent and the one handling negotiations at last check.

Secondly, you've got to believe that if Green was willing to sign for "around $3.5 million to $4 million per season," it would have been done long ago and on a contract that was as long as the player would accept. One year? Fine - it gives the player a chance to prove that he can continue to develop into an elite defenseman. Thirteen years? Fine - the way the salary cap is rising, that would be a bargain as early as, well, next year.

Finally, there's no way there's "a major gap between the two parties" if that's all Green is looking for. Surely the Caps didn't open negotiations with their best offer, but it's a stretch to think that they went to Green and said, "Here's our offer. Sure, it's less than what we gave Brian Pothier two summers ago when our budget was much tighter, but that's our starting point."

Of course, the National Post today thinks the dollars are going to be in that same neighborhood and notes that Green could be poached, but that the "price to steal Green away from Washington will not come cheap. If a team offers him US $4-million per year, the Capitals would receive a first-round, second-round and third-round draft pick."

No they wouldn't. They'd receive nothing because they'd match that as soon as they finished writing the "Thank You" card to the team that signed him to such a deal.

If Mike Green was willing to sign a deal in the $3.5m - $4m range before July 1, it probably would have been done already. Is it possible that he ends up signing for that? Sure. But it won't happen until he sees what the market has to offer, and since he's been allowed to negotiate with other teams since last Thursday, you can bet that he has an idea of what is - and isn't - out there.

Update: TFP had a typo in their piece. They meant to say $4.5m - $5m.

Friday Open Thread

Because Happy Hour happens, you're getting an open thread today.

Did Mike Green get his phone call(s) last night? Did Brooks Laich? Does Jose Theodore's decision to test the free agency waters impact Cristobal Huet? Is it good to know that the Caps aren't the only team that Don Meehan is playing around with (here's a mostly full list of his clients)? And what if Alex Ovechkin had this incentive plan in his contract?

So many questions, so few hours until the weekend. I'll leave you with this, in the event that you're undecided as we head towards November:

Forget Article II of the Constitution - the right to elect Brooks Laich is the 28th Amendment.

H/t With Leather on the incentives link and to Dunzy on the vid.

Reading Between The Lines On Green

Mike Green picked a good time to have his breakthrough season, didn't he? He didn't miss a game all season, had a League-leading 18 goals from the blueline, a 20-goal/65-point pace after Thanksgiving, and a plus-eleven rating after January, all of which lead to a seventh-place finish in Norris Trophy voting at the tender age of 22, which will, in turn, lead to big bucks this summer for one of the most attractive Restricted Free Agent targets.

But you knew that.

Then you read Larry Brooks yesterday, who wrote that "Green, a dynamic difference maker, is being low-balled by the Caps," and your stomach dropped. Now, Brooks certainly isn't the most credible character in the world of hockey journalism, but rather than dismissing this out of hand, let's take a second to think about it.

Assuming that no one in the Caps organization is running around bragging to folks about how insulting their offers to the young blueliner have been - a pretty safe assumption, I should think - where would Brooks be getting his information? Perhaps from the same place writers always get their information on player contract negotiations - from the player's agent.

For example, Adrian Dater just the other day wrote in The Denver Post that a deal between the Avalanche and Jose Theodore was (and presumably still is) "imminent." Dater's source? Not the Colorado front office, of course, but Theodore's agent Don Meehan.

So Don Meehan is chatty. Know what else he is? Mike Green's agent (and Matt Cooke's, Steve Eminger's and Eric Fehr's). Know what else he is? [Cue Dramatic Hamster] Alex Ovechkin's former agent who Ovechkin famously fired after five years of representation, less than 14 months before Ovechkin signed his 13-year/$124m mega-deal. Given that a sports agent's cut is typically around three or four percent of his client's salary, that's potentially upwards of $3.7 million (perhaps much more) over the span of Ovechkin's deal that's not going into Don Meehan's bank account.

Whether or not Meehan has a legitimate ax to grind with the Caps, one could pretty easily see why he'd want to reach into Ted Leonsis's pocket and take as much money as he possibly can as some form of payback.

Which brings us back to Green. If Meehan is telling Larry Brooks that the Caps are low-balling Mike Green, it could mean one of two things: it could mean that the Caps are offering a deal that's way below Meehan's assessment of market value or it could mean that the Caps are offering a deal that's way below what Meehan is willing to accept for reasons detailed above. If it's the former, perhaps there's hope that the two sides can reach some middle ground (though I personally wrestle with what legitimate market value for a 22-year-old with Green's upside is, and I imagine I'm not alone). If it's the latter, however, and there's nothing that fits within the Caps salary structure that they could offer and have Meehan accept, there's little point in continuing negotiations at this point.

Maybe I'm being a bit conspiracy-minded, but this thing certainly seems to be headed for the RFA negotiating and signing period without a deal being done, at which point another team would do the dirty work of putting together a deal, Green would sign it, and the Caps would match as they have said they would (which may, actually, be the best and cleanest way to get this done... and if you think it would sour the relationship between the team and the player, I can assure you it would not).

One thing is for sure: agents can indeed be a frightening prospect. At some point, perhaps the player himself is going to have to step in.

Ovechkin Makes His First Mistake

According to the CP, "[v]eteran hockey agent Don Meehan and star Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin have parted ways after five years together."

So what's the big problem? What follows:

It's believed Ovechkin's mother will be taking over her son's affairs. The 21-year-old is signed to his entry-level contract through next season.

I'm just curious - has a scenario like this ever worked out well? Granted, I'm over-reacting and am likely overly-pessimistic for no good reason, but does anyone read news like this and not think "Eric Lindros?" Ugh.

Ovechkin Update And Work To Be Done

According to today's WaPo, the CBA doesn't need to be finalized before wunderkind Alex Ovechkin can sign with the Caps:

"Ovechkin's agent, Don Meehan, said Thursday his client has until Wednesday to back out of that contract and sign with the Capitals, and that his decision is not contingent on the NHL having a completed collective bargaining agreement by that date. However, Meehan said he would need to know the precise language of the CBA before he would advise Ovechkin to void his Russian deal."

Outside of signing AO, the Caps have plenty of work to do. Only nine players are under contract, and those that aren't include key veterans Jeff "Everything I Know About Hockey I Learned From Playing With Mike Spero" Halpern, Dainius Zubrus and Captain Brendan Witt. Obviously the top priority is Ovechkin. Once that deal gets done, I'll be able to exhale.