UPDATE: Buyout — Roster review: #19 Cody Hodgson

[LTS]

But didn't he lose 2/3 of his contract amount?

 

He did.  But he did sign another one.

 

Makes for a nice conspiracy theory, but I can't see ANY pro athlete tanking intentionally unless he's fixing games for a mobster. How much money does he NOT get now under his next contract because teams are leery of what they're getting - they definitely don't want to drop real coin on 6 or so goals / yr.

 

  

Yep. Anyone think he gets $3.2MM/yr on the next contract? If not, he lost on the deal.

 

As I worked through all of this more...

 

The initial thought is.. he wants out of Buffalo.  There's already a solid chance he is going to get bought out. His contract is a dog and the end of the this league year presents the best chance of this happening. He knows this, everyone knows this.

 

The other thing he knows is that if he's bought out he's likely to NOT receive a long term contract from anyone else nor will it be much money... at first. 

 

So, you try a little less harder than you can because.. you want to assure the buyout gets done.

 

Then you hit the UFA market, you don't have to worry about signing a 1.5m year deal because you are still getting paid by the Sabres.

 

Perhaps you have multiple offers, perhaps you don't. But you sign that 1 year deal like he did on Nashville.  Let's say that he really has potential and can shine in Nashville.  Next year he'll be on the market again and likely able to choose a location that he wants at a decent dollar amount and he'll still be getting paid by the Sabres.

 

So, for 1 year of trying a little less harder, on a team that was already not trying hard. He assured himself of the opportunity to perhaps earn a solid contract after this upcoming season.

 

And hey.. why try hard anyway on a team when you are pretty certain you aren't going to be around anyway.

 

Always fun to think about.. the solid news is... he's gone.  He's following the Derek Roy tour.. although Hodgson started his tour in Vancouver.

[nfreeman]

He did.  But he did sign another one.

 

 

As I worked through all of this more...

 

The initial thought is.. he wants out of Buffalo.  There's already a solid chance he is going to get bought out. His contract is a dog and the end of the this league year presents the best chance of this happening. He knows this, everyone knows this.

 

The other thing he knows is that if he's bought out he's likely to NOT receive a long term contract from anyone else nor will it be much money... at first. 

 

So, you try a little less harder than you can because.. you want to assure the buyout gets done.

 

Then you hit the UFA market, you don't have to worry about signing a 1.5m year deal because you are still getting paid by the Sabres.

 

Perhaps you have multiple offers, perhaps you don't. But you sign that 1 year deal like he did on Nashville.  Let's say that he really has potential and can shine in Nashville.  Next year he'll be on the market again and likely able to choose a location that he wants at a decent dollar amount and he'll still be getting paid by the Sabres.

 

So, for 1 year of trying a little less harder, on a team that was already not trying hard. He assured himself of the opportunity to perhaps earn a solid contract after this upcoming season.

 

And hey.. why try hard anyway on a team when you are pretty certain you aren't going to be around anyway.

 

Always fun to think about.. the solid news is... he's gone.  He's following the Derek Roy tour.. although Hodgson started his tour in Vancouver.

 

Sorry, but this is nuts.  There is NFW he would've intentionally thrown away as much $$ as he lost via the buyout on the hope that he'd get a one-year deal somewhere and then a fat contract after that.

[dudacek]

If the O'Reilly trade doesn't get done, I doubt Hodgson gets bought out.

[...]

If the O'Reilly trade doesn't get done, I doubt Hodgson gets bought out.

 

Disagree.  Hodgson is the antithesis of a Murray player.  He was gone regardless.

[beerme1]

If the O'Reilly trade doesn't get done, I doubt Hodgson gets bought out.

 

I don't think they're related.

 

ZFG

[Marvelo]

Buffalo should just retire the #19 out of sheer embarrassment. It's been the badge of flawed players (exception Fred Stanfield) since Steve Atkinson...

 

Cody Hodgson, Tim Connolly, Norm Milley, Randy Wood, Tony Tanti, Kevin Maguire, Brian Holzinger, Bob Corkum, Doug Trapp, Bob Halkidis, Jim Wiemer, Sean McKenna, Jeff Eatough, Randy Cunneyworth, Derek Smith, Alex Tidey, Morris Titanic, Fred Stanfield, Steve Atkinson, Francois Lacombe. 

Edited July 2, 2015 by 716

[Jsixspd]

Disagree.  Hodgson is the antithesis of a Murray player.  He was gone regardless.

let's not forget GMTM's famous words

 

"If a player doesn't want to be here, we can find a way to make that happen!"  

 

Loved it!!!!

[LTS]

Sorry, but this is nuts.  There is NFW he would've intentionally thrown away as much $$ as he lost via the buyout on the hope that he'd get a one-year deal somewhere and then a fat contract after that.

 

Umm.. you are missing what I am saying.

 

Assumption: Hodgson doesn't want to stay in Buffalo. He doesn't like what his role will be.

Assumption: He believes there is a 95% chance he'll be bought out anyway. (Murray didn't give him that horrible contract).

 

Since the team was already going to suck. He's simply not going to try very hard. Why not do the little bit extra it might take to make the buyout 100%?

 

Why?

 

1. He doesn't want to be in Buffalo.

2. He was going to get bought out anyway.

3. If he's bought out, he's not going to get any kind of good contract offer.  He's on his third team in a short time frame.

 

I'm not saying he was out there shooting the puck into his own net.  I am saying that he gave up on the season and didn't even bother trying. He pushed the right buttons with Nolan to get himself reduced playing time. Reduced chance of injury, get through the season, get bought out, move on.  All he did was assure it.

 

Because what's the alternative?  He plays well enough that Buffalo keeps him?  Think about it.  If he performed well enough for some other team to sign him to a contract worth even half of what he was getting from the Sabres do you really think the Sabres would have bought him out?

 

I don't.

 

Everyone is hung up on he's throwing away this money.  If I was him, I would have assumed it was already gone.

[nfreeman]

Umm.. you are missing what I am saying.

 

Assumption: Hodgson doesn't want to stay in Buffalo. He doesn't like what his role will be.

Assumption: He believes there is a 95% chance he'll be bought out anyway. (Murray didn't give him that horrible contract).

 

Since the team was already going to suck. He's simply not going to try very hard. Why not do the little bit extra it might take to make the buyout 100%?

 

Why?

 

1. He doesn't want to be in Buffalo.

2. He was going to get bought out anyway.

3. If he's bought out, he's not going to get any kind of good contract offer.  He's on his third team in a short time frame.

 

I'm not saying he was out there shooting the puck into his own net.  I am saying that he gave up on the season and didn't even bother trying. He pushed the right buttons with Nolan to get himself reduced playing time. Reduced chance of injury, get through the season, get bought out, move on.  All he did was assure it.

 

Because what's the alternative?  He plays well enough that Buffalo keeps him?  Think about it.  If he performed well enough for some other team to sign him to a contract worth even half of what he was getting from the Sabres do you really think the Sabres would have bought him out?

 

I don't.

 

Everyone is hung up on he's throwing away this money.  If I was him, I would have assumed it was already gone.

 

OK.  I suppose you're right, based on your assumptions, but I think your assumptions aren't realistic.

 

In other words:  IF he thought he was going to be bought out anyway, then yes, it's possible that he could've dialed back on his effort and tried to avoid injury.

 

However, I don't think professional athletes are wired to think that way -- at least not going into a season.  While the thought of getting dumped or bought out certainly could've occurred to him, I think it is much more likely that he would've thought "F him if he thinks that.  I'll show him -- and I'm not giving up on $13MM, either." 

 

Remember that the $13MM was there all along as an incentive -- because if he had played reasonably well, another team would've picked him up via waivers before the buyout -- which would've preserved the $16MM.

[Taro T]

OK.  I suppose you're right, based on your assumptions, but I think your assumptions aren't realistic.

 

In other words:  IF he thought he was going to be bought out anyway, then yes, it's possible that he could've dialed back on his effort and tried to avoid injury.

 

However, I don't think professional athletes are wired to think that way -- at least not going into a season.  While the thought of getting dumped or bought out certainly could've occurred to him, I think it is much more likely that he would've thought "F him if he thinks that.  I'll show him -- and I'm not giving up on $13MM, either." 

 

Remember that the $13MM was there all along as an incentive -- because if he had played reasonably well, another team would've picked him up via waivers before the buyout -- which would've preserved the $16MM.

Had he performed reasonably well, he either would have been in the mix for RW on line 1 or 2 or would have been part of a package for something TM did want. No way he'd've been waived.

[nfreeman]

Had he performed reasonably well, he either would have been in the mix for RW on line 1 or 2 or would have been part of a package for something TM did want. No way he'd've been waived.

 

Absolutely.  There were plenty of logical avenues to take to safeguard that $13MM.  And he should've known that last year was a tryout for everyone on the team, including him.  My point was simply that even if Hodgy concluded that GMTM didn't like him and was going to buy him out no matter what he did, he still could've protected that $13MM by playing well enough so that someone would claim him off of the pre-buyout waivers.

[LGR4GM]

I have a theory.  Hodgson isn't a very good NHL hockey player. 

[inkman]

I have a theory. Hodgson isn't a very good NHL hockey player.

He looked like it once upon a time

[LGR4GM]

[Thorny]

The buyout gets accounted for at 1/2 actual $'s bought out (in this case Hodgson gets 1/3 of what he'd've been paid to play) over twice the remaining years (4 years remaining, so the buyout lasts 8 years).

 

The reason the #'s fluctuate in the 1st 4 years is his contract must have not been paying equally each year; any $'s of actual salary below the cap value of the contract that he's already been paid get charged over the remaining contract and any $'s of actual salary above cap value that he's already been paid get credited over the remaining contract. And the actual $'s he was set to be paid in the future factors into that calc as well.

 

Bottom line: all $'s actually paid to Hodgson eventually get charged to the Sabres salary cap.

 

I am having a hard time understanding this bit. Won't it only be 1/3 his remaining money that counts towards the cap, and not all actual money left, contrary to the last sentence there?

 

Also, I always thought that with NHL guaranteed contracts, that when a buyout is performed, the player himself still gets all the remaining cash paid to him. It is just for cap purposes that only 1/2 or 1/3 the remaining money is taken into account, on the cap for x amount of years.

 

I am woefully uninformed in this matter.

[LTS]

OK.  I suppose you're right, based on your assumptions, but I think your assumptions aren't realistic.

 

In other words:  IF he thought he was going to be bought out anyway, then yes, it's possible that he could've dialed back on his effort and tried to avoid injury.

 

However, I don't think professional athletes are wired to think that way -- at least not going into a season.  While the thought of getting dumped or bought out certainly could've occurred to him, I think it is much more likely that he would've thought "F him if he thinks that.  I'll show him -- and I'm not giving up on $13MM, either." 

 

Remember that the $13MM was there all along as an incentive -- because if he had played reasonably well, another team would've picked him up via waivers before the buyout -- which would've preserved the $16MM.

 

But picked up on waivers removes all control he has over where he ends up.  He's still constrained to go to whatever team that wanted him.  For what it's worth we've seen NFL and NBA players talk about not playing hard at times.  We've seen players pull themselves from a game when "injured", we've seen teammates question each other when they don't return from injury. We've seen athletes straight up talk about how they are preserving themselves from getting injured because they have a future to think about.  I think the mentality that professional athletes can never look out for themselves over the team is incorrect.

 

Had he performed reasonably well, he either would have been in the mix for RW on line 1 or 2 or would have been part of a package for something TM did want. No way he'd've been waived.

 

And traded removes his control as well.

 

I'm just saying, there were times last year when we wondered how Hodgson could be so bad.  We had seen him play the season before and he was much better. So, I'll be curious how he does this season. He's not the talent he had been projected to be but I don't believe he is as bad as he was last year either.

[deluca67]

He looked like it once upon a time

He looked the part until it got difficult and he needed more than just his natural ability. 

[Taro T]

I am having a hard time understanding this bit. Won't it only be 1/3 his remaining money that counts towards the cap, and not all actual money left, contrary to the last sentence there?

 

Also, I always thought that with NHL guaranteed contracts, that when a buyout is performed, the player himself still gets all the remaining cash paid to him. It is just for cap purposes that only 1/2 or 1/3 the remaining money is taken into account, on the cap for x amount of years.

 

I am woefully uninformed in this matter.

No. When the player is bought out via ordinary course buyout he only gets 1/3 or 2/3 of what he's owed - his age at the time of buyout determines whether it's 1/3 or 2/3. And that money gets charged to the team's cap over twice the remaining contract term. In Cody's situation, there were 4 years left on the deal, and he's young enough that he only gets 1/3 of the remaining money. So he's on the Sabres books for 8 more years.

[Thorny]

No. When the player is bought out via ordinary course buyout he only gets 1/3 or 2/3 of what he's owed - his age at the time of buyout determines whether it's 1/3 or 2/3. And that money gets charged to the team's cap over twice the remaining contract term. In Cody's situation, there were 4 years left on the deal, and he's young enough that he only gets 1/3 of the remaining money. So he's on the Sabres books for 8 more years.

 

Thank you.