Quoting: MisstheWhalers
Vegas screwed themselves with that Martinez contract, them trading for Dadonov in the first place was dumb.
Agreed but Dadanov earned his money
Beyond that before Eichel they were already going to have to move term
After Eichel just made it the NHL's 3-4th worst cap managed team to #1 undisputed by about 10m cap
Martinez was lik 33 or 34 at the time?
His injury issues became clear the last 2-3 years in LAK
VGK knew exactly what they were overpaying to land and the risks
They recieve no pity or empathy there from me.
It was a consicience choice to bone themselves
If he wasnt straight up declining in his ability to make it to the ice period
Then maybe its up for debate but it was clear he was heading to Retirement
That's the issue with VGK
They just sign people and assume they can more them as long as they're productive.
Those days are over and now the NHL has become more like the NBA where contracts define you not play.
There's a number of NBA players who's contract eclipsed their very high value and saw teams have to pay to move them.
We've seen it start with almost point per game players and 2 x Stanley Cup Champs(3 finals straight) given away
It will continue to trend this way because Contending Teams know the NHL wont enforce penalties for their cap overage's just at best force a trade.
What do they really lose there for abusing the system? Nothing
What do the fans lose ? Quality