Tampa, Fla. — Next year begins for Calgary Flames general manager and coach Darryl Sutter almost right away, now that the 2003-04 National Hockey League season is finally in the record books.
Sutter, the only dual GM-coach in the league, will ultimately surrender his coaching portfolio to one of his assistants, Jim Playfair or Rich Preston, or perhaps to his brother Brent, the GM, coach and owner of the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels.
That was the plan from the moment the Flames promoted Sutter to the GM's position.
However, the time frame for the switch will depend on what happens next in the NHL's negotiations with the players' association on a collective agreement.
If the NHL locks out its players on Sept. 15 as expected, chances are Sutter would continue in both jobs until the NHL would resume play and then reassess his options.
Sutter knows that he will need to hand over the coaching reins sooner rather than later, but he may put off a decision indefinitely, pending the outcome of the possible labour war.
In the meantime, Sutter, wearing his GM's cap, will have a busy summer negotiating new contracts for many of the club's mainstays, beginning with captain Jarome Iginla. Already the club's best-paid player, Iginla is set to become a restricted free agent on July 1, his 27th birthday.
Iginla earned $7.5-million (U.S.) this season, which included a $500,000 signing bonus and a base salary of $7-million.
In order to retain negotiating rights to Iginla, the Flames will issue him a qualifying offer of $7-million. At that point, Iginla will have three options: either sign the offer, meaning he would be under contract for $7-million for next season; opt for salary arbitration, meaning an independent arbitrator would then award him a contract for up to two seasons, based mostly on his regular-season statistical achievements; or attempt to negotiate a new deal with the Flames.
Philosophically, the Iginla camp is most likely to go with option No..3. There is little chance he would simply sign his qualifying offer.
On one level, salary arbitration looks as if it might be an attractive alternative because Iginla has led the NHL in goal scoring for two of the past three seasons and his agent, Newport Sports, led by Don Meehan, could build a strong statistical case on his behalf.
However, the arbitration process does not consider postseason play, meaning Iginla's breakout playoff performance could not be used as an argument for raising his salary.
Moreover, an arbitrator would not consider Iginla's intrinsic values as the public face of the franchise — who he is and how much he means to the Flames on every level, from marketing and merchandise sales to leadership and on-ice performance.
Ideally, they would like to negotiate a deal that will keep Iginla in a Flames' uniform for the foreseeable future, something both he and the organization want.
In past years, because of Iginla's exceptional play during the past two months, the negotiating would have been to try to take Iginla to $12-million annually — leapfrogging Jarome Jagr and Peter Forsberg and making him the top-paid player in the game.
Sadly for Iginla, his timing in becoming a free agent at a time when the league is in a major cost-cutting mood means there is little chance he would land that kind of a contract.
It is more likely that in whatever new economic order emerges, Iginla might find himself in the $8-million range annually. Logically, a short-term deal would be in Iginla's best interests because there is a widespread belief that the age for unrestricted free agency, currently 31, may drop precipitously when the two sides come to terms on a new collective agreement.
If it drops to 29, Iginla could be as little as two seasons away from shopping himself on the open market.
Ideally, the Flames would like to wrap up Iginla's rights over the long term, similar to what the Ottawa Senators did when they signed their captain, Daniel Alfredsson, to a five-year, $32.5-million contract extension just before the regular season ended.
It is hard to imagine that the Flames could secure Iginla's rights for a similar number, not after what he's accomplished in the playoffs.
From a Flames' perspective, the looming NHL labour battle may be more of a positive than a negative. For starters, even a short work stoppage should help the club overcome any potential Stanley Cup hangover.
In recent years, the most difficult challenge for a team that went as deep into the playoffs as Calgary is coming back to training camp in September, ready to do it all again. A trip to the Stanley Cup final means a short summer vacation. Often, the motivation is missing in the immediate aftermath of a breakout season like Calgary's.
However, if the NHL doesn't resume play until January or later, then the chances would be significantly greater that the Flames could get their mojo back — and be in a position to build on their gains in 2003-04.
