Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Fifteen Years for DiPietro

After signing out of Hotmail I saw amongst the headlines, DiPietro inks 15-year deal. The article says that New York Islanders GM Garth Snow has signed goaltender Rick DiPietro for 15 years for $67.5 million. Holy shnikeys. That's unheard of, kind of. "The contract is believed to be the longest in NHL history and second only in major North American pro sports to the 25-year, $25-million contract Magic Johnson signed with the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers in 1981" (see link). In this day and age, when many players in all sports are signing contracts a year at a time in the hopes of having a sensational breakout career year so that they can sign for megabucks the next season, DiPietro's signing has shocked me. Good move by the Islanders? Good move by DiPietro? Good move by both of 'em? I don't know his game well enough to say, but even if I did it's a case of "time will tell". He could hit a major slump, he could get injured, he could win the next eight Stanley Cups. It could happen. The article says that "DiPietro is guaranteed the full $67.5 million if he suffers a career-ending injury. However, it's unclear what would happen if the five-foot-11 puckstopper were to retire before the deal expires". (He's 24 years young.)

Somewhat related: Many years ago, when the Grizzlies were still in Vancouver, I was at a game and saw Snow walking the concourse alone (he was the Canucks back-up tender at the time). I looked - nay, stared - at him, to be sure it was him. His head turned my way and he noticed me staring before I could look away. He gave me a slight head nod to tell me that it was indeed him. My heart went all aflutter.

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