Khristich deal not outrageous

By KEN FIDLIN -- Toronto Sun He has been painted as the poster boy for all that ails the National Hockey League.
Now there are plenty of things that are wrong with the way the NHL throws money around to its players and the day is surely coming when the entire system will crash and burn.
But it won't be because the Maple Leafs upped the ante on Dmitri Khristich. Given the fiscal insanity infecting the league, the deal the Leafs worked out with Khristich seems to make quite a bit of sense, actually.
When the collective-bargaining agreement that ended the four-month lockout was signed early in 1995, the owners were declared winners because they had made gains in holding down the salaries of entry-level players.
But, over time, those gains seem to have been more than offset by the provision that allowed players to become unrestricted free agents at the age of 32, since lowered to 31.
In that arena, the owners showed little restraint, signing journeymen to lucrative long-term contracts. Then, when marquee players like Eric Lindros and Paul Kariya stamped their feet and demanded more, they got more in the form of huge one-year deals. It didn't help either when several teams made attempts -- with disastrous economic results -- to sign some of the Group 2 free agents, such as Joe Sakic, Jeremy Roenick and Sergei Fedorov.
Those multi-million dollar deals skewed the payrolls of all teams on an upward spiral. Now, general managers are taking a harder look at the older, unrestricted free agents who are past their prime. Management is, and rightly so, unwilling to pay players for past heroics when they're unable to do the job now and into the future.
Which brings us back to Khristich, who, at 30, is in his prime. Ironically, the Khristich case is exactly what was envisioned by both sides when the collective-bargaining agreement was signed.
Unable to reach a contract agreement, Khristich and the Bruins went to arbitration. Khristich asked for $3.1 million US and the Bruins offered $1.95 million. The arbitrator awarded him a salary of $2.8 million.
Teams are not bound to accept the salaries awarded in arbitration. They have the right to walk away within 72 hours, making the player an unrestricted free agent. This was a safety valve insisted upon by the owners back in '95. It took more than four years before anybody used it.
In August, Harry Sinden turned his back on the $2.8 million awarded Khristich. Now, after a long and tricky negotiation, the Leafs have signed him to a three-year contract (with a club option for a fourth) that works out in the area of $7.29 million guaranteed. The fourth-year option at $3.05 million would only be exercised if the Leafs decide Khristich is worth it when that time comes.
He fits into this year's budget because they're only paying him just under $1.6 million, a figure that includes a salary of $840,000 and a signing bonus of $750,000.
They've more than compensated for that by unloading Derek King and Steve Sullivan, even considering the fact they're paying one-third of King's $1.6-million salary.
By doing this, the Leafs have bought themselves a year during which they can rearrange their salary structure to fit Khristich's 2000-01 salary of $2.5 million into the mix.
In other words, it is not the outrageous waste of money that Boston general manager Harry Sinden would have us believe. It's certainly not a case of a team "not being able to restrain itself" as Sinden has suggested.
Khristich is an extremely skilled player who scored 29 goals in an offensively restrictive system with Boston last season. Here in Toronto where offence is encouraged, he should shine even brighter.
Last night, in his first competitive situation since last May, without the conditioning benefit of training camp and unfamiliar with many of his teammates, Khristich still had a half-dozen good scoring chances and provided a few more for his linemates, Nik Antropov and Mike Johnson. There is little doubt he will be an offensive force for this team.
"The finish wasn't there, the sharpness that comes from playing," coach Pat Quinn said. "But he got himself into the right places."
Khristich agreed.
"I had some chances that didn't go in, a couple of shots that didn't go where I wanted them to go," Khristich said. "But mostly I'm happy to be back playing."
Yes, Khristich will be well paid. Handsomely paid, in fact. But grotesquely overpaid? Not in today's NHL. And therein lies the problem.
Ken Fidlin's column appears Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. He can be reached by e-mail at kfidlin@sunpub.com

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