The Hockey News columnist Ken Campbell is of the opinion that long term contracts only set a team up for future pain, and will eventually lead to more labour unrest. The entire article can be found here.
But mark my words, as the CBA deadline gets closer, the league will direct teams not to sign players past 2011-12, the same way it did prior to the last lockout. And don’t think the owners won’t be looking for big changes in the next deal; there’s little doubt all those contracts that carry over after ’11-12 will be on the table as one of the negotiating points.
Illegal Curve sees the point Mr. Campbell is trying to make, but can also see how teams like the long term certainty the contracts provide. If the salary cap keeps rising, some of these deals may end up being bargains a few years down the road.
