Thursday, January 29, 2009

Double Standards

Yesterday, we learned that the Detroit Red Wings signed Henrik Zetterberg to a 12-year extension. The deal is worth a reported $72M and will keep him in a Wings uniform through his 40th birthday. Sound familiar?

Just for fun, Google the following:

"Zetterberg Contract", then "DiPietro Contract"

Click through the first 5 or 6 stories returned from each of those searches. If you don't feel like taking the time, I'll give you a preview of what you'd find...

On Zetterberg: talk of a "landmark" deal, references to how he's coming off his best season, how the Wings have secured a major piece towards defending the Cup this year and for many years to come.

On DiPietro: phrases like "dumbest move", "idiot owner", "rookie GM", and regrets, regrets, regrets.

Sure, the DP deal was the first of its kind in the NHL. Frankly, I don't have any problem with people criticizing it. It's a polarizing topic. What frustrates me is the double standard in reporting on Rick's deal relative to the several similar contracts that have followed. His injuries of late are irrelevant, since all of the harsh words I'm referring to regarding DPs contract were spoken before injuries were a reality.

To me it's another example of writers looking to take pot-shots at the Isles, Charles Wang, and Garth Snow. So be it. Time will tell which of these deals end well and which cripple their respective franchises. Unfortunately, our contract is the one that looks the riskiest at this point. Clearly, though, not risky enough to scare off Detroit from traveling down a similar road.

MC

3 comments:

Don said...

There's a huge difference between the two, though. Zetterberg's already an elite player, and has been for the last 3+ seasons. This isn't a roll of the dice for Ken Holland and the Illich family. At the time DP signed the 15-year deal, he had proven nothing, even though he'd shown flashes of brilliance. Plus, it came at a time when people were still scratching their heads as to what Alexei Yashin did to deserve a 10-year deal from Charles Wang. Add in the fact that the hockey press has not gotten over the image of Wang carrying a copy of Hockey for Dummies and you've got the recipe for endless columns about the Isles' "inept" management.

Anonymous said...

DiPietro still has not accomplished anything other than beating my grandmother in a hip breaking race and bad passes leading to goals. Zetterberg vs. DiPietro...no contest, Zetterberg!

Anonymous said...

The owner is an idiot though Wang's to busy treating players like a regular businesses employees. If you own a business and want your employees to work hard, you give them job satisfaction and job security. But these guys are professional athletes not vice presidents of computer associates. There job satisfaction is being payed to play a game and have fun, and as far as job security, 15 years is just an excessive amount for a pro athlete. As long as DP's healthy, I'd love him to always be an islander, but he's not, and that's the nature of the job. Long term deals like that for pro hockey players is a gamble to say the least.