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Tailing the Komets

Some updates

Just got off the phone with David Franke so here are some updates:

Kevin Reiter: The Komets are continuing to talk to him and are asking him to make a decision soon so they can go in another direction if need be.

Mario Larocque: Just got back from vacation and Franke plans on talking to him today. He has concerns whether Larocque is willing to take the money being offered under the hard cap.

Jim Duhart: ``I don't think we're going to sign Jimmy,'' Franke said. ``No. 1 I don't think he
can play for the money that we've offered and No. 2 we're not sure if he's the best
fit for what we're trying to do. I've called a few teams I our league to see if
they would be interested but haven't received any responses from them.''

Matt Elich: Still in the mix.

Kelly Miller: ``We're learning toward signing him. I told him to give us another
week to 10 days.''

Troy Neumeier: Signed to play in Lubbock of the CHL with  Andrew Luciuk.

Franke said the Komets probably have around 25 contract offers out to players. A lot will depend on where the player fits under the cap. Every position is slotted meaning players will either take what the slot says they should be offered or they won't sign. He thinks that's one reason why so many teams have only signed a handful of players so far.

As for toughness and aggressiveness: ``I think everybody we're talking to, everybody plays with an edge and are some physical type players. We have calls in with a lot of players and a lot of
them have that element of playing hard and paying tough. We're just waiting to see who jumps on
board first.''

Posted in: Komets

Comments

Tony E
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 2:48pm

Ok Mark, I accept and agree with that. The reason I asked is with the cap, how much cap room should they spend on him if he isn't a top line player. Of course we have no idea how much he is expecting or wants. Maybe he is the type who would take less than market value for the good of the team.

JR
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 2:50pm

Vets dont always have to be scorers... If the K's are finding themselves some good, young scoring talent dont you think a vet, like Miller, would be great to have around as someone the younger guys could learn from just by watching his hustle and heart out on the ice..... A good leader who leads by example...

Tony E
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 2:57pm

I do and I really have no reason to believe he wouldn't be great. I have seen him play maybe 10 games and while he didn't do anything spectacular, he certainly did the little things that you need to do in order to win.
You do need guys like that in order to win a championship. I was strictly looking at this from a $ standpoint only because of the adjustments that need to be made with a salary cap. I have no reason to believe he is asking for too much money. I was thinking out loud/wondering how much/what percentage of the cap do you dedicate to a player like this.

JR
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 3:10pm

Just speculating, of course, but I believe that he would come fairly cheap. He really wants to play here (if what we hear is true) this year, and we all know that K's players are taken care of around town. So I have no reason to believe that he wouldnt want to play for what the K's can give him.

chuckitt
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 3:20pm

miller is ok third liner, but the problem is finding the tweeners and rookies to put the puck in the net. if they can score then they wont come cheap, so i disagree that a vet spot doesnt have to be a scorer. weve used a vet spot for a dman and a goalie so wed better use a couple slots for scorers. and today weve used another vet slot for richardson and that will be millers spot cause other than one year, richardson cant put the puck in the net.

David
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 3:43pm

Miller will sign by default because nothing is jumping to the K's. Until their is more proof of toughness being signed then I will not fall for the company line like I have in the past.

Skate
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 3:49pm

What does is mean to say that the pay is "slotted?" Does that mean a Center makes $X, (regardless), a RW/LW makes $Y, a Goalie makes $B. (The letters symbolizing an unnamed, specific amount of money for all of us belching, beer guzzlers out there.)

Does that mean slotted by team or throughout the entire league?

I never did get an answer to my question about why, with an extra $25,000 under the cap, people are expected to take a salary cut if most teams were under the "cap" last year.

Komet Warrior
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 3:57pm

MARKS you are right MAN! WE need Kelly miller on the komets team! Who cares if he is a vet Tony becuase WE need HIM. Got it!

MJ
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 4:01pm

Skate,
I have been asking myself that same question. It just doesn't seem to make sense that a higher cap means lower pay.

Tony E
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 4:14pm

I think that in terms of a pay cut for some guys, it was because the Komets gave 3 or 4 guys a ton of money last year. Look what it resulted in, no depth and sub par talent around them.
Now with a cap those guys could not earn the same amount of money again...unless you want a repeat of last year.
As far as slotting for cap position, I think you have to decide what you will pay your 1st line guys, second line guys etc..at least make a plan. That was as you sign guys you do so with a plan of how they will be used. Of course that isn't always how it is going to end up working out once everything shakes out in camp but you need to kind of set up a budget so you don't end up spending too much on a few guys and having to bring in scraps to fill out the roster.

blake
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 4:32pm

Do you want balance or do you want one great group of four or five, which means you have to go very cheap everywhere else, including rookies. It's a philosophy. Every team in the league is going through the same thing.

It's also ridiculous for anyone on this blog to speculate what a guy will come here for. We don't know, so how can anyone say they think this guy would come here cheap.

I think the Ks deserve some credit for taking their time and trying to get the right people --- something they didn't do last year and look what happened.

JR
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 4:46pm

Why is it so ridiculous for someone to speculate that someone who really wants to play here would come cheap???? A big part of the story this year is the hard cap Blake so you might as well get used the fact that we are gonna talk about what a player might come in for or in our opinion how much the K's should throw in one players direction. All the talk so far this off season has been geared towards what players will accept in regards to salary, especially the Veteran players. Until these guys turn down contract offers all you have is speculation as to if they are willing to take less money to play in the uhl this year...

blake
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 4:51pm

I just think it is incredibly rude to talk about someone's living like that, pro athlete or not. You guys act like so and so must come cheap because he's not worth it.

JungleMonkey
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 4:54pm

I wish they would pass on Kelly Miller. What are we going to do, sign every 10-14 goal scorer from last year because they are good on the PK? If he was a tweener it would make alot more sense. It's good that everyone gets "slotted", sounds like a strong negotiating tool at a garage sale. This Dirt Devil Vac is "slotted" in the $15 area.... the price cannot be negotiated. Meanwhile, Quad City offers the "slot" plus $50... It just sounds silly. I know that we are the end all of the UHL, but maybe the Frankes should consider that they haven't put a guy into the AHL legitimatly since Tom Lawson, why would a big time rookie make Fort Wayne his first choice? Muskegon sends players to Grand Rapids.. Rockford to Milwuakee.. Just seems like a 6th place team shouldn't be approaching prospective players with a take it or leave it attitude.

JungleMonkey
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 4:57pm

Blake, let's say that you move on to a big city to report on a NHL team.... If the NS hired a young guy with less talent, wouldn't they expect him to work for less $$ than a seasoned pro like yourself? How is that rude? Its how business works.. your worth what your skills can generate.

JR
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 5:02pm

I think you are in the wrong business then Blake.... Where did I say that he was not worth it???? I believe that I said that he would be great pick up if the K's have some good rookies or tweeners. And the news paper is always giving us info on what going on with union negotiations and so forth. How is it rude for us to talk about it when you yourself are reporting what you or the Frankes believe what a player will or will not accept to play at this level???

Tony E
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 5:23pm

Ok here is my problem with the term "coming cheap"
What exactly does that mean? Cheap compared to what? What is cheap for a UHL player? How could any of us know?
I guess I will start by asking Blake if there is a minimum salary in this league?

I subscribe to the philosophy that at this level, you maybe pass on one very high $ player with exceptional talent and go towards to med-high dollar players with great talent. I do not believe it tying up a large amount of the cap in 5 players or less. Some might disagree and think if those 5 players are good enough you can win. I don't believe that.

JR
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 5:31pm

You know, we all cheered Domber for taking less money to play somewhere he really wanted to play. So why now are some in an uproar because I think Miller may come in at a lower salary to play in Ft Wayne, a place he really wants to play???? Are we stuck again on a word??? Cheap??? When you negotiate the price of an automobile down from its listed price and get it cheaper than advertised is it now less of a car???? H E double hockey sticks no!!!!!

JungleMonkey
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 5:34pm

It's because Miller is everyones Golden Boy. If you said the same thing about Bozoian or Huckalo people would have moved right on.

Tony E
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 5:46pm

JR I understand what you are saying. I just wish if we were going to really get into salary specifics we at least had some kind of a reference point. If we knew what the average salary was or the minimum then we really would have a point of reference. Right now we can only operate on assumptions and I don't like to do that.
Here is my question without having to figure out a salary. Let's say Miller is a 3rd line center who also takes a regular shift on the PK and is a good influence in the room. What percent of the salary cap would you be willing to pay that type of player?

Komet Warrior
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 5:53pm

You guys should not talk about Blakes like that MAN! That is rude and you might get thrown out of here!

JR
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 5:59pm

All we can do is speculate... Whether you call it salary, a slot, or percentage its all talking about how much someone is gonna make. No one talked about specifics... I speculated that Miller would come cheaper than your usual veteran and I base my opinion on a myriad of reasons... You began this debate when you asked if the K's could afford to sign him as a vet and then speculated if they could get him for below market value for the good of the team. I would pay Miller based on the type of player he is based on numbers and then factor in his intangibles; but the K's IMO have to have the tweeners and rookies in place that will take up the scoring slack by signing a character player like Miller...

Mikey
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 6:00pm

Folks, it is getting to be the middle of August. Colin's not getting the money he agreed to in a two year deal that's the first thing. Now Fort Wayne can't sign the dispersal players and J. Goodwin is the go to guy. Not dissing JG, but he gets a lot of chances. Love you FW but something is not right. Going to be a long cold Winter. One last thing, forget about the tough S..t. Speed with some guts will win everytime.

JR
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 6:03pm

No one is talking about Blake, KW, just responding to his statements. So go back to playing with your marbles...

JungleMonkey
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 6:10pm

Marbles??...? I think they are lost...

Amelia
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 6:46pm

Why is it that when the Frankes make a decision that some people don't agree with they are suddenly "stupid" or "dumb"? It just really annoys me. They will never do everything that everyone agrees with. Disagreeing with them is fine, it's what makes this blog interesting, but the name calling is just plain silly.

On a lighter note, I'm looking forward to seeing Bruce Richardson play, he's sounds like a fun guy to watch. I hope that we can sign Miller, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high.

Ed
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 6:51pm

Does anyone know if Jack Prindle is coming back? I know Joe isn't, but is Jack. He's really a nice guy and I hope he is back with the team.

Iceboi
Mon, 08/07/2006 - 7:58pm

In regards to the cap being 25,000 more, but players having to take paycuts... it may be because we lost those teams at the end of the season. Now there are more players available and less jobs. Just a thought...

Greg
Tue, 08/08/2006 - 5:32am

Anybody notice the UHL website is still down?

Jungle Monkey
Tue, 08/08/2006 - 5:45am

I heard the FBI seized it for evidence.

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