TSN: Isles to Offer Smyth $6M+ for 7-8 Years?
June 28th, 2007 by murph
Which of these two men would you rather say “no” to?
With less than 72 hours until Ryan Smyth and all the other NHL Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA) hit the market, TSN is reporting the Islanders are preparing one last mega-deal to persuade Smyth to sign before the July 1st UFA market opens up.
There is a strong sense the Islanders are about to hit the 31-year-old with an offer he may not be able to refuse.
Speculation suggests the Isles are preparing an offer above $6-million per year over a 7 - 8 year term.
Since day one of the trade, the Islanders have said they were serious about keeping Smyth on Long Island. Considering all they gave up to get Smyth, it’s good to see the effort they are making to keep him here. Unfortunately the ultimate decision is not up to them, and even a blank check from Wang might not be good enough to keep Smyth here. At this point, I can’t imagine Smyth not at least testing the market to see what other offers are out there. I think there will be a good amount of news to report on next week.
Patrick Says
I will be watching this. I bet he tries to run.
Jun 28th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
spiff Says
I’m praying this is not going to just be a tease. If the Isles can sign up Smyth, other quality players will join suit and the Isles will officially have something going. Building on last year, with Ted Nolan at the helm, it could be looking very good on Long Island. Please, hockey gods, please…
Jun 29th, 2007 at 2:06 am
fauxrumors Says
1) The TSN report IS acurate from what we have heard/been told. Its in line with what the Isles want to do/can afford.
2) What we also hear/have written in the past is IF Smyth wants to stay on the Island, we should know farily soon! Once he hits the open market the Isle’s chances fall precipitisely.
3) We maintain that he stays in his comfort zone, the Western Conference. The Isles will have to seriously OVERPAY him in terms of $$ and years to even have a shot.
Jun 29th, 2007 at 12:33 pm