Opinion: Hockey IQ a misnomer

I recently watched some of the NHL draft and free agency frenzy on TSN along with some other sports contract dealings that convinced me there are no geniuses in professional sports management ranks.

Let’s start with the Edmonton Oilers

Why on earth would they or any other hockey, team sign Corey Perry, a 39 year-old “yesterday’s man” to a one year $1.4 million contract including bonus incentives. He only scored 8 goals and did nothing in the playoffs except lace up his skates.

The NHL is a game of speed, so adding a slow moving player to the roster seems counter productive. If they want someone who is good in the dressing room, hire a magician or a clown for $500 a night to keep everyone loosey goosey and bank the rest.

My Toronto Maple Leafs were just as stupid by signing 34 year-old Chris Tanev to a 6 year $27 million contract and fist pumping the deal! The guy is already past his best before date and will likely be just as useless to the team as Perry is long before he reaches 39. He’ll be okay for two years max.

The NBA seems even more crazy as the Boston Celtics signed their star, Jason Tatum

to a five-year, $314 million contract extension. To put this into perspective, I just received an offer on my Tim Hortons app for a bagel BELT with a muffin for $5.49 and three days to claim it!

Getting back to hockey, if there is a good player to draft, the NHL should limit the contract length to three years. This would prevent the stupidity of hiring players like Tanev who will be 40 by the time his deal expires! Shorter contracts would also be an incentive for players to work their butt off and earn their salaries.

Another sign of the lack of geniuses is the call for the Leafs to trade Mitch Marner who is the best play maker on the team and responsible for Auston Matthews scoring so many goals. You can’t get another Marner by trading Marner, so how does that help to improve the team? It doesn’t, so Plan B is making good trades and good draft picks—but check the IQs of management first.

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