Leafs Tender Qualifying Offer To Pogge
June 29th, 2009 by Steve
In an effort to cover all of their bases, the Toronto Maple Leafs have extended a qualifying offer to Justin Pogge. The offer is more of a formality than any sort of result of contract negotiations, as it equates to the bare minimum that Pogge would need to be re-signed for as an RFA.
In essence this just ensures that should another club attempt to sign Pogge, the Leafs will be guaranteed the right to match the offer and are guaranteed draft pick compensation depending on the amount of any offer Pogge signs with another team. The minimum contract amount required for draft pick compensation this past year was $863,156, which then translated into a 3rd round pick.
Had the Leafs failed to make the qualifying offer to Pogge before the first Monday following the NHL entry draft (or June 25th - whichever comes first), then the player would become an Unrestricted Free Agent on July 1st, and been able to pursue a contract to play elsewhere with the Leafs receiving nothing in return.
Because Pogge made over $660,000, but under $1 million last season ($683,333 to be exact) the qualifying offer the Leafs extend to him must be worth 105% of his prior year’s salary, which in this case is roughly $717,500. Because Pogge has not met the requirements for a 1 way qualifying offer, his contract can be a 2 way qualifying offer which means his minor league salary must be at least equivalent to his minor league salary in the previous contract, or the AHL minimum, whichever is higher. I think that means his minor league salary will remain unchanged at this point.
If no other teams sign Pogge, he can thus be sent back to the minors and basically continue pulling down the pay cheque he recieved last season for another year. At this point, based on his level of play last season, I don’t think it’s likely any teams will come calling at an amount that exceeds the $863,156 that would be required for the Leafs to recieve draft pick compensation. Thus I think it’s likely that Pogge will remain a Leaf for another year, as there’s really zero reason for another team to make an offer.
Because Pogge signed his first professional contract when he was 19, and he only has 1 year of professional NHL experience in which he has played 10 or more games (or been a backup goalie), he is ineligible for salary arbitration at this point. So I think this is likely to be the last we hear about the Justin Pogge contract situation for a while.
Expect to see him on the farm duelling with James Reimer to be the starter for the Marlies this season.
Posted in Announcements, Player Analysis, Prospects
5 Responses to “Leafs Tender Qualifying Offer To Pogge”
By eyebleaf
on Jun 29, 2009
Bust.
By hockeystik
on Jun 30, 2009
I object to the foul language on this site…Please keep it clean or it’s not worth reading. It diminishes the credibility of everything posted.
By Steve
on Jun 30, 2009
I find it a bit odd you chose to complain about foul language in a posting where I can’t actually find anything remotely foul.
Be that as it may, I also don’t understand the point in the objection. If you don’t feel what I post is worth reading, don’t read it. No one is holding a gun to your head.
I also think the idea that you base credibility on the language of a report/posting/opinion is a bit absurd.
If you think it’s poorly written that’s one thing, but if you’re debating word choice, well… that’s just semantics and shouldn’t have anything to do with it.
Have a nice day.
By EllaBella25
on Jul 1, 2009
Dear Hockeystik,
Personally I am OFFENDED by a hockey “fan” that can’t spell “stick.” Get over yourself. Don’t read if you’re offended. No one is holding a gun to your head…as Steve said previously. Seriously, allow people to express themselves using whatever language they feel comfortable using…I’ll bet you are all for banning books too, eh?
By TeddyDupuis
on Jul 1, 2009
Foul language? What is he talking about?
I’m glad they got Pogge back…if not, the Leafs would be responsible for one of the worst mis-managings of a star goalie prospect in the history of hockey.