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I would say Vinny has earned this right. Class player and I'd take him any day on my team. He'll also save the team money down the road.

Another NTC long term contract? They never learn, do they? Not questioning Vinny here but ..... c'mom!

Talk about having your boses by the cohones! SUCKERS!!!!

Give this guy everything he asks for! He's worth every penny, plus he's a class act on and off the ice.

That's what you say now cmh_phx. Right now everybody loves Vinnie (I do too). But this team has left itself no room for manoeuvre in the event that they ever want/need to trade him. Wait a few years 'til the management and/or fans are demanding he waive his no movement clause and he refuses. The alacrity with which players become persona non grata is breathtaking sometimes.

What happens in year 7 of an 11 year contract when Vinnie has aged a little and is more injury prone? Let's say he has a cronic groin injury that limits his skating and his offensive numbers plummet. Not only can they not trade him, they cant even place him on waivers? It's a great deal until Vinnie cant produce at an all-world level or Tampa needs to move him. Then they are hamstrung.

Oilers4Ever. Agreed, the Bolts hve killed themselves before over NTCs but, I'm confident Vinnie will not pull a Sundin on them and work for the best. That's who he is. The opposite would surprise me. Then, $$$ changed many people.. Just wait and see, I guess?

bostongm. Vince took a cut to stay with htem. He could have commanded more (maybe less long) anywhere on the UFA market next year. Hell, they tried to throw $10 MIL at Sundin already. This guys is worth a lot of cash right now.

I dont get why the PLAYERS want to commit to these long term deals. Sure theres the security..but those are long years if the team sux. Surely you can be set for life on a 4-5 year deal.

Peter, I believe the agents push for it.
See, if the guys has a bad season in his contract year, he'll become an UFA nad go for $7-8 MIL to maybe $3-4 MIL (see Redden). IF the deal is 11 years or so, it ensures huge cash flow for a while. Good from the agent's point of view and, well, not too bad for the player either, right?

Eleven years is one hell of a long time and many things can and do change, both for the team and the player. As BGM says, if the owners want to throw their cash around it's up to them, but why restrict themselves with a no movement clause? At least make it a restricted clause so that they've got half a chance in the event they need to make a trade.

cmh_phx - pull a Sundin? This is precisely what I'm talking about from the player's point of view. Sundin has become a pain in the butt to the Leafs and the fans having played there for 13 years. He had a no trade clause and exercised his right to use it. Whereupon he was and continues to be villified.

As for the salaries, we are so used to seeing all those zeros that we've become numbed to the reality of the figures. How can an average of $7.7 million for eleven years possibly not be enough?

He has an 11-year contract but the last 2 years were added to curb his cap hit. Otherwise he would get a 9-year, 82.5million contact and his cap hit would be 9.17 million. It will be easy for the Bolts to buy out the last 2-3 years of his contract if they consider it a necessary move. So the contract is satisfactory for both parties provided Vinny plays at the current level until he's 36-37.

Thats a good point Harri#19, I haven't seen it form that point of view. MAkes sense that way.

why in the hell would they ever move him. not to beat a dead horse to death but with inflation this is a damn good bargain.

Vinny LC is worth every cent he's getting paid.

Uh folks - please note (this drives me crazy everytime I see it posted) - under the new CBA they can't buy out guys once they hit 35. That is why so many teams are hesitant to give some of the older free agents out there more than a one to two year deal because no matter what once they are 35 you (and more importantly your salary cap) are responsible for the entire contract!

OtherOne - not to beat this to death ;) but there's no telling what's going to happen over the course of a contract of this length. I really hope that Vinny will carry on playing like he does now until he's 40, and that the management (and the fans) will be happy with him and vice versa, and that everyone lives happily ever after. Chances of that, though, over eleven years? I'd say slim.
I guess as cmh_phx said earlier, we'll just have to wait and see.

Good guy or bad guy, time will tell but, .... as I said before .... Vinnie's got his boses by the cohones .... and there won't be a d*amn thing they can do about it if the relashionship sours! That's a very bad spot for an owner to put himself in!

You guys are all mad. AS a REAL Tampa native and enthusiast, this is a huge deal for us. Yes its a lot, yes it's monumental, but Vinny is the best thing to happen to Tampa since Warren Sapp held the Lombardi trophy. I know the irony, he moved on. Bottom line, we've never seen a player with the caliber Vinny plays at. We never have had a Wayne Gretzky, oiler's fans, we never had a Bobby Orr, bean-town fans... this guy is our franchise. I was extremely pissed when they sent Boyler to San Jose, but in solidifying #4 in Tampa and one day putting his jersey in the rafters next to the '04 Stanley Cup Banner, it will be worth it. Also, watch us this year, we got offense, a young energized D and solid goaltending. TB finally on Top, Represent Longoria, Kaz, adn Navi

He's worth the money and more.
But the 'no move' clause is a stupid move by the owners. As is the length of the deal. Are you telling me he would have walked away from a 7year deal?