Things seem to point to a resolution between the Toronto Maple Leafs and David Kempf soon
sports network: Elliott Friedman on the “32 Thoughts: Podcast – Next Nine Eleven: Leo Carlsson” episode about David Kampf, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ contract situation, and what happens to the $1.25 million signing bonus already paid if they mutually terminate their contracts?
** Transcribed by NHLRumors.com
Friedman: “By the way, Toronto, we should be figuring out the David Kampf thing pretty soon.
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Kyle Bukauskas: “Well, yeah, because you said on Saturday that the signing bonus is a sticking point right now when considering the idea or possibility of terminating your contract. So how does this all work?
Friedman: “So his signing bonus was, I think it was a million and a quarter, paid earlier this summer. There’s a language in some contracts called kickbacks that allows teams to seek a return of the signing bonus if the player terminates his contract.”
If you’re wondering why it’s there, it’s pretty obvious. It prevents players from quitting after paying a signing bonus and gives teams a way to recoup bonuses in their contracts.
Basically, if Kampf terminates, the Maple Leafs will get two years of salary cap flexibility, right? Because they basically had his entire contract wiped out and the salary cap was capped. Like AAV, the limit is $2.40 (minors). In minors, you can deduct just over $1 million. So you can save several years of money.
The league could argue, and I suspect the league may have taken issue with this, and say, “Basically by paying the player about $1.3 million, you get two years of CAP freedom.” So you should ask for that money back. And if you have take-back language there, then the league will say, you put the language there, you should use it.
Now, I have no doubt that the Players Association will argue that it is their job to protect the players. But I heard that the return of signing bonuses was mentioned. So I think either the Maple Leafs say, ‘Hey, here’s the retracted language and we’re going to enforce it,’ or the league says, ‘Hey, here’s the language we want you to enforce. ‘That’s another reason why I think this is taking longer than people think or expect.
Bukauskas: “Now, is this kind of retractable language, is it pretty standard in any player contract across the league? Or is it, organizationally speaking, on a case-by-case basis, regardless of what their philosophy is?
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Friedman: “My impression is that’s the case specifically. I asked if that was standard and I was told it wasn’t. But there are some teams, I don’t know if that’s the case with every team, but I know there are some teams where it’s standard. If they give you a bonus, they put retraction language in it.”
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