The Anaheim Ducks signed Frank Vatrano to a three-year, $18-million extension on Sunday, and in a first-of-its kind deal in the NHL, the extension was structured $9 million of deferred payments spread out over 10 years starting in 2035 to lower the salary cap hit against the Ducks.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek spoke to the media to discuss the unique deal and out-of-the-blue inspiration from up the freeway that led to Vatrano’s new contract:
Could you just tell us how the talks went down, and how this all came to be for Frank?
We’ve kind of been talking a little bit since the summertime, and as this kind of process went along, I think Frankie was looking for a number, and we were looking for a number. And I can’t really tell you when exactly, or a date, but we looked at it and said this could be a perfect scenario for us to present this to Frank and his agent Peter Fish. I’m grateful that they were open to this idea of how we set this sort of thing up. As the talks evolved, it became clear that this was going to be a scenario that could satisfy the club and what we were looking for and satisfy Frankie and what he was looking for.
Even in the process I think my experience as a former player, what players don’t realize is when you retire, those checks that you’ve been getting for the last 10 years suddenly stop. This allowed Frankie to have a situation where he’s going to provide for his family and take care of them for the next 10 years after in that scenario.
The more we talked about it, the more the other side understood it. Like Frankie’s camp, it became a win-win for all of us.
Are you able to get into more details of the structure of it?
Basically, it ends up being, salary is $3 million (per year) and then it’s $3 million deferred. Those deferments don’t start for 10 years.
What value do you see him bringing, especially in these next three years?
We’re excited to have Frankie in the sense that he wants to be here. We valued his scoring ability, and I think that’s going to be important as we start to become a lot more competitive in the next two years. I think having Frankie with our group and his intensity and his compete is very important to our group.
Where did you guys get the inspiration for the deferment? I know Carolina had some signing bonuses deferred, but as far as this, it’s the first of its kind.
We had a different scenario and how we wanted to set it up. I think the inspiration probably came from (Shohei) Ohtani’s deal (with the Los Angeles Dodgers) and it became something we started–we’ve been looking at this for a little more than a year. So, I was trying to find the right person, the right situation where it could present itself, and I think with Frankie, it presented itself well.
Were you surprised that Peter Fish and Frank’s reps whatsoever were that receptive to it? Was that something you guys had to talk for a bit back and forth?
We were comfortable with it, because we had done a lot of background and a lot of research and a lot of making sure that everything was going to be–I mean, when we went to the league and talked with the league, we wanted to–I hate to use this phrase–all our ducks in a row. That this would lay out. When we (started) talking to Frankie, I think the big thing was just getting his side comfortable with it, because, as you know, it’s rare. It just doesn’t happen. So this is a whole different–and being the first one to do it, in this scenario and this CBA in some senses it’s a little bit scary. I think as we talked along, I bet we talked about it for at least a month and getting comfortable with it. I think it’s great that Peter Fish and Frankie were open to it. It’s exciting. It’s not only good for us, but it’s good for Frankie. Frankie looked at being here and being able to provide something for the team. This was his way of helping the team out.
How much of the structure was looking forward to the contracts you’re going to have deal with in the next year or two? Some big numbers that are on the list.
This situation might not be right for everybody. I think that it might not be right for the younger players. They have to earn some income before they start looking at this sort of situation. We’re going to look at these situations probably on an individual basis. Obviously, if it can help the team from a cap perspective. I think that’s great.
Could you see other teams following this or seeing this example in specific cases?
Sure, I wouldn’t see why not.
Particularly with California and tax issues?
There’s lots of states you could point to, but yeah, sure.
What was it like approaching ownership about this?
Henry (Samueli) was very open to this. We presented this probably in the summertime to him. He was all for it.
The structure of this deal and how its set up, do you think this is something you guys can use to entice free agents coming to Anaheim in the future?
I think having somebody that’s already gone through the whole process, yeah, I think it makes it easier. The first one’s always the toughest one to get under your belt. I think that having gotten it done, I know Frankie’s very happy. I know his agent is very happy. Frankie’s probably going to get a lot of questions if we present this to other people in free agency and other players on our team.
Who had the initial hunch to investigate this? Was it your idea or (assistant general manager) Jeff Solomon’s?
Jeff kind of brought it to me. As the manager, always looking for ways to make sure you can–at some point, we’re going to be a cap team, and we’re going to always look for ways to maximize your cap space, and I believe this does.
How much worry did you have through the process of this passing the smell test with the league?
It’s pretty clear in the CBA that you can do it. It’s just a matter of the NHL becoming comfortable with it too. As we’ve been discussing, they finally got comfortable with it, and we proceeded.