The Blackhawks are accustomed to playing second fiddle to the Bulls, and for once they secretly may be pleased to be standing in the shadow of the newly recrowned NBA champions.
Before the sweat even could dry on the United Center court after their fourth NBA title, the Bulls faced re-signing the heart and soul of their team–Michael Jordan, coach Phil Jackson and Dennis Rodman.
At the same time, the Hawks quietly are preparing for what may be one of their most contentious contract negotiations ever.
Unless they sign him before Monday–an event as unlikely as detente between, say, China and Taiwan–Jeremy Roenick becomes a restricted free agent. The Hawks, who have the right of first refusal, swear they will match any offer Roenick may receive. That means only that the final numbers on the 26-year-old center’s next contract likely will be determined by forces beyond the control of either party.
The market will determine Roenick’s salary over the next several years, not the depth of Hawks owner Bill Wirtz’s pockets or Roenick’s hunger for the perquisites of his talent.
It is not just a question of determining Roenick’s proper place in the marketplace but also of locating the marketplace itself. It may not be enough to know that Vancouver’s Pavel Bure will earn $5 million next season, that Buffalo’s Pat LaFontaine will get $4.6 million, that St. Louis’ Brett Hull will command $4.4 million.
“The marketplace has changed since those contracts were signed,” insists Bob Murray, the Hawks’ assistant general manager.
Indeed, none of the players who were in Roenick’s position last season, including Winnipeg’s Keith Tkachuk and Vancouver captain Trevor Linden, received anything like those figures.
Tkachuk did get $6 million because of the front-loaded contract forced on the Jets when they matched an offer by the Hawks, but it drops below $3 million for this year. His contract is worth $17 million over five years.
Roenick scoffs at the notion the market has dropped.
“I can’t see how the market has changed to a lesser value,” he says.
“I don’t think anyone can put a handle on the market,” concedes Roenick’s agent, Boston-based Neil Abbott. “There have been no significant signings over the last six months. Mike Modano just turned down an offer from Dallas.”
The offer was for $3 million a year for four years, and that could have relevance for Roenick because Modano is one of the players most frequently compared to the Hawks’ star. Modano was the first pick overall the same year the Hawks made Roenick the eighth overall selection.
Since then, Roenick’s numbers have been better. He has two 50-goal seasons to Modano’s one and three 100-point seasons to Modano’s none. But their records over the last two seasons are quite similar.
Both had the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season shortened even further by injuries. Modano ended up with 12 goals and 29 points in 30 games; Roenick was 10 and 34 in 33 games.
This past season Modano had 36 goals and 81 points in 78 games while Roenick, who played only 66 games, had 32 goals and 67 points.
But the two players are not really all that comparable. In fact, it’s hard to slot Roenick because he is almost a unique player. For his size (6 feet, 185 pounds) he is one of the hardest hitters in the league, and he plays with an infectious enthusiasm that is rare these days in professional sports.
“There’s no question if you take the all-around part of the game I’m one of the top 10,” says Roenick. “You won’t find people who hit like I do and play offense like I do and play defense like I do. That’s what I’ve worked my whole life for, to give myself that kind of reputation.”
Two years ago the Hockey News’ annual yearbook listed Roenick No. 10 among active players, labeling him “a modern-day Musketeer, a swashbuckling soldier who blazes down ice, runs goalies and possesses a deadly shot.”
Since then, while Roenick himself insists he has only gotten better, he has suffered two major injuries and his stock may have fallen a bit.
“He’s a very good hockey player, no question about that,” says one scout for another NHL team, “but it looked to me like he had some ups and downs this year, and you don’t see Jeremy Roenick like that. I think this year he was not as consistent as usual. He had a couple of big injuries, and that may have accounted for it.”
The Hawks themselves are not going to get into the comparison game, at least in public, but they did explore a trade for Colorado’s Joe Sakic before the year began, and decided against it.
Sakic, whose stock has soared since then with his 51-goal, 120-point season and Stanley Cup MVP trophy, made $2.9 million last season, more than double Roenick’s $1.4 million.
If you were to ask Roenick who he’d like to be compared with he’d respond, “How about Eric Lindros? He’s bigger than I am, but we have the same sort of style. We both hit very hard. He may be stronger, but we’re very comparable. We play almost the identical style of game.”
Lindros, in fact, is a lot bigger and stronger and likely to be the highest-paid player in the game within the next few years. So Roenick obviously has his sights set high.
“Lindros will probably be making $8 to $10 million in the next year or so,” Roenick says.
