The free-spending Red Wings managed to sustain their success after the NHL instituted its hard cap – written into in the 2005 Collective Bargaining Agreement to encourage parity – largely because players like Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom agreed to cap-friendly contracts arguably worth less their open-market value.

AROUND THE PACIFIC

What the brothers Thornton, Joe and John, did Saturday was an act of both unselfishness and imitation.

By agreeing to a 3-year, $21 million contract extension that will keep him in San Jose until 2014, Joe Thornton essentially stuck to the blueprint that has kept the Wings in Cup contention for the better part of 15 years.

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson told the San Jose Mercury News that John Thornton, Joe’s brother and agent, had not discussed a possible extension for “three or four weeks” prior to Friday. When the call finally came, it came with an unexpected surprise: The newly appointed captain was prepared to take an annual pay cut of $200,000 from his previous contract, which was set to expire in July 2011.

One day later, Joe Thornton's extension was announced.

“We’re all on the same page,” Thornton said. “We just want to win. That’s the ultimate goal here. You take a little less to win a Cup. We haven’t gotten there yet, but we’re going to get there.”

In a very Detroit-like turn of events, the Sharks now have a strong nucleus of Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley, Joe Pavelski and Dan Boyle under contract through 2014. Those five combine for an annual cap hit of slightly more than $28 million during the duration of their contracts.

If you’re keeping score at home, yes, that’s a lot of money. But with the current CBA set to expire in 2012, general managers around the league are wary of a shrinking salary cap, uncertain of how much money they’ll be able to spend on the core players needed to build a contending team. Even if the cap shrinks to say, $48 million (a number that's been circulating the rumor mill), San Jose can rest easier than teams scrambling to fill vital positions in the new landscape.

The Sharks, of course, have seemed to possess the personnel necessary to win a Cup for most of the last decade, yet never advanced past the Western Conference finals. Thornton’s new contract doesn’t inherently bring San Jose any closer to a championship but, as Wilson told the Mercury News, “it means a lot.”

“It allows us to do certain things going forward,” Wilson said. “And it’s consistent – some of his teammates have done the same thing recently. That’s a sign of leadership and character that Joe certainly has.”

 

The league suspended Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan for three games without pay on Monday for this blind-side hit on Anaheim Ducks forward Dan Sexton Sunday. Doan was not penalized for his hit during the game. ... The City of Glendale, Arizona announced Friday that it reached an agreement in principle on the lease that would allow a group led by Matthew Hulsizer to purchase the Coyotes from the NHL. The league’s 29 owners must also sign off on the deal. … Coyotes D Adrian Aucoin had plenty of time to update his blog between games – five, to be exact. In the latest edition, he discusses the visit to Prague, the ensuing flight home and the ensuing jetlag. … As much as one team can send a message to another in October, the Kings did their best to notify the Vancouver Canucks by beating them twice – 2-1 on opening night at Rogers Arena and 4-1 Friday at Staples Center. Jonathan Quick, who had a 3.50 goals-against average in the Kings’ first-round playoff loss to Vancouver in April, made 48 of a possible 50 saves in the two wins. … Mike Modano, who played the first 1,459 games of his career for the North Stars/Stars franchise, received a lengthy standing ovation when he returned to Dallas in a Detroit Red Wings uniform Thursday. … F Fabian Brunnstrom cleared waivers Saturday and went to the Texas Stars, Dallas’ AHL affiliate. … The Stars hired NHL veteran Gary Roberts as a player consultant. … D Cam Fowler scored his first NHL goal and broke his nose colliding with the end boards in an eventful second period Saturday in Anaheim. ... The Ducks added veterans Andreas Lilja and Toni Lydman to their defense corps this week. Lilja signed Oct. 10 but his visa renewal was delayed. Lydman had not played, and scarcely practiced, while recovering from an acute episode of double vision suffered days before training camp began. … The Syracuse Crunch, the Ducks’ AHL affiliate, received a visit from recently retired D Scott Niedermayer, whom the Ducks kept on as a consultant after Niedermayer retired in June.

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