from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

Signing bonuses will become a hot-button issue around which the NHL coalesces leading into the 2020-21 Owners’ Lockout IV, because some contracts — such as the ones Steven Stamkos signed to remain in Tampa Bay, Andrew Ladd accepted to move to Brooklyn/Long Island and, to a lesser degree, Kyle Okposo took to go to Buffalo — essentially are buyout proof and give an advantage to ownerships willing to embrace/exploit that opening in the CBA.

Stamkos’ eight year, $68 million deal includes $60M in bonus payments due each July 1. Ladd’s seven-year, $38.5M contract includes $31.5M in annual bonuses due July 1. Each will receive $1M per as base salary for every season of his own respective contract. Okposo’s seven-year, $42M deal isn’t structured quite so dramatically from beginning to end, but $20M of the $28M he is due the first four years are in the form of annual signing bonuses.

And signing bonuses are, if negotiated properly, protected against the two-thirds buyout. Signing bonuses are guaranteed at 100 percent. In other words, while NHL contracts are essentially guaranteed at 67 percent of their base value, Stamkos’ deal is guaranteed at 88 percent and Ladd’s at 82 percent.

continued plus a few more topics...