In 1814, a group of really famous and well-dressed guys, quaffed
to the moon, gathered in Vienna for one of the most famous
meetings ever held in western civilization.
Approximately 184 years later, there was another meeting in
Vienna, this one between a "moron" and a "liar."
Paul Kraus, who represents unsigned free agent winger Zigmund
Palffy, met with Islanders' GM and Coach Mike Milbury in a Vienna
hotel to discuss the Islanders' latest contract offer, which
Kraus rejected quickly.
The latest offer from the franchise was a two-year deal identical
to the $7.75-million one signed last week by Edmonton Oilers star
Doug Weight, with substantial bonuses based on performance.
The Islanders had originally offered Palffy a three-year,
$12.75-million deal, but withdrew that offer last week. Palffy,
who has scored 40 goals three times, is seeking a three-year deal
worth at least $6 million per season.
Weight's contract calls for him to receive base salaries of $3.45
million and $4.3 million. The offer to Palffy contains
incentives that could boost his salary to over $5 million a
season for the next two years, with incentives such as $250,000
if he scores 39 goals and $650,000 if he scores 52 goals or
has more than 100 points. Palffy, who Kraus has called one of
the five best wingers in hockey, has never reached 50 goals or
100 points, though he hasn't exactly had the '56 Canadiens or '82
Islanders around him either.
"What do I call this?" Kraus said. "Bad-faith negotiation, a
publicity stunt. Maybe a little of both. This is not what I would
construe as any kind of an effort to sign Ziggy Palffy. It is
either a publicity stunt or an insult to fans of the New York
Islanders - whatever remaining fans there are. What Mike
told Zigmund was that the sky is going to fall on him if he
doesn't sign tomorrow."
Though Milbury made no public comments, the Islanders released a
statement from him that read: "My goal in meeting with Zigmund
face-to-face is to bring this issue to a conclusion."
Palffy, who went 44-43-87 in 1995-96 and 48-42-90 in 1996-97, was
45-42-87 last season. His 136 goals over the last three seasons
is the sixth-highest total in the league.
Kraus said: "You know, the Congress of Vienna lasted what, 20
years, before there was an agreement? Well, we have no intention
of waiting that long for something to happen."
Meanwhile, the Isles, against all expectations, are actually
playing some decent hockey. Tommy Salo's 1-0 shutout over the
Kings raised the Isles' record to 4-4-0, and was the Swedish
netminder's third blanking of the young season. This came one
game after the low-scoring Isles did the impossible and scored
five times on all-world goalie Dominik Hasek in a 5-4 victory.
