Well hell. I didn't realize it was Armageddon in Columbus. I wouldn't get tickets either. Save your money!
You clearly don't understand the situation. They couldn't get insurance on Horton because of his shoulder (pre-existing condition). He was injured when he signed here. Now, you can question the term of the deal. They thought the shoulder issue was short term. Which it was. Then the back thing started over the summer when they could have got insurance and we know what happened from there. What you aren't understanding is Horton is going to get paid either way. If he's with the CBJ, they pay him. He's with the Leafs, they have to pay him. No way around that. The Leafs are putting him on LTIR so he doesn't count against the cap. Again, they still pay him. CBJ get out of paying for someone to sit in the pressbox.
From the Dispatch:
"Horton arrived with a pre-existing condition -- a chronically separated shoulder -- that could not be covered by insurance, and they knew Horton would miss more than half a season as he rehabilitated following surgery.
The club opted not to buy insurance for the rest of Horton's body and appendages because it would have been impossible for any other illness or injury to cost him half a season. The shoulder had already put him over the threshold.
Then, last summer, when it came time to insure Horton's contract, his back had deteriorated so badly that the Blue Jackets couldn't insure his contract."
Understand?
The CBJ are now stuck paying 6 million a season to a player who's worth about a 1 million a season for the next 5 years.
I would rather have someone play that is worth $1 million than someone who's worth $0. This is a low-risk, high reward situation. They were going to pay the money ANYWAYS. And it's only a $5.25M cap hit.
A small market team like Columbus (who will never reach the salary cap) can't overcome a contract like this.
Really? This contract doesn't handcuff the CBJ because they aren't a cap team.