Hockey Agents

How the business side of professional hockey will affect your son’s everyday life on and off the ice. Read this manual very closely and follow it step by step during your son’s journey to the NHL.
Your family’s new #1 rule in your household moving forward is.
 “Never let the game of hockey use your son, always make sure your son uses the game of hockey.” 
Your family’s new #2 household rule is. “Never trust anyone’s advice in professional hockey that could, and will, make money off your son’s talent during his professional hockey career.” Yes, this includes your son’s agent advice too. 
From this moment on, this hockey manual is the only booklet that your family can fully trust when it comes to getting the right hockey advice regarding your son’s career. Now that I’m retired from playing professional hockey after fifteen years and even after being a first round draft choice of the Boston Bruins. I can honestly say, while I was negotiating my first NHL contract. The business moves I made off the ice KILL Me on the ice.  Without a doubt, if your family doesn’t know how to protect your son from the business side of professional hockey. It WILL COST your son millions of dollars when his during his hockey career.
During your son’s journey to the National Hockey League, it’s easy for an inexperienced hockey family to get caught up in the spider webs of the business side of professional hockey. This manual will give your family the knowledge needed to protect your son from the B.S.O.P.H. Most importantly, the question and answers in this manual are in the order that the questions will present themselves during your son’s career to the National Hockey League.
The first question that your family may ask is: “As a hockey player, do I need a professional hockey agent? And if so, how do I acquire one?”
Before I answer this question, does your family remember one of your new hockey rules to live by?  When it comes to the B.S.O.P.H. unfortunately, that includes your son’s agent too. That’s a pretty big statement your family has just read. As a family, your next question should be: If we can’t trust our son’s agent, then who can we trust?  Good question, keep this in while your family is reading this chapter regarding professional hockey agents.
During your son’s journey to the NHL, Professional Agents will be the first businessmen in professional hockey that your family will run into after hockey games. This introduction usually takes place when your son is about fifteen years old. As you already know, agents don’t talk to every hockey player they see. Agents only talk to certain hockey players that they personally think will make it to the NHL.
When an agent thinks he could make money from your son’s hockey talent, he might try and get your son to sign one of his own representation contracts. Don’t sign one of those representation contracts between a hockey player and an agent. A simple handshake will do just fine. If your family’s handshake isn’t good enough for that agent then say good –bye to that agent.
Believe me, your family’s handshake will be good enough for the next hundred agents that are waiting in line to represent your son, especially  when these agents are asking for four percent of your son’s NHL Contract. I would like to show your family the amount of money it will cost your son to get an agent to represent him during his NHL contract negotiations at four percent.
Example,
Let’s say your son signs a million-dollar NHL Contract.
Four percent of $1 million dollars is $40,000.00 dollars.
Now let’s say, your son signs a contract for $10 million dollars.
Four percent of $10, million dollars is $400,000.00 dollars!!!!
Can you imagine writing a cheque to your son’s agent for $400,000.00 dollars? That’s a lot of money you just gave that agent. Something else your family should know before you give this agent 4 percent of your son’s NHL Contract is that the NHL bargaining agreement between the players and the owners reads as follows:
When it comes to NHL draft picks there is a new salary cap in place during a player’s first NHL contract. This means a draft pick can only make so much money during his first couple of years in the NHL.  Remember all those promises of money your agent made to your family when he first met your son? With the NHL salary cap in place, negotiations between a player’s agent and NHL management are pretty much predetermined already.
Now can you imagine your son writing a cheque to his agent for $400,000.00 dollars for making a few phone calls to your son’s NHL General Manager? It’s absolutely absurd!  Tell your new agent that he’ll be getting paid a flat rate for your son’s first NHL Contract. The amount of money that I would like to see your son pay his agent for negotiating the first NHL contract would be $1000.00 dollars…..  Your son’s agent is still over paid for making a ten minute phone call.
Now after your son has paid his agent his fee of $1000.00 dollars take the other $399,000.00 dollars that I just saved your son and put that remaining money into your son’s own bank account. The fact of the matter is, for as long as I can remember, agents have taken advantage of young hockey families because they don’t know the B.S.O.P.H. Agents have made a ton of money off hockey player’s NHL contracts. From this point on , I would like to see that hockey players and their families get the agents standard fee of four percent instead of the agent.
Now you know my personal feelings regarding the standard agent fees of four percent.  Now let’s talk about how your family goes about  getting representation for your son. If your son wants an agent, all you have to do is pick up the phone and start talking with potential agents regarding representation. But before you do that, I want your family to keep a few things in mind when interviewing potential agents. For starters, does your family know what qualifications an agent needs before he can legally represent a professional hockey player?  Absolutely now qualifications, that’s right, anyone and everyone can be an NHL agent.  
Hockey agents are normal people just like you and l. Keeping this information in mind, don’t be shy or intimidated when interviewing a potential hockey agent.  Make sure your family finds the agent in the hockey business to represent your son.  Don’t ever think you owe your current agent anything except the truth.
If a year down the road, your family finds a hockey agent that you think would do a better job representing your son then your current agent, all your family has to do is call up your son’s current agent and say farewell to him. And just like that your son has a new agent. Professional hockey is all about making money in a short period of time.
In previous paragraph, I told your family to make sure you find the best hockey agent in the business. Here’s why, don’t think that NHL General Managers like giving out millions of dollars to unproven NHL draft picks. A general Manager’s main objective is to save his NHL Owner as much money as he possibly can. Especially when it comes to signing unproven NHL draft picks.  As negotiation talks begin, NHL General Managers come out of their corners punching and kicking, trying to get naïve hockey players and their families to sign NHL contracts at bargain basement prices.
Here’s your family’s thing household hockey rule: You shouldn’t sign the first or second contract offer from your NHL General Manager. Usually by the third offer you’re getting close to the organization’s final dollar amount. Here’s my advice to an unsigned draft pick going into contract negotiations for the first time with a NHL General Manager. Research how much the draft picks ahead of you signed for, then have a predetermined dollar amount. This will give you a good guideline to go by. NHL GM’s love scaring unsigned draft picks, so your family should be prepared for an emotional, roller-coaster ride.
NHL GM’s will turn up the heat during negotiation time. Your family must stay focused to protect your predetermined dollar amount.  And remember, it’s just business, it’s not personal. After your son has signed his new NHL contract, the General Manager will have nothing but good things to say about your son. If your agent ever warns your family before contract negotiations even starts, by saying.  “It’s going to be tough getting big money out of your son’s NHL General Manager, be very critical!!!”
Turn around and fire the agent immediately!!!! Why would you want an agent like this representing your son, especially during the most important negotiations of your son’s lifetime…. Remember, your family is dealing with a professional businessman and there’s no room for errors during your son’s NHL contract negotiations.
The bottom line here is if your agent can’t do his job off the ice, get some on who can before it’s too late.  You want your agent going into contract negotiations with the attitude that failure isn’t an option.  Let your agent know that you won’t settle for anything less than the best.  Believe me; your agent will get the message quickly. It’s critical to your son’s career that he has the best hockey agent in professional hockey, especially when it comes time to negotiate your son’s NHL contract.