I had heard he would stay for a one way contract and I had heard a one way contract with a legitimate shot at an NHL roster spot; so it was at least the one way contract aspect if not both that he was looking for to stay.

Karl W asks:

What am I missing?

The basics:
Bourque— age: 24y 4m, height: 5’7", NHL games: 33 (1 g 3 a), estimated ‘09-’10 cap hit (if in NHL): $500k
Fleischmann— age: 26y 2 m, height: 6’1", NHL games: 260, estimated ‘09-’10 cap hit: $2M
NOTE: Fleischmann’s NHL record at Bourque’s current age: 118 games (14g, 26a).

If you look at both players statistically at the points in their NHL careers where Bourque is now (that is, seasons begun prior to their 24th birthday), it’s difficult to get excited about either one: Fleischmann was averaging a point every 4.5 games; Bourque a point every 8.25 games. However, Fleischmann’s game developed significantly after turning 24 — the age that Bourque has just reached. I think Bourque would have the same experience, especially if he proves to be an example of the hockey adage, mentioned by Fehr and Balanced below, that smaller forwards take until their mid-20s to learn how to play the NHL game at their size.

Some more sophisticated data: Looking at quality of teammates and quality of competition (through the end of this past season), Flash and Bourque have roughly the same numbers. Looking at similar Corsi metrics suggests Flash skates against better competition, but he also skates with much better linemates than Bourque. Bourque does have a worse TOI-TOF, but neither has a particularly good one

One other factor to keep in mind: most of Bourque’s NHL experience has come with the Pittsburgh Penguins, not the Capitals, whose aggressive style of play fits Bourque’s skill set well.

As Fehr and Balanced and hockeyman33 have both noted, we have little NHL data on Bourque. We need to rely on impressions from his AHL play vs. the experience we have with Flash. What we see in Bourque at the AHL level is an undersized guy who has considerable skill, speed, and vision (I disagree with JP’s assessment on these three qualities). But then, Flash has good skill, speed and size (though vision seems spotty). Two other Bourque AHL qualities stand out: he’s a great quarterback, especially on the PP (though he does tend to overskate), and his game elevates against better competition and in meaningful settings — something that Flash hasn’t done at the NHL level (though his AHL record is mixed). The Caps could certainly use a playmaker for their 2nd/3rd line, and not to mention a player who elevates his play in the playoffs

I definitely don’t have the empirical evidence to demonstrate that Bourque will be a good NHL player, or even that he’ll be as good as Fleischmann. But I think we now know what Flash is — “a good player, until the playoffs.” Given the Caps’ needs for a playmaker and a playoffs player, given his age and the likelihood that his game will really develop in the next two years, given his success in this system, given that his cap hit will be a quarter (or less) of Flash’s, and given available free agents, I’d really like to see Bourque get a shot in Washington next season.

Sorry, I should have left that part out as it is confusing, but I did mean maximum, in the sense that basing the QO on the salary without the Caps offering a raise, the QO wouldn’t be higher than that number.

In other words, if simply calculating the QO based on his salary, that was the highest figure possible, but it’s possible it was lower if the 660,000 figure included some signing bonus money and it’s likely it did.

If we had the real salary number than yes, I would have said minimum in the sense that the team isn’t required to offer the minimum, they can offer more.

It is very possible he got a higher AHL salary and lower NHL salary as it appears may have been the case for some of the other guys that signed their QOs.

As to why it hasn’t shown up, either the CapGeek people simply missed it when they were loading all the RFA contracts yesterday as there were a number of them or the contract has an issue and the League hasn’t approved it; it happens and usually something small that gets modified and re-submitted. Nothing to worry about if that is the case (and no I’m not saying you are worrying; you pointed out the same that it will show up eventually.)

FWIW, Greentree’s contract hasn’t shown up yet in CapGeek either.

No problem, just clarifying for future reference :)