Page 61 of The Tryout

I’m clearly not wrong, as they answer the call still in bed, Jamie’s hair mussed in a way that suggests they’ve had a good morning already.

“Wow, that was quick.”

“He’s on his run now, so this is probably the best time. What’s up?”

“How much do you know about hockey contracts?” Ethan asks.

I try not to roll my eyes, remembering that I do, in fact, want to keep Jamie as a friend.

“A lot. In addition to my sports management degree, I’ve lived with a contract lawyer for most of the last twenty-four years.”

Jamie smirks at the answer, so hopefully I’ve balanced the snark correctly.

“Oh. Right. So, seems like Finn’s is…a little odd?”

I narrow my eyes.

“How odd could it be? Aren’t these things pretty much ironed out ahead of time?”

As I’d told Pops a couple months ago, there’s not a whole lot of wiggle room with hockey contracts, especially for younger players.

“Sure. But there is some room for negotiation, and it seems like Finn’s went…badly.”

“Tell me more.”

“Well, you know he’s young, right?”

“Yeah. Just turned twenty.”

“And a lot of guys at that age who aren’t first round picks will do a couple years of developmental play between getting drafted and going pro. Juniors or college or both, you know?”

Sure. Rather than languishing on ECHL or AHL rosters while they grew into their bodies, they’d play amateur hockey with people their own size, getting ready for the day they could really break into the pros.

But wait. Why hadn’t Finn done that?

I must ask the question aloud, because Jamie’s ready with an answer.

“We’re not sure. I mean, I know the thought of paying to play hockey instead of getting paid can be tempting for a lot of kids, but usually agents are good at reminding them of the big picture, you know?”

I think back to our conversation, to what Finn told me about his upbringing. Maybe he didn’t really have a choice when it came to the financial side of it. Shit.

“Ok, so, he went pro before it was really a good idea?”

“Worse. Apparently they tried to get his agent to convince him to stay amateur, but he was having none of it. So…he signed an AHL-only contract. They didn’t call him up because, technically, they couldn’t.”

Triple shit.

I’m on an AHL-only contract, but that’s because this is a last ditch attempt to go pro. Finn is a different story – they wanted him, they just wanted him to wait a year or two. Why would he sign an AHL-only contract?

“What was your impression of the organization’s stance on this? Is he just gonna have to ride it out? How long is it?”

I know I’m inundating them with questions, but I have dozens more floating through my brain right now.

“Cam thinks it’s bullshit, and I think the rest of the staff feel the same. I think they’d be open to re-signing him to a two-way deal, but the thing with Lindy was so quick and so short term that it wasn’t worth it.”

Yet again, I find myself grateful for Ethan’s friendship with Banks.

“Wasn’t worth it for them.”