Not much preamble needed here. A lot of contracts were signed on July 1, and it’s fun to go through each notable one (generally meaning “north of $1M”). Sportsnet will have ample, in-depth coverage of the bigger deals, but you’ve found the right spot for the at-first-blush reaction to each and every meaningful deal.
Sam Reinhart: Florida, 8 x $8.625M
You’re going to hear people (note: people in Canada) complain about what seems like an insanely cheap deal for a guy who just scored 57 goals (largely thanks to taxes/weather/fit). But given his total career to date, and the fact that he’s not exactly fleet of foot, and you’re taking him into his late-30s, I think this is less a “steal” and more a “great, completely fair contract for both parties.”
Tyler Bertuzzi: Chicago, 4 x $5.5M
Bertuzzi gets himself a little term here which is good, and also gets himself in a situation where he can play on the first power play unit, and thrive at the net front. Meanwhile, Chicago gets a legit NHL contributor with some feistiness and finish, which on a team that lacks, well, everything, should be extremely welcome.
Jake Guentzel: Tampa Bay, 7 x $9M
Tampa Bay gets a high-IQ offensive producer who’s shown to excel in the post-season. He’s just the type of guy to help turn around what was starting to look like a slow descent of a once-great team.
Connor Brown: Edmonton, 1 x $1M
It almost feels like Brown did the Oilers a favour here, after they overpaid him for his last season. By the post-season, though, you could really see his skating round into form, what a competitor he is, and those things alone make him worth much more than just a one year, $1 million depth deal.
Joseph Woll: Toronto, 3 x $3.66M
For the Leafs, this is a bet on catching a legit number one goalie before his real upswing, because if it happens, you have a starter on the cheap. If it doesn’t, his cap hit is manageable for a tandem or back-up guy, so barring Woll falling wildly short of expectations, it’s tough to see this hurting them.
Chris Tanev: Toronto, 6 x $4.5M
If you were to give Tanev a one- or two-year contract, you’d surely be OK with something like $6.5M for next season and maybe a bit less for the one after. So you’re getting some value up front on the deal, and while the term is long, let’s be frank – there’s no guarantee he plays out the whole contract, and they need to have success in the next few years anyway.
Connor McMichael: Washington, 2 x $2.1M
Threatened 20 goals as a bottom six forward, young guy (23), has some pop in his step. A good contract he’s likely to outperform.
Brandon Montour: Seattle, 7 x $7.14M
Love this for both Seattle and Montour. Seattle struggles to score and is largely a boring team (sorry), Montour skates and hits and scores and competes, and good players cost money when you don’t spend any other assets to acquire them.
Erik Johnson: Philadelphia, 1 x $1M
Sure OK. Everyone needs depth.
Kasperi Kapanen: St. Louis, 1 x $1M
Kapanen’s value has been on a steady decline around the league, but there’s no denying his raw talent. He hasn’t always committed himself to fully harnessing it, but it’s tough to imagine a world where he underperforms a $1M dollar deal.
Dmitry Kulikov: Florida, 4 x $1.15M
This feels cheap, but it also feels like everyone gets what they want. Florida wants quality, reliable, affordable depth D, and Kulikov wants someone to commit to him with some term, while living the good life on a good team in Florida.
Matt Duchene: Dallas, 1 x $3M
Like the deal above, this feels as much about fit as money. Duchene has proven useful as a veteran “chip in with some offence” guy where he doesn’t have to carry the mail, and for those dollars, it’s a low bar to clear to call the signing a success.
Tyler Toffoli: San Jose, 4 x $6M
This is why winning the Cup early in your career is so great, because you can then prioritize other life goals beyond chasing just wins. You’ve reached the mountaintop, so at some point you can say “Hey I’d like to go back to living in California, I’d like some commitment (term) from the team, and I’d like to get paid.”