Oilers Sign RNH - 7 Year Deal

[centrehice]

42 Million Samollians

[RGM81]

Is this merited after 102 games and just 22 goals? Teams seem to forget that they have LEVERAGE in negotiations with players just coming off their entry level deals and don't have to hand out these monster contracts to guys that have yet to truly prove themselves in the NHL.

[dmaksymyshyn]

Is this merited after 102 games and just 22 goals? Teams seem to forget that they have LEVERAGE in negotiations with players just coming off their entry level deals and don't have to hand out these monster contracts to guys that have yet to truly prove themselves in the NHL.

I couldn't agree with you more...this is ridiculous...6 mil a year? Would he really command more if he proves it on the ice? And if so, how much more? I can't believe it would be much more than what is being given....I don't get it.

[mooneyes]

wowsa lot of $$$$, and he ins't scheduled until play til November at best when that FRAGILE shoulder heals...

[sholi2000]

Sigh, how on earth are they able to sign these guys without looking at future RFA? I mean great that they locked up three of there high end young guns, but wow that's a lot of coin.

[30ranfordfan]

And how is that going to work out for the Habs & Subban ??

In theory, I agree with you. He has not played nearly enough to honestly have said he has "earned" this contract..... but.....

If the Oilers push for the bridge route, they have pretty much told him that he is not as good as Hall or Eberle, or at least not as important to the team. That's mistake #1.

On top of that - how does you see him projecting this year / next year / year after ?? The low $$$ contract that Habs got Subban under, it's great for them in the short term (they've got one of the best dmen in the league, and he makes less than $3 million) but they are now going to have to sign him to a deal that pays a lot more. Who is better.... Subban or Doughtey ?? I could make a great argument either way, and that kind of number (7 million per year) is what he's going to ask for.

If the Habs had locked him up for 7 years, they probably could have done it for 5 million per season. For the first 2 years they're spending an extra 2m, but the last 5 they'd be saving that much.

Same thing with Hopkins. Oilers can probably wait till the off season and get him to take a deal similar to Kadri's (unless he explodes this year). Then what? They'll be spending 8.5 million per year on him.



No problem with the contract. Glad he's locked in, and I'm expecting Yakupov to get something really similar next year.

Is this merited after 102 games and just 22 goals? Teams seem to forget that they have LEVERAGE in negotiations with players just coming off their entry level deals and don't have to hand out these monster contracts to guys that have yet to truly prove themselves in the NHL.

[Wickabee]

Hall and Eberle each got $6mil/year, so it was pretty safe to say Nugent Hopkins get the same, and wouldn't you know, their contracts end:
Ebele: 2019
Hall: 2020
Nugent-Hopkins: 2021
and that looks pretty good for re-signings from the team's perspective. I, personally, would have tried to bridge because I'm just not sure Nugent-Hopkins can stay healthy enough to play at his top end consistently. The Oilers, however, seem to think that these three are THE offensive future of the team, so giving them all very similar contracts makes sense, if they've decided to go that route, which it appears they have. The salary cap is also projected to make a big jump after this season, so big contracts for good, young players are just going to get bigger. We're going to see a lot more 7s and 8s in the next few years as certain guys re-sign with their teams and Edmonton is avoiding that quite nicely, not only by signing for the $6mil/yr contracts they have, but for staggering them out so it all doesn't come up at once.

[sholi2000]

Subban will be paid accordingly. Not even close to the Oilers situation. They (Oilers) paid a guy based in what? Potential. That's crazy.

[30ranfordfan]

I think it's the exact same situation.

You've got a player coming off his entry level contract. Looks like he'll be a stud, but he hasn't really "proven" it yet. So what do you do?

You can pay him that "bridge" money, like the Habs did with Subban (or the Leafs with Kadri - though I don't think Kadri has anywhere near the ceiling of Subban or RNH, so I bit different). It will save you $$$ in the short term, and give you a better idea of what you've actually got with the player.

You can also just sign him to that big money, long term deal, and buy away a couple of UFA years..... at a decent price.

If the Oilers do the bridge thing, I would expect Hopkins would have to sign a deal very similar to Subban's (or Kadri's). Then if he turns out to be the player they think he is.... after those two years, they'll have to pay 8m+ (likely) and cetainly above 7m. Sign him long term now, yes - based on potential (and a small body of work) and you save big time down the road.


Only thing that makes the Oilers situation unique is that they already handed that same contract to two other guys (Hall, Eberle) - and not giving it to Hopkins would (likely) create a "why don't you think I'm as good as them?" mentality.


I don't think there is a right or wrong way to do this. The bridge contract is much safer for the teams, for sure. But Subban, becuase of how good he is, is a great comparable. He gets two years under $3m, and for the next 5-8 years.... he's going to cost over 7m. Habs probably could have got him in the 5.5 million range long term, and saved a lot of money (and cap space). It would have been a risk though.


Another think to keep in mind with Hopkins, what he's done so far, and what the "potential" is. Teenagers typically do not perform well in this league. When you look at guys that cracked the NHL at 18, and were never sent back down (so - players who played at 18 and 19 years old, and got at least 100 games in those two years) - you know which guys have better numbers at that age than Hopkins? Crosby, Stamkos, Jagr, Kovalchuk. That's it. I don't mean to argue that Hopkins will turn out to be the point producer that those guys were (Crosby is the best player in the world. Jagr is one of the best 5 or 6 players ever, etc) but when you consider he played many of those games hurt.... sky's the limit for this kid.

In two years, this contract is going to look like a bargin.

Subban will be paid accordingly. Not even close to the Oilers situation. They (Oilers) paid a guy based in what? Potential. That's crazy.

[sholi2000]

All great points for discussion Mr. Ranford, all I know is Subban has provbed that he is the best on ice and not potentially the best. When Subban get's paid Gionta and Markov will have moved on and Subbang! There's your cash for Subban. By that time our next young great Galchenyuk and Gallagher will be up for their bridge and when their time is up for the payday, Price ( i hope not) will have moved on. The ever ending cycle of cash flow in the NHL. But for me, no kid gets paid on potential....ever. Your last line is impossible to say. Not impossible as an Oilers fan though. :)