It's a weird signing because it's neither a discounted value nor a particularly high price, but depending how the lineup shakes out, not even taking into account production, he could be anywhere from a mild steal to a mild overpay.
For example, right now, if everyone's healthy on Van I would think the 2nd line would be the AMEX line again - Booth Kesler Higgins - who were quite good last year. 2.5 for a 2nd line player, even a not terribly productive one, is good value. However, Higgins could just as easily end up playing alongside Max Lapierre on the 4th line, in which case this is too much money.
I was thinking a modest raise somewhere in the 2.2 range, but this is a roughly fair but not a great deal for Van.
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