I have a few thoughts/things to consider, prefaced by saying I have no strong feelings about this signing whatsoever:
-In a vacuum, is Deryk Engelland the hockey player worth 2.9 million for 3 years? No, and I don't think anyone will argue that he is.
-So, why did he receive this contract from the Flames? Why did he receive this contract at all? Rumors of 10 teams interested in his services was a bit of a surprise for me at first. It becomes more understandable when you consider the lack of competent right-shot (especially physical) defensemen on the market this year. It's not like Treliving reached out to Engelland's agent and said "We want this player, and here's almost 3 million to get it done". Competition drove up the price.
-So why not back out when the price got past the point of reasonable value? This will likely be debated the course of Deryk's stay in Calgary. Emphasis on size? Purely positional need? Locker room presence? Development time for younger players? Physical protection of other players? No other reasonable alternatives who would consider playing for the Flames who met some of the same criteria? I'm sure it was a combination of factors leading a (likely) group decision that it was an overpayment worth making.
-At the end of the day, this signing shouldn't hurt the team's long term plan. Will it come up as a discussion point for future contracts of other defensemen? Potentially, but other precedents have been set (Gio @4, Brodie at 2.1, Russell at 2.6) as well. If our management team believe an obvious overpayment of a physical, stand-up-for-his-teammates #6 defenseman/4th line winger helps protect our young players (whether physically, emotionally or from being rushed to the NHL) then so be it. Nothing worth getting upset over.
-I wish the best to Deryk Engelland as a Flame and hope he repays the organization for their generosity with a strong performance over the next few years!
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