Quote:
Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm
Like when Iginla held out in '99 and only played 13 more seasons in Calgary
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Or when Jamie Benn held out in 2013 and went on to sign 5 and 8 year contracts.
And to pre-emptively respond to Gaudreauvertime, I would be happier signing Gaudreau to a 5x$5.75M contract now and then some huge $9.5M contract in the future compared to an 8x$8M contract now. I want those $2.25M in our back pocket now and I'm willing to accept the extra ~$1.5M in what would be years 6-8 of an 8 year deal.
I don't care if that buys zero years of UFA. That is not a disaster in my books. In 5 years Johnny will be 29, not 26 or 27 like normal non-NCAA UFAs. The next 5 years are his prime. Pay him as cheaply as possible for them then who cares if he walks.