Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken
I know some guys are banking on the cap going up in 2 years due to expansion, so I understand maybe eyeing that term as your best chance for another pay day. And maybe the flames have promised him and his agent a bonafide opportunity to play on line 2 this year, so maybe he sees a couple of big point seasons in his future...
...but if I was him I would've been looking at 3 year term for lower money to get me to free agency in hopes of capitalizing on Gaudreau and Giordano's deals being finished.
He's making 5.1 for the term of this deal. Were I him, I would've tried to get 2.1x3 for a total of 6.3 and unrestricted free agency at the end of the rainbow.
There is a lot of risk in how Bennett plays the game and I feel like guys like him should err more on the side of term rather than cash.
He's also exactly the kind of player who could cash in during a Free Agency bargaining period at 26 years old.
With how the deal is structured now, even if he has a couple of big seasons, the Flames don't look like they will have much flexibility in that 2 year time frame.
Now he's set up to compete with Dube and Valimaki for cap space with a year or so to go before major contracts are up.
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A couple thoughts
- The cap is expected to go up both by virtue of expansion but perhaps moreso due to a new TV deal
- Why would the Flames agree to a 3 year deal that takes him to UFA? They would have rather simply go to arbitration. I see that as the last thing the Flames would have agreed to. For all we know that's what Sam wanted but I don't see him having much leverage to get it.