Even though this puts him closer to UFA when the deal is done, I like the shorter term deals from a management perspective.
With the speed of the game these days, there is always so much risk involved in long term contracts. Either the players game slows down and they perform below their contract or they get injured and make fielding a competitive team more difficult. Rarely are players outperforming their contracts by the end of it.
Hockey is starting to become a young mans game and most players are having shorter careers like the NFL. I wouldn't be surprised to see Werenski get another 1-3 year deal after this one and be finished.
It probably would have been in his best interest to sign an 8 year deal instead of gambling on himself 3 years from now.
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