Quote:
Originally Posted by 1991 Canadian
It's player age based. In theory, I'd rather be early with signing younger players that are expected to get better. With vets, they can drop off quickly.
I like the Backlund extension and I'd be good with a Lomberg extension as well. Neither will harm the team. Frankly, if the prospects can't outwork Lomberg to earn a spot, they don't deserve it. But you can get into cap trouble with these kinds of moves.
I hate using this example because I like the player, but Stajan's last contract with the Flames is a perfect example of this. He signed "early" in the January 2014, in the midst of a very good .5 ppg year. The end result is the Flames were overpaying their 4th line centre 3 million for the next 4 years. An extra million or two of cap space could have made a difference in that era.
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Young players typically don't want to sign early, though, because why would they? They think they'll be better the following season, which means their price goes up.
Wolf is the exception, not the rule.