What will Giordano's next contract be?

[saillias]

I'm really not sure what to think about the Gio extension. It's one thing to sign a guy in free-agency and have him not live up to that contract, that happens often. But what if the decline of that player happens a full season before his big contract even kicks in? I'm not sure there's precedence for that. Gio could be eating up 8 mil cap hit when the last time he played at an elite level was a full year before that contract even began... I don't like the sound of that. Maybe you hold off, negotiate during the season. Not sure why the rush to extend July 1st.

[dying4acup]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

$8M per year would make Giordano the second highest paid defenceman in the league ahead of such players as Weber, Suter, Doughty, Karlsson and Chara. For me there are two things that will limit his salary. His age and his lack of history as a top defenceman. You could also throw in his injury time during the last couple of years where he's shined. I see something between $5 and $7M for maybe 5 years seems reasonable otherwise we could end up with a situation resembling Brian Campbell's.

http://www.spotrac.com/nhl/rankings/defenseman/

Disagree.

He would not be the the 2nd highest paid(in actual salary or total contract). He (might) have the 2nd highest cap hit.

If that is the case, he would likely only be the 2nd highest cap hit for 1year, as Seabrook, and others will likely surpass within a year.

Gio will have to have a high cap hit because of his age, as they can't ammortize this contract over a huge term, and they likely don't wat to go past 5-6yrs with this deal.

[dying4acup]

Originally Posted by saillias

I'm really not sure what to think about the Gio extension. It's one thing to sign a guy in free-agency and have him not live up to that contract, that happens often. But what if the decline of that player happens a full season before his big contract even kicks in? I'm not sure there's precedence for that. Gio could be eating up 8 mil cap hit when the last time he played at an elite level was a full year before that contract even began... I don't like the sound of that. Maybe you hold off, negotiate during the season. Not sure why the rush to extend July 1st.

I'd rather deal with the devil that I know, than the devil I don't know.

Meaning that I know what Gio is, his commitment, his fitness, his leadership, etc.

If I'm wrong, I trust the Flames management is not.

Out of curiousity, does anybody have another candidate for captain?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

$8M per year would make Giordano the second highest paid defenceman in the league ahead of such players as Weber, Suter, Doughty, Karlsson and Chara. For me there are two things that will limit his salary. His age and his lack of history as a top defenceman. You could also throw in his injury time during the last couple of years where he's shined. I see something between $5 and $7M for maybe 5 years seems reasonable otherwise we could end up with a situation resembling Brian Campbell's.

http://www.spotrac.com/nhl/rankings/defenseman/

The only one of those contracts that's really comparable is Chara's.

Weber and Suter both signed long-term front-loaded deals to bring their cap hits down. If Gio signs a five-year deal, over the length of that deal (from 2016-17 through 2020-21), Weber will make $42 million ($8.4M AAV) and Suter will make $44 million ($8.8M AAV).

Doughty and Karlsson's were both signed coming off their ELCs and each covered 4 seasons where the player was only eligible for restricted free agency. By their nature, those types of contracts tend to be lower value because the team is taking a higher risk that the player doesn't reach his full potential.


Chara's is very comparable to Gio's. Chara signed his extension a year before his previous contract expired (like Gio will), but Chara was a year and a half older at the start of his deal than Gio will be when his contract begins. He also signed a 7 year deal that expires when he is 41 years old. On the other hand, he had been Boston's captain longer than Gio has been the Flames' captain, and he had appeared in multiple All-Star Games and been a multi-time Norris Trophy finalist (with one win) prior to signing his deal.

Chara's cap hit on the contract is $6.917M (it would be $7.3M if it just covered the first five years). When he signed the deal, the current team cap was $59.4M. His contract is 11.6% of the current cap when he signed.

It's projected that next year's cap will be between $71M and $73M. To sign an equivalent contract to Chara's, Gio's cap hit would have to be between $8.25M and $8.5M over 7 seasons, back-diving in the later years.


Weighing all of those factors, a five-year deal with a cap hit around $8M is in the same ballpark as Chara's deal, relatively speaking.

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by dying4acup

I'd rather deal with the devil that I know, than the devil I don't know.

Meaning that I know what Gio is, his commitment, his fitness, his leadership, etc.

If I'm wrong, I trust the Flames management is not.

Out of curiousity, does anybody have another candidate for captain?

Not that I'd want anyone other than Gio, but Russell would make a great captain. Maybe Monahan in a few years.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

It's too bad you can't add money to his current contract. I would rather pay him 14 million this coming season to get the next 5 years for 30 million.

I just can't move off 5 years and 7 million AAV for his 33 to 37 year old years. I just can't see him playing at the same level after next year as he has the past two seasons. You have to be careful with players this age. Look at 33 year old Iginla vs 35 year old Iginla and than against the 31 year old. I can't help but think try as he might Giordano won't elude father time. He's a heart and soul type guy and won't be the same if he can't sacrifice his body like he currently does. So at that point how much is the leadership worth? I still think it's valuable, but 7.5 for a guy who could be your #4? :

I also really worry about him declining steeply at 35 the way he plays the game. He already has issues playing a full season and I can only see that getting worse. If he has to have a five year deal it would have to be $6 million average or less to make sense if I was GM as I don't believe in tying up players past 35 years old.

[Yoho]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I also really worry about him declining steeply at 35 the way he plays the game. He already has issues playing a full season and I can only see that getting worse. If he has to have a five year deal it would have to be $6 million average or less to make sense if I was GM as I don't believe in tying up players past 35 years old.

If you look at what Norris trophy candidates make, there is no way Gio signs for 6 mil average in a 5 year contract. Might be tough to get that avg. for a 7 year deal. The cap hit is going to hurt, there will be risk involved, and there are very little ways around it..