[Signing] Eichel signs 8 yr 80 million dollar extension

[GordonBlue]

I think Eichel is going to be a player worth every penny.
people are going to be surprised how well he plays, starting this year.
Highly talented, motivated player who is starting to have better players around him.

if he stays remotely healthy, he'll get 80 points this year no problem.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

You need to take an economics course, and learn about the law of supply and demand.

Athletes are worth what the market dictates they are worth.

In fact, it's only the salary cap system which artificially depresses the value of the top hockey players.

In a true free market system, McDavid would likely get $20M per season.

Not that we need to discuss it here, but salaries are also artificially raised through arena subsidies.

[TheKurgan]

I am really happy we locked up Monahan and Johnny before Edmonton messed up the market with McJesus and the German dudes contract.

[btimbit]

Auston Mathews has to be happy about this deal though

[Weitz]

Teams are starting to pay for the productive years as opposed to paying guys for years based on past production.

There is some risk, but its a risk you have to be willing to take.

[spuzzum]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

You need to take an economics course, and learn about the law of supply and demand.

Athletes are worth what the market dictates they are worth.

In fact, it's only the salary cap system which artificially depresses the value of the top hockey players.

In a true free market system, McDavid would likely get $20M per season.

I don't think the post is about supply and demand. It's about the world going crazy and that no athlete is entitled to make 20x what our PM makes a year.

A world wide multi year hard core economic depression would easily rectify this.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

If he repeats his last season surge? Every team in the league does and then they find a way to make him fit.

The guy was outscored by two centers after the All-Star break. McDavid and Backstrom. He doesn't even need to improve to be worth it, he just needs to be as good as he was since the start of 2017.

The only issue, in your scenario, is that it would be four first round picks because of the over 5 year contract rule (which they should have removed when they added contract length limits), and that's the only reason a team should be hesitant. To get an All-Star player in his absolute prime years for 2 first round picks? Steal of the century.

And again, as always people bringing up the 10M a year as though it hasn't been going on for the last decade. Here's some current salaries:

McDavid averages 12.5M a year
Crosby averages over 10.5M a year until he's 35.
Parise averages over 10M a year until he's 35.
Weber averages 11M a year until he's 35.
Suter averages 10M a year until he's 35.
Ovechkin, going forward, makes 10M a year now until he's 35. He signed his contract in 2008 with a cap-hit of 9.5M+.
Price makes 10.5M a year until he's 39.
Lundqvist makes over 10M a year until he's 35.
Kane and Toews make 10.5M a year.
Kopitar averages over 10M a year until he's 35.
Burns is making 10M a year until he's 35 and signed until he's 39.
Benn makes 9.5M a year.
Subban makes 9M a year despite signing while still an RFA.

And I highlighted in red for you the ones that are second contracts.

[Weitz]

The NHL might be the only league where people complain when the best players get paid. They need to be 'underpaid' and 'earn' their big contract or something.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Weitz

The NHL might be the only league where people complain when the best players get paid. They need to be 'underpaid' and 'earn' their big contract or something.

said the Oiler fan

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

said the Oiler fan

So no meaningful rebuttal?

I mean other leagues have minimum large contracts for their star players when they first enter the league. NHL is mandatory minimum. There are risks in all contracts sure. The NHL for years has been paying guys for the work they did in the past not what they will or what you think they will do during the contract. Its slowly changing and I think its for the best.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

The bridge contract has gone from standard operating procedure to the exception. Thanks Edmonton.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Teams are starting to pay for the productive years as opposed to paying guys for years based on past production.

There is some risk, but its a risk you have to be willing to take.

That's been the norm for a while now. Which I totally get and agree with. I'd much rather pay for a player as they reach their potential, then pay for something player x did in years past. But PPG be damned, Eichel has never broken 60 pts! To me that's an insane contract.

The Sabre's rebuild hasn't been going as planned and has had plenty more downs then the Flames' ever did. I can't help but feel that was part of the leverage Eichel's camp had. "Pay us big now and build around us, or risk losing us sooner and having the rebuild tread water". Buffalo really didn't have a choice IMO.

He'll be a great player though, of that I have no doubt.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by New Era

Seems like a gross overpayment for a guy who has never done anything of note. This is the worst contract extension we've seen in the league.

He's a point per game centre when he's healthy. One of the best young centres in the league. Perhaps you need to watch him more because your analysis seems a bit off.

You can thank the Oilers for the amount of his contract. He's definitely worth more than Draisaitl

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

And I highlighted in red for you the ones that are second contracts.

Actually you missed Ovechkin.

And when he signed his contract, the cap was 50.3M. His 9.5M cap hit was 19% of the ceiling. At today's cap, a 19% cap hit would be over 14M. Eichel's is modest in comparison.

Eichel's 10M, or 13% of the current cap is closer to Dustin Penner's offersheet contract (9% of the cap) than it is to Ovechkin's. When Iginla signed his first contract after the cap, he had an 18% hit.

It's a weird phenomenon when the inflation of the real-world dollars hasn't matched at all near the inflation of the cap, so I can understand the thought process, but it's just misguided. I can especially understand the confusion because of all the masked "10M contracts" that were lowered due to salary cap circumvention by attaching retirement years. But anyone who didn't think that Eichel wasn't going to get 10M or more if he signed for the full 8 years wasn't paying attention - either to Eichel himself or the salary cap.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Jeff Marek picking Eichel to win the Art Ross

[albertGQ]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Jeff Marek picking Eichel to win the Art Ross

I can see that. Just by reading this thread, he is vastly underrated.
It wasn't long ago when people were saying McDavid and Eichel were 1a and 1b at the draft.

[Knut]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

If he repeats his last season surge? Every team in the league does and then they find a way to make him fit.

The guy was outscored by two centers after the All-Star break. McDavid and Backstrom. He doesn't even need to improve to be worth it, he just needs to be as good as he was since the start of 2017.

The only issue, in your scenario, is that it would be four first round picks because of the over 5 year contract rule (which they should have removed when they added contract length limits), and that's the only reason a team should be hesitant. To get an All-Star player in his absolute prime years for 2 first round picks? Steal of the century.

And again, as always people bringing up the 10M a year as though it hasn't been going on for the last decade. Here's some current salaries:

McDavid averages 12.5M a year
Crosby averages over 10.5M a year until he's 35.
Parise averages over 10M a year until he's 35.
Weber averages 11M a year until he's 35.
Suter averages 10M a year until he's 35.
Ovechkin, going forward, makes 10M a year now until he's 35. He signed his contract in 2008 with a cap-hit of 9.5M+.
Price makes 10.5M a year until he's 39.
Lundqvist makes over 10M a year until he's 35.
Kane and Toews make 10.5M a year.
Kopitar averages over 10M a year until he's 35.
Burns is making 10M a year until he's 35 and signed until he's 39.
Benn makes 9.5M a year.
Subban makes 9M a year despite signing while still an RFA.

Alot of those deals are back Diving. So they make less during the duration of the contract. The Cap hits are lower. Parise and Suter are at 7.38. Ovechkin is 9.5. Weber is 7.85 .

Those make huge differences when talking about available cap space..

Eichel is a straight 10 M per season and 10M cap hit.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Hes

Alot of those deals are back Diving. So they make less during the duration of the contract. The Cap hits are lower. Parise and Suter are at 7.38. Ovechkin is 9.5. Weber is 7.85 ..

Those aren't backdiving. They are cap circumvention. Parise, Suter and Weber's contracts go until they are 40.

They will become allergic to their equipment at 36.

They fixed the contracts so they can't do that anymore, but we've seen numerous contracts where star players are getting 10M for their prime years. All of Eichel's years are in his prime.

[OutOfTheCube]

Eh, doesn't really bother me what you guys think when I'm sure most of you haven't watched a second of Sabres hockey the last two years and are just looking at the stat line and saying "57 points!! (in 61 games) -- this money is crazy!"

He's a dynamic, fast, powerful, game-breaking forward. A top center in the league at 20 years old. If he stays healthy, could easily be in the top 5 in scoring every year through the duration of this contract. This is the price of that type of player in 2017. Wait til you see what Matthews gets next year.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

Those aren't backdiving. They are cap circumvention. Parise, Suter and Weber's contracts go until they are 40.

They will become allergic to their equipment at 36.

They were within the rules that were established by the NHL at the time they were signed.

it's hard to find fault when the owners are that much smarter than the NHL who drew up the initial rules.

And it's not like it took a brain surgeon to figure out that extending the life of the contract would reduce the cap hit. My son initially joked about doing a 100 year contract with the last 90 years $1.00 during the first year of the cap.