[Signing] Panthers sign Bobrovsky (7 yrs, $10 mil AAV)

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Uh, have you seen the record of the Blue Jackets? Better over the last few seasons for sure, but historically mediocre as well.

There are some holes to fill for the Panthers, but there is a solid core of players that were undercut last year by bad defensive systems and below average goaltending. They replaced the poor defensive systems of Boughner with Quenneville. That alone should improve the team's defensive structure, so Bobrovsky doesn't have to be a Vezina player, just in the top half of the league, preferably top 10.

And yeah, I think last year is probably Skinner's career year. I think expecting 30 goals and 60-70 points is a fair expectation for him going forward, but much more than that on a regular basis is not very likely. Paying him like an elite forward is going to be a problem.

Skinner is the 14th highest paid forward in the league at this moment -- but will slip further down the list after Panarin, Marner, Aho, Rantanen, and Laine get deals at more/similar money. So you're counting on him to be a top 20 goal scorer at the very least, which I think is reasonable.

Bobrovsky will be the number two highest paid goalie in the league, only a hair behind Carey Price (whose contract also looks bad). You're counting on him to be the best, or near-best goalie in the NHL, every year, until he's 37.

[dustygoon]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

What do you think is more likely:

Skinner continues to score 30-40 goals through his late 20's playing alongside one of the best young centers in the league (whose own stats have only got better every year).

Or:

Bobrovsky delivers consistent Vezina-calibre play through his 30's on a new team that is historically mediocre.

I know what I'd bet on...

I like how you have essentially gone from "Skinner is a sensible signing that needed to happen" to "at least he isn't as bad as Bob". Skinner is a terrible contract.

[Erick Estrada]

I have to wonder if they were bidding against themselves here. What other team was that interested in him to give him seven years at that kind of money? This is full price for full term for a player that supposedly wanted to be there. I just think NHL GM's aren't very good at bargaining with agents.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I have to wonder if they were bidding against themselves here. What other team was that interested in him? I just think NHL GM's aren't very good at bargaining with agents.

Islanders were reportedly after him.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

And yeah, I think last year is probably Skinner's career year. I think expecting 30 goals and 60-70 points is a fair expectation for him going forward

If he does do that consistently then his contract won't be bad at all. I think the issue is if he's a 25-30ish guy as he gets older. That's the risk there.

Neither of these contracts is good though. Goalie Bob would need his next 7 years to be as good as his last 7 years (2 years league average, one bad year, two years top ten level, two years elite level) for this to be a fair price. I don't think that's particularly likely. I mean Carey Price's deal was a bad idea and Bobrovsky isn't Carey Price.

They'll make the playoffs for a couple of years I'm sure, but objectively this isn't a good signing.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Skinner is the 14th highest paid forward in the league at this moment -- but will slip further down the list after Panarin, Marner, Aho, Rantanen, and Laine get deals at more/similar money. So you're counting on him to be a top 20 goal scorer at the very least, which I think is reasonable.

Bobrovsky will be the number two highest paid goalie in the league, only a hair behind Carey Price (whose contract also looks bad). You're counting on him to be the best, or near-best goalie in the NHL, every year, until he's 37.

In the last 9 seasons he's been in the top 20 for goal scoring just 3 years. Most of the time he's outside the top 50, so it's not like he's consistently one of the best goal scorers in the league. Not to mention his production has fluctuated quite a bit from year to year and he's never been in the positive on the plus/minus except for his rookie year. He's one dimensional and not even the best at that dimension. Other players that you pay that kind of money often bring more than one skill to a team.

Also, if you can say that Skinner's contract will look better after other UFAs get their deals, can I not do the same with Bobrovsky? I won't though, because it's a weak argument. I know we're paying him a lot of money. I'm not thrilled with it, but it was necessary. I think he'll give pretty good value over the course of the deal, but like all UFA contracts, it won't look very good at some point in the future.

[transplant99]

The issue with this deal, as it usually is in UFA, is not the $$$ but the term.

This is going to be a disaster in 3 or 4 years.

[Locke]

I could see this contract 'DiPietro-ing' sooner rather than later.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Islanders were reportedly after him.

Yeah but they are playing hardball with Lehner so hard to imagine them offering this contract. I think this goaltender is okay but I can't believe he got all those years and all that money when the market was pretty soft with teams cash strapped or not in the market for goaltenders. I still don't understand why Dale Tallon is a GM in this league.

[agulati]

That’s a pretty big number, but not unexpected.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Skinner is the 14th highest paid forward in the league at this moment -- but will slip further down the list after Panarin, Marner, Aho, Rantanen, and Laine get deals at more/similar money. So you're counting on him to be a top 20 goal scorer at the very least, which I think is reasonable.

Where did he rank in points again? 63rd out of all forwards?

Really solid all around contributor. 9 million worth for sure just to pot Eichel passes into the net.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

It's really hard to say how the future will play out. Right now there are a bunch of mega deals being handed out, but given that the cap is not going up the way one might have predicted a couple of years ago, that might change.

I just don't get the notion that Skinner should be paid like a top 20 player in the league because he's going to play with Eichel and have Eichel bounce pucks off of him into the net. Why pay another guy a bunch of money for Eichel's talent? A guy's only worth a big payday if he's worth that on his own merits. Sure, you might give him a little bump for chemistry, but not millions of dollars worth, particularly not after only one season...

[codynw]

How does a 30 year old goalie that just had his worst season in 4 years get this contract? Ouch.

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Also, if you can say that Skinner's contract will look better after other UFAs get their deals, can I not do the same with Bobrovsky? I won't though, because it's a weak argument.

Yes, you can. Please feel free to update us on all the goalies that sign for $10million or more in the next few weeks and we'll add that for comparison.

[Dajazz]

Wow... this is Lucic levels of bad.

[transplant99]

Yeah the more you look at this deal the worse it gets.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Dajazz

Wow... this is Lucic levels of bad.

Woah, woah, woah....let's not say things we can't take back.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Woah, woah, woah....let's not say things we can't take back.

Its not a good contract no matter how you slice it.

he will probably be fine for the first 2 - 4 years, after that though it gets really dicey.

Look what just happened with Luongo for likely results.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Its not a good contract no matter how you slice it.

he will probably be fine for the first 2 - 4 years, after that though it gets really dicey.

Look what just happened with Luongo for likely results.

Luongo was a very good goalie up until last year when he was 39 and multiple hip and knee injuries with associated surgeries stopped his physical abilities. Lundqvist is still playing at a very high level. The elite goalies in the league can play for a very long time.

I am less certain that this is going to be a horrible deal for the entire term. Get past 35 and you might have some problems, but I think this is more wishful thinking on the part of everyone else rather than based on fact.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Luongo was a very good goalie up until last year when he was 39 and multiple hip and knee injuries with associated surgeries stopped his physical abilities. Lundqvist is still playing at a very high level. The elite goalies in the league can play for a very long time.

I am less certain that this is going to be a horrible deal for the entire term. Get past 35 and you might have some problems, but I think this is more wishful thinking on the part of everyone else rather than based on fact.

Why would I be wishing this is a bad deal? I dont have a dog in the fight, Im looking at things comparison wise to the rest of the league.

Answer these...is Bobrovsky the 2nd best G in hockey?

Is Carey Price providing good value in Montreal?

as has been discussed lots...goalies are voodoo. all of them. Committing this kind of term to a guy at an AAV that makes him among the 10 highest players in the entire league is simply asinine.