perry_mvp

Just out of curiosity, would Solomon negotiate UFA signings as well? As far as the contract goes?

Well... Players can't renegotiate contracts. So a player can be paid for future production or a player can be paid for past production. So if you think Zegras will only be a 60 point player then pay him the exact contract as Terry. Just don't be surprised if he gets out of Anaheim as soon as he can.

Tkachuk also forced his way out of Calgary.

We don't know what we have with Carlsson yet. We don't know where he will be playing. Jack Hughes is smaller than Zegras. He seems to be doing fine. I would say that Draisaitl is a fine example of someone being underpaid. Do I believe that Zegras will pop off and put up Draisaitl numbers? Not really but whether he's a C or W I believe he could be a 90-100 point player in the next several seasons if this Cronin experiment works out.

Perry's second SPC $69M x 8yrs Getzlaf's second SPC $66M x 8yrs So it sounds pretty convenient to say to Zegras we don't have anyone better to play 1C now but in the future we might move you to wing so instead of paying you as a C now we'll pay you as a wing.

The Ducks would still be under the cap floor next season if Zegras got a $9M AAV and no, I don't think $9M is an overpay. Do you really want to play games when you have very little high end forward talent on the team? And nothing in the pipeline except a kid you just drafted? Yes, I do think it would sour the relationship. Other teams are committing to their young talent long term. I think Terry's contract is just right. With Zegras, I think your paying for more than just stats. If the Ducks don't want him, I'm sure there are 31 other teams that do.

I feel that's what happened with Comtois.

All I've seen from Verbeek if F-up after F-up since he took the job. Screw a bridge deal, sign him $9M x 8yrs. The cap is going up, money is coming off the books. Anaheim doesn't have any blue chip forward prospects in the pipeline besides Carlsson. All those guys that signed four years ago signed when the cap was lower. Lets get our young core locked up long term so the fanbase has some security knowing that the team will be a winner again.

The Sens are projected to have a little over $13M in cap space next season which includes the Sanderson extension. I believe the sale was finalized, it just had to be approved by the NHL board of governors.

That's never really going to be too much of an issue since Bettman works for the owners and the owners wanted a lockout in the first place.

I think in Boldy's case he left money on the table. Now a two year bridge would have been good for him because some the old contracts would have come off the books and opened up more money for him. Sorry, I thought he signed before the season. Hughes also left money on the table by signing early as well as Cozens. I guess we're completely apart on where we feel Zegras's worth is at so I'll just settle and say $9M (for this contract). The reason why I don't think he would want a bridge is because the next contract will put him into his early 30's. He might at best get a 3-4 year contract like Killorn. If he hits UFA status at 30 then he has a better chance of a longer contract at a higher AAV. I doubt it would be with the Ducks though. I think his end game would be playing for the Rangers. That contract could be longer and have a higher AAV than a $7M x 3yr bridge deal now.

First off, none of them signed a bridge deal which is what you suggested. Second if Verbeek needs to know if he's the best player on the team and doesn't know by now, what has he been watching. All the players you listed either signed their extensions before their 2022-2023 seasons or midway through the 2022-20223 season except for Caufield who signed in June. Caufield- $7.85M after a 36 point season Boldy-$7M after a 39 point season Cozens-$7.1M during a 68 point season (should have waited until after the season) Hughes-$8M during a 56 point season Stutzle-$8.35 after a 58 point season Zegras just had a 65 point season. He's also a center which should up his value. I think I said $9M x 8yr. I also said that maybe Zegras should go for a contract that takes him to UFA status the quickest. Either way, Zegras has shown that he's worth more than the others you listed at the time they signed their contracts.

Why would would you want to play hard ball though. How many top end young talented forwards do the Ducks have that need now or will need a contract in the future? Zegras, McTavish and Carlsson (if he pans out). That's it. That's where you put the money.

Do you think Zegras will decline? If Verbeek signs him today $9.5M x 8yr that money is already taken care of because Silf and Henrique come of the books next season. If you want to wait around and see if Zegras is worth it then you might have a player that just wants to get to free agency asap.

Sure but was Eaves the best way to use that pick? It was pretty well known that he was injury prone. Yes, Chicago eventually got that 29th OA pick and selected Jokiharju. He was traded to Buffalo for Alex Nylander. He was traded to Pittsburgh for Sam Lafferty. He was traded recently to Toronto in a package where Chicago gets a 2025 1st round pick. So two teams that didn't really lose out on that trade were Chicago and Dallas. Anaheim got a grand total of 36 games including playoffs out of Eaves. We really don't know who Anaheim may have been scouting before that trade. Maybe it Jokiharju or maybe it was someone else.

The last time Anaheim traded a 1st for a player was 2017. We got Patrick Eaves, Dallas eventually got Jake Oettinger. I would say hands down we lost that one. So Anaheim gave up the first rounder for broke down player and picked Comtois 50th OA in the second. He eventually became Eakins whipping boy. Nothing positive came out of that failed draft. Also Eaves only played 7 games during that playoff run.

My point was those two have been making over $11M together for the past five season and haven't even sniffed a 60+ point season individually. So paying Zegras a $9+M contract now for his future production is a good move. Put it this way: if Zegras gets a dead on $9M per, next seasons cap space will be $34M. Verbeek could go fishing in the UFA market and land maybe one maybe two decent forwards to make up Henrique and Silf. Off season after that he has to sign McTavish. All the while the cap is naturally going up. Paying for past production is just going to go the way of the dinosaur. Paying for future production is the new trend. GM's that are stuck in the past wont have success.

Why was he overpaid? I don't know that much about Ottawa's defensive core but Chabot signed an $8Mx8yr contract when he was young and have now signed their next young defenseman to a similar contract. Ottawa must not have much down the pipeline like Anaheim does. That's why they can afford it.

Let me ask you a serious question: If you had the choice of keeping (1) Zegras or keeping (2)Henrique and Silverberg which would you prefer? Option one or option two?

We can go back to the Verbeek thread for that then...LOL

That's a really dumb move then. Losing Zegras because you didn't want to pay him in a long term contract despite the cap going up and old contracts coming off the books is a really good way to sink your team.

I've tried to make the point before that the Ducks will have tons of cap space with all the contracts coming off the books and with the cap increasing. As far as the cap increasing, I don't believe it will stay stagnant at $92M which CapFriendly has it at in two years. The big market teams want more. So it will keep increasing. Terry's contract will be eventually viewed as a bargain. I think Verbeek might be to old school to understand that the trend now is to pay for the future, not the past and that's why Zegras isn't signed and may eventually walk.

I think you can ascertain that unless there is global nuclear war, McTavish, Carlsson and Mintyukov at a minimum will also be on the team. If Verbeek goes the two year bridge route with Zegras, he will also be dealing with McTavish in the same off season. Also if he goes two year bridge with Drysdale now, add that into the mix. McTavish and Carlsson could be commanding just as much as what you think Zegras is wanting right now. As far as Terry goes, don't forget that he doesn't have trade protection in the first two years of his contract. There is always the chance he will not be here in five years.

We don't know what kind of impact on his offensive game Cronin will have. He might do better, he might do worse. He might be moved to wing to give Carlsson a shot at at #1C. From his perspective he could just be looking to get to UFA status the quickest way. Then he would have a whole league of suitors. He could sacrifice some $$ now to get a bigger payday down the road. A team like the Rangers I think would pay him $11M+, would Anaheim? I think not.

To look at it from a different angle, what if Zegras is looking for a contract length that takes him to free agency? That's what, a 5 or 6 year deal? Say he "settles" for $7M-$7.5M for the AAV. If He wants to bolt and go to the Rangers then I'm pretty sure they will pay him more than whatever Anaheim will offer on the next contract. He'll still be in his 20's although late 20's but I imagine he would get an AAV in between what Zibanejad and Panarin are making now.