The league seems to be going in a bleak direction due to the increasing salary cap and the rise of young players to stardom. This trend is mainly circulating around developing teams in small and big markets but presenting an emphasis specifically around teams that are undergoing a prolonged rebuild. With the Chicago Blackhawks tossing and turning between taking that next step towards contention, extending a forward that has had one semi-full year in the NHL seems to be perplexing to say the least.
When the Los Angeles Kings signed defender Cody Ceci to a four-year contract this offseason, fans around the league were quick to question what the Kings' front office was thinking. He has played some big minutes previously as he has bounced around the league and has a ton of experience, but there is one issue with all of that: he isn't a good defender.
This week, the NHL community saw two young and promising defensemen get paid akin to the NHL elite. But a common issue in this development will be determining if these players are really worth the 9-million-dollar AAV that they have been bestowed by their teams' general managers. While only time will tell if their contracts will age like milk or wine, let's set the stage and examine the current stories of these young men.
The 35-year-old from Prague, CZE, signed a three-year, $12,000,000 AAV contract with a cap hit of $4,000,000 per season in 2023. His deal runs until the end of 2025-2026, when he will be an unrestricted free agent. $4,000,000 per season is a good price for a player with a strong defensive mindset and leadership qualities. As a veteran of the sport, three years is a perfect length as it's long enough for some stability but short enough that it minimises risk for the team.
Kirill Kaprizov's massive extension signed with the Minnesota Wild this week was the first major shoe to drop in the shifting NHL contract landscape. The NHL has been primed for a shift like this to occur. However, the flat-cap era brought about the pandemic uncertainty that delayed the inevitable. Not since the pre-pandemic contract negotiations, have contracts shown a propensity for such dynamic shifts.
