Thomas Chabot will have been a pioneer.
Posted at 10:33 a.m.
When he signed his eight-year, $64 million contract extension in Ottawa in September 2019, the Senators’ future looked bleak.
Some even found him reckless to make a long-term commitment to the team, despite the golden bridge received, due to the massive exile of the club’s stars.
Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman had been traded in the previous year. Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel had preferred to enjoy their full autonomy a few months earlier.
The Quebec defender was still young, at 21, when he signed his famous contract, but the reconstruction promised to be long and there was no guarantee that the new members of the new Senators foundation would imitate him.
Chabot, the undisputed number one defenseman for the Senators, is in much better company today. Tim Stützle, 20, signed an eight-year contract extension for more than $66 million on Wednesday after producing a magnificent 58 points in 79 games. The young German will be under contract until 2031.
He imitated the center Josh Norris, 23, rich since June of an eight-year contract for 63 million. Before him, in October 2021, Brady Tkachuk, 22, signed a seven-year deal for 57 million after leaving the Senators to languish a little.
Beyond the spectacular acquisitions of Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat this summer, Dorion’s achievement lies in his ability to retain four young players essential to the Senators’ recovery over the long term. The four, Chabot, Tkachuk, Norris and Stützle all signed before they turned 24 and none will earn more than $8.5 million a year.
Too many generous managers find themselves stuck with aging overpaid players because their value has been established on their past success.
Dorion prefers to bet on the probabilities of seeing his young players increase their production over the years. There is always a certain risk factor, but the chances of seeing a talented youngster progress are greater than those of seeing a veteran maintain the same pace after 33 years.
Among all the players aged 26 or under earning more than 9 million annually, which one represents a burden for his team: Kiril Kaprizov? Cale Makar? Mikko Rantanen? Brayden Point? Charlie McAvoy? Adam Fox? Matthew Tkachuk? Zack Werensky? Jack Eichel? Alexander Barkov? Mitch Marner? Auston Matthews? Connor McDavid?
Thirties? Artemi Panarin, Erik Karlsson, John Tavares, Drew Doughty, Carey Price, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Anze Kopitar, Sergei Bobrovsky, Tyler Seguin, Mark Stone, Jamie Benn, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Roman Backstrom, Jeff Skinner. We can easily identify six or seven of them.
Signing a long-term player sooner rather than later has its advantages. Sidney Crosby and Leon Draisaitl each receive 8.5 million annually, Victor Hedman, 7.8 million, is paid less than 16 defenders.
Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Marchand are the bargains of the NHL, at 6.3 million and 6.1 million annually, a few hundred thousand dollars less than… Brendan Gallagher.
The Senators’ foundation is solid. And once again, the repechage is everything. What if Ottawa had preferred Filip Zadina or Barrett Hayton to Tkachuk in 2018? What if Los Angeles had surprised by drafting Stützle in place of Quinton Byfield in 2020? Would Dorion have felt obligatory to choose Byfield, a consensual top three?
The Senators are on the right track. It’s about not skipping steps and avoiding promising the moon too quickly.
A goalkeeper of the future under contract for three years
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Cayden Primeau
Kent Hughes just made a brilliant signing on Thursday morning. You have 22-year-old Cayden Primeau, a chaotic two-year-old but brilliant in the American League playoffs. Carey Price will most likely be condemned to give up his career. By offering Primeau a guaranteed contract from the NHL for three years, but at a salary of less than a million, Hughes retains in his organization promising for several years, without affecting his financial stability. Salaries of $950,000 are usually offered to rookies or lowly fourth-line players. Cédric Paquette received this salary last year. He played 24 games, got two assists. A risk that is worth the candle in the case of Primeau.