What do I think of Juraj Slafkovsky’s new contract? Same as Cole Caufield’s deal last summer.
Yes, $60 million for a player who only scored 60 points in the National League is huge. Very few active players have signed such a big contract at age 20. This contract is not only a calculated risk; it is a profession of faith.
Contracts signed at age 20 among active players
- Connor McDavid: 100 million/8 years
- Tim Stützle: 66.8 million/8 years
- Jack Hughes: 64 million/8 years
- Andrei Svechnikov: 62 million/8 years
- Juraj Slafkovsky: 60.8 million/8 years
Source: Spotrac. Other players, like Leon Draisaitl and Jack Eichel, also signed deals worth more than $60 million after their NHL entry-level contracts, but they were 21 years old.
So, who are the team’s most popular players? The ones that make you dream, get up from your seat and buy blue-white-red jerseys? The team’s three highest earners: Nick Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky. In an organization that has been looking for offensive leaders for 30 years, this profile is worth its weight in gold (plus a few tens of millions of American dollars).
The length of the deal was the subject of negotiations, revealed Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes. “Juraj loves playing here. The goal was always to see if we could [s’entendre] for a long-term contract, whether it’s eight years, seven years or even six years. We went back and forth a lot.”
That’s because each term has its pros and cons. For the Canadiens, the advantage of an eight-year contract is that it will delay by four seasons the moment when Slafkovsky benefits from his full autonomy. The disadvantage? Those four years of autonomy are expensive. The Canadiens will have to pay their young winger like a star player when he turns 21, rather than in his mid-20s.
Is this a good strategy?
It depends on the club’s situation.
Let’s look at the “second contracts” given to first-round draft forwards like Slafkovksy in the salary cap era.
In 2007-08, Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby went their separate ways. The Washington Capitals star signed a 13-year, $124 million deal. The Pittsburgh Penguins star signed a five-year, $43.5 million deal.
For the Penguins, it was a risky proposition. Crosby would be able to hit free agency sooner. On the other hand, his salary would be lower than if the deal had been spread out over 10 years. This gave the Penguins room to acquire quality veterans and sign other young players for the long term. In the first year of the contract, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup.
Patrick Kane and Steven Stamkos also signed five-year interim contracts, which gave their clubs budgetary room to maneuver. A gamble that paid off for the Chicago Blackhawks, who won two Cups during that agreement.
From John Tavares on, the deals got longer. The former first-round pick of the New York Islanders opted for a six-year deal. Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nathan MacKinnon and Nico Hischier? Seven years. Connor McDavid and Jack Hughes? Eight years. Of that group, only MacKinnon won the Cup. I should point out that his contract, worth $6.3 million per season, was highly advantageous for the Colorado Avalanche.
There are two names missing from the list of forwards drafted first overall: Nail Yakupov and Alexis Lafreniere. Since they were not yet established as stars, they preferred a two-year bridge contract. Lafreniere is paid only $2.3 million, an extraordinary bargain for the New York Rangers. Having a forward of that caliber, at such a low price, allowed them to invest elsewhere. Okay, they didn’t win the Stanley Cup. But they still finished the season ranked first overall.
And the Canadian, in all this?
His situation is different from that of the Rangers. When Slafkovsky’s contract begins, in 2025-26, the team will not yet be at its zenith.
The CH will not need the budgetary flexibility offered by a two- to five-year agreement. It is towards the end of the decade that things will get complicated.
That’s why it’s advantageous for the Canadiens to know their stars’ salaries now, and to know that at that point, each will account for less than 10% of the club’s payroll. Not to mention the fact that if Slafkovsky, Caufield and Suzuki had opted for bridge contracts, they could have benefited from their autonomy in their mid-twenties. The Canadiens could have lost them in the middle of their reconstruction. That happened in Detroit, with Tyler Bertuzzi.
So yes, 60 million for a 20-year-old player is huge. But it’s a fair price to pay for a first choice around which you want to rebuild your team.
This signing, announced on the opening day of the free agent market, overshadowed another piece of news: the Canadiens are unable to find reinforcements in attack for next season. It’s not for lack of trying. They notably tried to attract Jonathan Marchessault, but the two parties did not agree on the length of the contract.
At the time of writing, the Tricolore’s formation is roughly the same as the one that finished on 28e rank last season. True, Kirby Dach will return after playing just two games in the last 18 months. But then there’s the loss of Sean Monahan, one of the team’s top forwards until he was traded in February.
The Canadiens have ammunition to trade a defenseman for a forward. Kent Hughes isn’t closing the door. However, the summer market isn’t exactly to his advantage. If Jakob Chychrun was traded for Nick Jensen and a third-round pick, Hughes might be better off holding on to his marbles.
More bad news for the CH: several of its division rivals have acquired immediate reinforcements in recent days. As things stand, it will be difficult to be “in the mix” of the playoffs next winter.
Otherwise, elsewhere in the league, who are the winners and losers of the summer market?
THE WINNERS
Free agents
What is the impact of the salary cap increase? Huge. Last season, no unrestricted free agent was awarded a contract worth $30 million. Three hours after the market opened on Monday, eight unrestricted players had already surpassed that mark. We’re not just talking about superstars here. Matt Roy, Jake DeBrusk and Brett Pesce, among others, have never played in the All-Star Game. Even Joel Edmundson got royal treatment, taking $15 million from the Los Angeles Kings!
The Nashville Predators
PHOTO JULIA NIKHINSON, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brady Skjei
The Predators have never been offensive titans. Their record? 266 goals. That was last season, and they were well off the league lead, in 10th place. That’s about to change. They just signed two 40-goal scorers in Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. Both are recent Stanley Cup winners, and they’re known for their positive influence on their teammates. Plus, the Predators signed one of the most sought-after defensemen on the free-agent market, Brady Skjei, who is coming off the best offensive season of his career, with 47 points.
Boston Bruins
In 10 years, no team has scored more points in the standings than the Bruins. Their ambitions are clear: to stay in the top group for a long time. It’s a speech that pleases free agents. The Bears managed to attract to their den one of the best defensive centers in the NHL, Elias Lindholm, as well as two players with imposing physique, Nikita Zadorov and Max Jones. I’m not thrilled by the Linus Ullmark-Joonas Korpisalo trade, but it was necessary to respect the budget.
LOSERS
The Buffalo Sabres
Their rebuild has dragged on for 13 years. They just bought out Jeff Skinner, to free up some breathing room. Their biggest hire Monday? Jason Zucker, who had 10 fewer goals last season than Skinner. Disappointing.
The Carolina Hurricanes
The losses of Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Tevarainen, Stefan Noesen, Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce will hurt them.
The Colorado Avalanche
They’re so tight under the salary cap that I wonder if they’ll be able to start the season with a 23-man roster. As a result, they’ve had to settle for window shopping.