Quoting: Claesson4Norris
Three years seems like a lot for a guy who hasn't even played 20 NHL games.
Obviously it's a great deal if he's even a league average backup, but it seems silly is all.
I agree that it feels weird, but at the end of the day, the extra years at $1M carry some very good potential upside, with almost no risk. You can burry up to $950k in the AHL, so if it doesn't pan out, he's on a one way deal where he gets too much cash, but he isn't hurting the cap.
If he is a better than average back up, or even a starter before the end, it's a ton of flexibility in the salary cap having only $1M committed to a goalie, so I like the deal overall.
It seems to be getting harder and harder to get good value deals on young players who are stars, so looking for ways to manage the future cap by spending cash without typing up a ton of cap space is going to become an important tool for a lot of GMs.
Finding guys who could be NHL calibre help going forward for $1M is ideal for cap strapped teams, so signing those guys who are probably happy to just have a 1-way deal for an extra couple of years is a great way to reward a good young player (even if he doesn't make it he gets paid significantly more than a 2-way deal), while potentially having an absolute steal on your roster if they develop well.