Joined: Jul. 2018
Posts: 349
Likes: 246
This is a good deal all around. Chabot may not have a ton of NHL experience under his belt, but he has had very significant stretches where he has looked like this level of player or better, and this contract buys all of his prime years. That seems like a very smart bet.
Ekblad got a deal that was bigger than this (in cap hit percentage), that was completely a bet on his development, he never had any stretches where he really looked like a top tier #1 D, and still hasn't. Provorov hasn't really shown as much either, and his deal is very comparable when you factor in the extra two years UFA years purchased.
The bet has some potential to not work out, but he gets another full year of development and the cap rising before this deal even kicks in, so that likely increases the chances this deal becomes worth it, even if Chabot can't live up to the potential he showed in the first half of last year.
Aside from the buying of future years, it's important to see Ottawa sending a message that they are investing dollars now into the future. Both this, and the Colin White deal cost real money now, but are extremely likely to be value deals by the time this team is competitive, allowing them to spend to supplement their stars. Obviously there is a long way to go, but after the year they had last year, it's important to show that they do have at least some vision and optimism for the future.