He won’t be worth it for Y1 and maybe Y2 but by the end, the value in his prime will more than offset that.
He is only getting 2.5 and 3.5 mil in the first 2 years. Definitely a fair contract and worth the price. If you just look at the cap hit them maybe it is overpay but for his prime 6 years, this is a solid deal.
It was publicly announced by the Ottawa Senators. I think this may have more to do with it being reviewed and confirmed by the NHL offices. Friday before a long weekend, I guess everyone left early or took the day off.
Excellent question. Bridge contracts are great for players who don't think they've reached their full potential yet and teams who are afraid that maybe they never will. But I think what's happened is that teams have realized that to be competitive under the cap, they need to have some underpaid players on the team. One way to do that is to predict who's going to get better and lock him up long term before he does. That could benefit the player too, because players only get one career and there's a lot of things that could go wrong along the way. If a player signs a 7 or 8 year contract, even if he gets bought out he'll end up with more money than if he has a career ending injury or regresses while he's on a bridge deal. The security of a long term deal now might seem more appealing than a chance to earn a couple million more a few years down the road.