Yeah I'm a little surprised they didn't try to trade back either Lack or Ward with half retained salary. They're a budget minded team and could have dropped at least a Mil. They would have needed to up the pick, but...

I would say that this is an overpay for Darling. His numbers are sullied since he plays for some pretty good defense. For example, lets say that Michael Neuvirth was on the Blackhawks and the Hurricanes trading for him. I would assume, since Neuvirth plays for Chicago, that he would have gotten a similar deal since his numbers would have been skewed like Darlings.

However, being a Flyers fan, I can assure you that Neuvirth is not worth anything over 3 million AAV.

Now, the Hurricanes have some up and coming defenseman, so I am going to say that ppl like Barry Melrose and other non-religious NHL fans, will say that in about two or three years, Darling would be worth what he is getting. However, if the defense doesn't pan out, then Darling is going to look like a major overpay since he will have similar numbers to those of Michael Neuvirth.

Personally, I think that Darling was overpaid by about anywhere between 1million to 1.5million AAV. Mainly due to the fact that he has yet to see time as a starter and has yet to be on a team with a proven defense.