players take discounts to stay where they are happy all the time. I don't see how that's odd. Guddy is definitely a 3rd pair defenseman, him taking a deal to stay with a coach that he likes and a team he meshes with is not something suspicious I could definitely see a 3 year deal with a NTC

Again - taking a discount/offering the hometown discount/whatever you wanna call it should still have Gudbranson getting a raise over his $1.95M cap hit, not dropping down to $1.5M. A discount means settling for $2.7M AAV instead of pushing for $3M+ and getting that NTC. I'd be shocked if he's not making $1M more AAV than Mayfield when the puck drops on opening night.

I disagree with that. A discount is taking below what he was paid this year to get term. He isn't going to get more than 2M in Calgary

I mean, dude is gonna walk then. As much as I'm sure he wants stability in his life, asking him to take a pay cut after arguably his best season in the NHL is gonna have him looking for a new home.

Does this take place in a world with no CAP? You're in the hole by 6M

Maybe, but i doubt it. His success was because of playing for Calgary. How is him taking a below market value deal any different from Clutterbuck for example here?

Seriously?? There are three trades where Calgary is giving nothing obviously it's not cap compliant. It's also a 24 man roster and there are 8 D staring if we'd really like to nit pick.

Apples and oranges. Clutterbuck turns 35 early next season and is coming off of a season-ending shoulder injury (that he suffered *before* he signed the extension.) He's a 4th liner and occasional penalty killer that hasn't played more than 14 minutes a night (or broken 25 points) in a *decade*. Guys like that are not $3.75M deals in UFA - you only need to look at last summer to see that the only forwards 34 or older that signed deals higher than the $1.75M he signed for were Alex Ovechkin & Paul Statsny - not exactly strong comps for him. When you pick through list looking for bottom 6 guys with the same age, you get Ryan Reaves' $1.75M extension - so Cal more or less maximized what he could potentially get as a 4th line grinder coming off a major injury.

Gudbranson is 30 and is someone you should sign to be your 4th/5th best defensemen - a guy that will do well on the bottom pair/PK and can occasionally fill in further up the depth chart without ruining you. 32 year old Ian Cole, similar profile, signed for $2.9M last summer. David Savard was 30 and coming off 6 points in 54 GP and a good playoff run and turned that into 4x$3.5M. Hell, even Travis Hamonic got 2x$3M with a partial NTC from Vancouver last summer after putting up worse numbers than Gudbranson did. I think $3M is basically the benchmark a guy like him gets in UFA, and signing for $2.5MAAV is the hometown discount. Offer him anything below his current salary on an extension and I'm extremely confident that he walks.

Ah I see now. You consider Gudbranson a #4. This where things get confusing. No he is most certainly a 3rd lair defenseman that kills penalties and hits.

You also keep choosing players that signed with new teams on for the most part 1 year deals as your examples. i already said he can get a higher 1 year cap hit elsewhere. What about Hakanpaa? Age 30, played every game last year in a similar role. Signed a 1.5Mx3 deal.

Lemme quote myself real quick:



Literally calling him a bottom pair guy who kills penalties and can slide up in a pinch. Not a top 4 guy.

And Hakanpaa's deal isn't a terrible comp except for the fact that 3x$1.5M was still a raise for him - he was coming off 1x$750K in 2020-21.

Ok what about Braun? Went from 3M a year to 1.8 to stay with Philly. Bortuzzo with STL also took a cheap deal to stay there