Joined: Jul. 2021
Posts: 1,038
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I’m a little surprised by this, especially since it took so long. I was beginning to think he might have to sign a 1-year deal like Klingberg and try again for the big payday next year.
I like the AAV because it doesn’t assume he’ll be able to reproduce what he did last season, but 7 years for a physical forward who’ll be 32 by the beginning of the first season is 2 or 3 years too long. On the other hand, the longer term is likely what made him willing to accept a lower cap hit, which helps the team be more competitive in the early years of the contract. Clearly the next few years are Calgary’s priority, and they’ll worry about what happens after that when they get there, so from that perspective this signing makes sense.
I suspect this contract was negotiated some time ago, but they couldn’t finalize it until Calgary could clear cap space, which they were suddenly able to do when Montreal found out Price would be out for the season.