Good deal, the Isles now have their 1c locked for years to come, to people saying he doesn't deserve it based off points, he's been playing under Trotz and with no true 1st liners as linemates, he'll be good

The talent is obviously there to do much more...

Given his point production he would've gotten less but a portion of this will be for carrying around 40 year old wingers.

thats definitely an expensive contract, but if Barzal can take that next step this may look good
thats the problem though, how will he develop in the new system?

The specificity of the 9.1 number is hilarious...Islanders are still taking shots at Taveras

for the first year it is a tad overpayment, but the term at that price with the expectation of a rising cap is a good long term deal.

Not good at all. I understand Trotz has harmed his point totals but man he's just not putting up the points you expect from a 1C. I wish the islanders and Barzal the best but this team is just getting older by the day.

Great deal for the isles idc what anyone says, I’m stoked

massive overpay for a very overrated player.

Should be a too soon to tell option in the poll. He could end up worth it, but right now he's more a 7m player than a 9m player.

At least they kept there 1c. He did have a PPG season before. Would you call him the face of the franchise?

No NMC/NTC is a bit out of ordinary.
I thought after last season this would have started with an 8....

He's 25. History tells us he's already hit his prime and is more likely to drop off than get better. Not saying that's the case, but he won't likely get better.

He’s not a elite player he’s good but not eliete player money

This will make the Stuetzle and Norris contracts look good in a couple years

bro he's had anders lee and jordan eberle on his wing and he still couldn't eclipse over a PPG since his rookie season. he's not worth this contract. vote no.

Don't think this is as big of an overpay as people are making it out to be...
The cap is rising and I think if Barzal can get back to being a point per game type guy, its a good deal.
If Barzal continues to be a 60 point guy every year then yes, its a big overpay.

The way I see it there are two possibilities:

1. Barzal flourishes under Lambert and puts up 75-85 points from here on out, making this a fair but still team friendly deal. As the cap rises, this deal ages fantastically.
2. Barzal remains a 60 ish point player and the Isles have a bad contract on their hands, but if Barzal does continue to stagnate like that the team will eventually have to rebuild, and by that point, who cares what his contract is?

This deal stayed south of 10m aav, which was really all I asked for. So not an awesome deal, but not bad either. And I do think it could grow into a bargain if Barzal continues to improve.

Overpaid by 1M or so. Take away his name value and reputation, and he's an 8M player.

Tkachuk is the closest comparable at 9.5M this off season, and he blows Barzal away. You can say Barzal is a C, Tkachuk is a winger, but Tkachuk is also a power forward, which makes him coveted. Fiala is another one that is pretty close in age and term, he signed for 7.875M and is the better player, he's just not a center.

Because the cap is going to go up to 100M within the next 4-5 years, I cannot see this contract ever being that bad. It still isn't a good value signing. If the situation was they had to overpay to keep the player, they probably made the right move. If that wasn't the situation, they got out negotiated.

He was PPG as a rookie. In the four seasons since, .8 PPG. He needs to reach a not insignificantly higher level to earn this AAV.

Anyone else realize that most of the down votes are coming from fans of other teams, who watch him play at most 2 or 3 times a year and are simply relying on the numbers to judge his ability? Most of them Leaf fans who think it's ok to play their "2C" 11 million dollars..lol..good lord. If you want talk about over pay, let's talk about the highest paid 2C in the league.

9.15 million for 8 years for a player of Barzals caliber is a great deal. Islanders fans know what I mean.

Im a big Barzal fan, but thats a lot of coin

I don't think I know enough about that bubble to make that call. I'm sure they'd like him to be.

if you thought that some of these other big contracts were good signings, after 3 year contracts instead of Barzal's 8 years in the league, well, I guess he's getting his.. And apparently with no signing bonuses, which means exposed to escrow, still.