Quoting: mondo
Because "prime years" is a very subjective term and varies from player to player. You can't just slap your catch-all statistic on top of their performance and act like the change in the number is a defined range for the term. If you took the chart at face value, you'd come to the conclusion that defenseman drop off after 23, which isn't really a reflection of a defenseman's career path. Weegar played his first NHL game at 23.
Saying "Most players peak between 24-31" isn't a scientific conclusion but instead a reflection to account for all the variables on what "prime years" would actually mean. A great portion of NHL prospects float around in the minors until 22-24. Most NHL athletes enter their peak physical condition in their late 20s. The mid to late 20s is when most quality NHL players are looking to make their "retire at 40" contracts so physiologically they're putting in more effort and commitment during these years. The exact year(s) a player will vary but in the majority of cases, it's going to happen in this age range.
Weegar is definitely going to decline during this contract, the 30s aren't very kind to a lot of defenseman as they start to lose footspeed, the physical toll of the game starts to show it's wear and lingering injury problems which weren't an issue when they were younger start to compound. Paying a defenseman through their 30s is always a risk, but I've believed Weegar is the sort of defenseman who, barring any major injury, would be able to translate his game so that he still has use and viability of his team.
"This same exact thing is said every time a player signs a deal like this." I don't see what's wrong with saying this. I can't go 8 years into the future to exactly predict how his career will turn out. Right now, he looks like the kind of player who can see out his deal in some form. Any of number of things could happen between now and then. You need to remember that this contract isn't one where they're expecting a 37 year old Weegar to help to get to a cup, they want the 28 through 32 year old Weegar to help them get there. The Flames have only so much cap room to allocate and if saving 2 or 3 million on his contract at the cost of an extra 2 or 3 years is what it takes to have a team to get them 16 wins in the playoffs, so be it.
That's literally what you did lol.
You just said they peak 24-31 & defenceman peak later without any data at all.
"If you took the chart at face value, you'd come to the conclusion that defenseman drop off after 23, which isn't really a reflection of a defenseman's career path."
What are you talking about? You'd come to the conclusion that there aren't many defenceman playing at 21-23 and the only guys playing are your top tier talents like Doughty/Karlsson/Makar/Heiskanen etc... There's a dropoff because most of your mid to late round picks debut at 24.
"I don't see what's wrong with saying this" because it's usually not true. The only defenceman that seem to be able to keep it up in their 30s are HOF talent guys. I wouldn't be surprised if Makar could be an exception. Weegar isn't that.
"37 year old Weegar to help to get to a cup, they want the 28 through 32 year old Weegar to help them get there. The Flames have only so much cap room to allocate and if saving 2 or 3 million on his contract at the cost of an extra 2 or 3 years is what it takes to have a team to get them 16 wins in the playoffs, so be it."
Because bloating your cap space with guys out of their prime isn't how you build a good team. That's how you become the Sharks/Preds. Making the playoffs every year but not sniffing the cup.