It's a good deal, but next year it going to be tough. They are down to $12.5 million (assuming a $4 million salary cap increase) and they need to sign at least 5 players.

The year after that... oh boy, it's buying season.

If you had read the remaining conversation you would have noticed I've stated as such already, and you had me agreeing with you up until this point...

*I doubt Hartman clips Copp/Compher territory given he'll be 30 when the contract kicks in and doesn't play any PK. Compher was meh last year but the year before Copp signed his big deal he was a top-2 forward for the Jets PK. I can't see someone shelling out 5.4-6M x 5 years for a guy to play on the middle-six with no special teams upside (maybe PP2).*

This is factually false.

1) Hartman has been utilized on Minnesota's PP and PK since he's been with the team. His time on them did in fact reduce last year, but he still averaged 1:18 on the PP and 47 seconds on the PK.

Over the last three years Hartman has averaged 1:42 of PP time and 1:02 of PK time. So the narrative that he doesn't play special teams is downright dogwash. Because he absolutely does. Not to the degree that either Compher or Copp do, but more than enough to qualify for that consideration.

2) Hartman's points and PPG pace are nearly in line with Compher and Copp's over a three year span as well.

Compher:
Games played - 200
Goals - 45
Assists - 58
Points - 103
PPG - .52

Copp:
Games played - 209
Goals - 45
Assists - 90
Points - 135
PPG - .65

Hartman:
Games played - 192
Goals - 56
Assists - 68
Points - 124
PPG - .65

So, in short. Hartman DOES play special teams and has had similar levels of production as Compher and Copp the last three years. The fact he's going to sign his new contract a year older then them doesn't particularly mean anything. They're absolutely comps for Hartman's next contract and he's absolutely capable of getting that amount on the open market. Especially given the fact that the Cap is expected to go up by $4M next offseason.

I don't really consider Hartman's 46 seconds of PK TOI really relevant in terms of Special Teams usage. The same goes for his minute of PP time. That was in the 6-7th range of forwards on Minnesota last year compared to Compher and Copp who are on the top units over the last three years. No team is really going to consider Hartman to be a PK specialist compared to Copp and Compher. He's a guy they can use in a pinch if necessary, but not someone they want to rely on each night. The same goes for the PowerPlay, he's nice to have as an extra but he's never going to sniff the top unit on any playoff-contending team. The difference between these players, while the averages might be similar, is the trend. Hartman, unless he has a 45+ point campaign, he's not going to be in the same category as those guys.

Compher and Copp on the other hand, have trended up the three years leading to their payday. Copp went from 26-39-53 in points. Compher 18-33-52. Hartman 22-65-37. If he has another sub-40 point season or plays any substantial time on the Special Teams, I can't really see him getting the same CH% as Copp/Compher [6.82%, 6.11%]. With the projected cap ceiling, that puts him in the range of 5.3M - 6M per year. We can agree to disagree but I just don't see him getting that much value in the market.

What? Did you think you won something?

He took a sweetheart deal to stay in Minnesota, a place he loves and wants to stay in. The NMC given to him on the contract alone shaves a $1M off his price point.

It's called compromise. And it's how contract negotiations work.

He would of gotten $5-6M on the open market. Which is where evolving hockey had him, and where he was comped to Compher and Copp too earlier. Or did you miss the part where insiders have universally stated he took less to stay.

What? Did you think you won something?

He took a sweetheart deal to stay in Minnesota, a place he loves and wants to stay in. The NMC given to him on the contract alone shaves a $1M off his price point.

It's called compromise. And it's how contract negotiations work.

He would of gotten $5-6M on the open market. Which is where evolving hockey had him, and where he was comped to Compher and Copp too earlier. Or did you miss the part where insiders have universally stated he took less to stay.

My issue is he isn't a comparable to Compher and Copp and it shows considering he got a shorter term deal and signed for under 5% of the CH. They both returned 6%+ with longer term. Even accounting for the NMC, Copp and Compher both have M-NTC for the duration of their contracts. I think it's a great deal for the Wild and Hartman, but if he got a similar deal to Compher and Copp, I'd be willing to bet people would agree its an unfavorable deal for MIN. Even accounting for a home-town discount, he would have taken a 30% paycut per year and shaved off 2 years compared to those players.

Edit: they also don't have a similar trend in production and play different styles of games. Compher and Copp are reliable PKers and deployed in 1st unit. Hartman is a spare PKer who can play if necessary. Their profiles aren't similar and its reflected in their contracts.