Latest Colorado Avalanche speculation and guessing which young NHL defenseman gets a big contract extension.
ESPN.COM: Craig Custance believes whatever Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon receives on his new contract will affect how much the Edmonton Oilers eventually pay Connor McDavid on his new deal. Custance speculates MacKinnon, who’s in the final season of a three-year entry-level contract, could receive $6 million annually on a seven-year deal.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If MacKinnon rebounds strongly from his sophomore slump, I’m guessing he’ll seek something comparable to St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko (eight years, $60 million). Remember, MacKinnon won the Calder Trophy in 2014, so any significant improvement this season could put him in Tarasenko territory. If McDavid meets or exceeds expectations, he’ll command much more.
Custance believes the Avs most pressing need is re-signing defenseman Erik Johnson, who’s eligible next summer for unrestricted free agency. Given Johnson’s value to the Colorado blueline, Custance believes he’ll get a seven- or eight-year deal.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Agreed. I recently included Johnson in a Bleacher Report piece predicting which NHL stars could be next to receive big-money extensions. I’m guessing $7 million annually for him.
With the Edmonton Oilers re-signing promising young defenseman Oscar Klefbom to a seven-year deal worth over $4 million annually, Custance speculates over which young NHL blueliner could be next to receive a lengthy extension. Olli Maatta of the Pittsburgh Penguins is one option, but given his spate of injuries, the Pens aren’t in a rush to re-sign him. A more likely candidate could be Nashville Predators d-man Seth Jones.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If Maatta stays healthy and has a good outing this season, he could get a Klefbom-type deal. As for Jones, he’ll get a long-term extension but I think it’ll be worth much more than $4.167 million.
With Klefbom getting over $4m annually, what will Jacob Trouba get from Winnipeg next season? Different style game but Trouba is a beast.
trouba is a beast!! I don’t see him signing for that long right away he is gonna be worth a lot in a few years
Anyone notice with the Jays doing so well this year, the longing and waiting for hockey to start has been a little reduced in severity?
No…
Agree
Unless McKinnon completely falls off this season I can not fathom him only making 6 mill…
Admittedly I don’t watch many Avs games, but is Mackinnion REALLY worth $6 million per? His point totals don’t jump out at me, so I’m guessing he’s a better two way player?
I wouldn’t say mackinnion is a two way play yet I think he will get a little less than tarasenko. tarasenko brings a lot of flash to the rink which means fans to the seats
A year ago, if I said I believed Tarasenko would get an eight year, $60 million contract, I would’ve been mocked for months. Tarasenko’s new contract just set the rate for MacKinnon, especially if he has a strong bounce-back performance.
In cases like Kopitar, Toews and even Zetterberg, they’re fantastic two-way players, so their offensive totals may not smack you in the face, but they’re all renowned for their defensive play as well. I haven’t read, or seen, anything from Mackinnon to justify $6 million per though. I assumed I was just missing something since I had only seen maybe a few games since he was drafted.
Terasenko Saad RNH ROR Johansen…6 mill may get McKinon for a year or 2 but not long term
if MacKinnon can stay healthy this year and put up over 70 points (he will) his deal will come close to Tarasenko’s. if he only puts up say 50 points in 70 games he will sign a bridge deal.
hopefully the Jets don’t hve to break the bank to resign Trouba. i think get a longterm deal done now. 6 years $30M?
If you actually paid attention to the west coast you would know that Lindholm will probably be one Dman likely to get locked up long term by the ducks
Who are you talking to?
Danny DeKeyser will get locked up this winter most likely my guess is he will get something around 7 years $35 million or something around that ballpark. DeKeyser has played twice as many games as Klefbom so he should make at least a little more money then him.
DeKeyser is three years older than Klefbom. Oilers are expecting more on upside than Detroit should be at this point.
imo klefbom will be a much better dman than dekeyser his all around game is very good
Not sure about that DeKeyser is a solid shutdown defenseman who is only getting better offensively it remains to be seen if Klefbom will be any better.