You know I'm starting to develop a theory that is totally and completely unfounded. There has been so so much talk this particular free agency period about longer length contracts to get the AAV down. Obviously we've been there done that and this the current rule of 8 or less, but this period seems to be a little more blatant and "in your face about it".
With the current CBA expiring in 2 years, and the cap going up, I wonder if GM's have some sort of inside knowledge about negotiations for the next CBA that haven't gone public?
7 years Debrusk is not great but ...
Tanev at 6 years is bad
Monahan at 5 years is bad bad
Zadorov got 6 years which seems crazy
Bob McKenzie specifically tweeted about teams potentially exploring "deferred payment" style contracts during the FA period, which is not something I think I even knew you could do in the NHL.
I think there's something come down from the league in the past month or so
And that's my deranged Ted Talk