Who would you guys consider as players who are considerable to Dustin Brown? In the upcoming season, Brown's salary will be $3.5M.
I find the following players to be comparable in the roles that they serve for their respective clubs as physical forwards who are capable of producing goals:
Scott Hartnell, signed a 6-year contract with a cap hit of $4.75M.
Alex Burrows, signed a 4-year contract with a cap hit of $4.5M.
Brooks Laich, signed a 6-year contract with a cap hit of $4.5M.
Tuomo Ruutu, signed a 4-year contract with a cap hit of $4.75M.
Bobby Ryan, signed a 5-year contract with a cap hit of $5.1M.
James Neal, signed a 6-year contract with a cap hit of $5.0M.
Jamie Benn, signed a 5-year contract with a cap hit of $5.25M.
Ryan Callahan, signed a 3-year contract with a cap hit of $4.275M.
Drew Stafford, signed a 4-year contract with a cap hit of $4.0M.
R.J. Umberger, signed a 5-year contract with a cap hit of $4.6M.
David Backes, signed a 5-year contract with a cap hit of $4.5M.
Shane Doan, signed a 4-year contract with a cap hit of $5.3M.
Using those 12 players listed above as examples, the range of their contracts range from $4 million to $5.3 million.
Although Brown may not have the goal scoring prowess of some of the players listed above, I think they can be used as a ceiling for what Brown may be worth. I think the one that stands out most is Shane Doan, who signed his contract as a 35+ player who was a UFA and served as the captain of his team.
Given those examples above, I think that Brown, at most, will sign at $5M to $5.5M.