Confirmed with Link: Juraj Slafkovsky re-signs with the Canadiens 8 x $7.6M

[Canadiens Ghost]

Am I crazy to think that we're building a damn good team here? Maybe no elite franchise level player but a pile of great pieces at great prices

You're not. Unless I am also...

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I like it. Calculated risk and I think it will pay off.

 

[JianYang]

Am I crazy to think that we're building a damn good team here? Maybe no elite franchise level player but a pile of great pieces at great prices

I love the way they are positioning themselves. No stupid contracts given out to aging veterans, and the internal cap structure is benchmarked by a pretty friendly hit on Suzuki.

This leaves good cap flexibility, and more bargaining power to bring a really big fish from either the trade or ufa market.

 

[JianYang]

My first instinct was that this is high and then I remembered the deals handed out today.

I think most people in the know pretty much see top line winger as his expectation now. You are going to lock in this guy at 8.6% of the cap and that's being conservative by assuming no cap increase next year.

By the time he's in his absolute prime, the percentage will surely be much lower, which is fantastic for a top line talent.

 

[Phenom]

It is absolutely insane.

Some NBA player just got like a 212 million dollar contract or something stupid.

All for playing a game....

View attachment 891039

That’s peanuts in today’s day and age when it comes to contracts. The biggest stars gets paid almost double that amount (some even more) and not just in the NBA, also in the NFL, MLB and soccer.

I mean sports is also a worldwide business and a career choice. It’s their whole life dedication to do something they’re passionate about. It’s not just about “playing a game” nor something “stupid” lol.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Now sign Ghule to 45/8

Unlike Slaf, Guhle is unlikely to break the bank if we bridge him first. D-men typically get bigger bucks when they are 30+ pt players, Guhle has benefitted from low expectations so far, but he really hasn't proven he is star quality yet, nor consistently healthy.

I would aim to settle at one of:
2 x $3.0M or
3 x $3.6M or
4 x $4.2M or
5 years or longer at $4.75M (below Matheson internal cap level)

 

[Habs10Habs]

PK - 9m+
CP - 10.5m+

This was almost 8 years ago. And now you see the diff btw a money manager, and a riverboat gambler.

In fairness, Subban and Price were at the top of their games, when they signed their contracts. Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky are all just scratching the surface of theirs.

 

[xNogaitx]

Unlike Slaf, Guhle is unlikely to break the bank if we bridge him first. D-men typically get bigger bucks when they are 30+ pt players, Guhle has benefitted from low expectations so far, but he really hasn't proven he is star quality yet, nor consistently healthy.

I would aim to settle at one of:
2 x $3.0M or
3 x $3.6M or
4 x $4.2M or
5 years or longer at $4.75M (below Matheson internal cap level)

This is where I will disagree.

I'd say now is prime-time to try to lock in a "core" at a good price for 8-years. It would really make it easier to navigate the ups & downs of other prospects exceeding expectations and/or others not meeting them and being replaced by pricey UFAs.

I'd say:
Guhle for 45-48M range over 8-years (5.625-6M).
Xhekaj for 30-32M over 8 years (3.75-4M).

Give the kids certainty in exchange for a potential discount in 3-6 years' time when the team will be pushing for deep runs.

*If* both Hutson and Reinbacher (or replacement/UFA) somehow exceed Guhle slightly, say average of 7M AAV each and Mailloux exceeds Xhekaj, say 4.5M.
add 3M for the Ds 6-8th.

Goalie-wise, I doubt we have any guy likely to make big bucks any time soon, so the combo can easily be considered that D + G will cost us up to 40M on the cap.


That leaves +/- 55M for the forward group of 13.

The first line is signed at 23M.
4th line + 13th F will combine for +/- 5M.
That leaves +/- 27M for the middle 6.

Even if say Demidov breaks the bank at 10M AAV, Dach goes up to 7M, and you have a 3C at around 4M, that still leaves +/- 6M for the remaining 3 guys. If you look at most championship teams, their 2nd/3rd lines are filled with guys on 1M deals/ELCs chasing cups.

And that's assuming the cap only goes up to 95M in 3-seasons from now, with some of the guys mentioned above (i.e. Demidov) still on bridge deals/ELCs still so not at full value yet before the cap goes even higher.

Honnestly, that's a great distribution of salaries if Kent can achieve that.

 

[salbutera]

PK - 9m+
CP - 10.5m+

This was almost 8 years ago. And now you see the diff btw a money manager, and a riverboat gambler.

Thats disingenuous, not comparing apples to apples, what about longterm pre-UFA contracts to Pacioretty, Price, Gallagher? All were team friendly sweetheart deals.

Is Fla GM a “money manager” because he locked up UFA to be Reinhart to a deal $8M in total contract value ($1M AAV) more than Slaf’s 2nd contract?

Stevie Y was a great “money manager” in TBay also, how did that brilliance disappear overnight in Det? No state tax factor maybe?

 

[BaseballCoach]

This is where I will disagree.

I'd say now is prime-time to try to lock in a "core" at a good price for 8-years. It would really make it easier to navigate the ups & downs of other prospects exceeding expectations and/or others not meeting them and being replaced by pricey UFAs.

I'd say:
Guhle for 45-48M range over 8-years (5.625-6M).
Xhekaj for 30-32M over 8 years (3.75-4M).

Give the kids certainty in exchange for a potential discount in 3-6 years' time when the team will be pushing for deep runs.

*If* both Hutson and Reinbacher (or replacement/UFA) somehow exceed Guhle slightly, say average of 7M AAV each and Mailloux exceeds Xhekaj, say 4.5M.
add 3M for the Ds 6-8th.

Goalie-wise, I doubt we have any guy likely to make big bucks any time soon, so the combo can easily be considered that D + G will cost us up to 40M on the cap.


That leaves +/- 55M for the forward group of 13.

The first line is signed at 23M.
4th line + 13th F will combine for +/- 5M.
That leaves +/- 27M for the middle 6.

Even if say Demidov breaks the bank at 10M AAV, Dach goes up to 7M, and you have a 3C at around 4M, that still leaves +/- 6M for the remaining 3 guys. If you look at most championship teams, their 2nd/3rd lines are filled with guys on 1M deals/ELCs chasing cups.

And that's assuming the cap only goes up to 95M in 3-seasons from now, with some of the guys mentioned above (i.e. Demidov) still on bridge deals/ELCs still so not at full value yet before the cap goes even higher.

Honnestly, that's a great distribution of salaries if Kent can achieve that.

I just don't see the danger in a 2 to 4 year deal for Guhle at lower AAV. Even if he hits his potential as a 30 to 35 point 2 way D, he won't command much more than you want to gift him now with.

And 8 years for Xhekaj??? The guy who spent time in Laval last year??? I highly doubt Hughes concurs on that one.

 

[Tyson]

Slavin just signed an 8 year 51 million dollar deal. I see Guhle as the same type of player longterm.

 

[BLONG7]

In fairness, Subban and Price were at the top of their games, when they signed their contracts. Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky are all just scratching the surface of theirs.

Not to mention Price and Subban had agents who were in control............the habs had a clown GM who knew nothing about negotiating contracts....this we know.

The plan and the process is coming together nicely.
Slaf could easily be a huge bargain in 2-3 years time.

 

[TheFutureisBright]

I wonder how long the Suzuki ceiling will last. By the time Demidov's new contract (not ELC) comes into play, it would have been what, 6 years sinze Suzuki set the ceiling?

 

[WeThreeKings]

Having your 3 main core pieces (Demidov to come) all locked in under 9 million with the cap rising.

Hughes is cooking.

 

[HomaridII]

I wonder how long the Suzuki ceiling will last. By the time Demidov's new contract (not ELC) comes into play, it would have been what, 6 years sinze Suzuki set the ceiling?

This reminds me of funny enough the player Suzuki is most compared to, Bergeron. It shows just how much respect everyone has for Suzuki to respect that ceiling.

 

[Sam de Mtl]

I wonder how long the Suzuki ceiling will last. By the time Demidov's new contract (not ELC) comes into play, it would have been what, 6 years sinze Suzuki set the ceiling?

I think it will hold more or less until the end of his contract unless we splash into FA. Not because it has to, but because the players to be signed are lesser players and the ones who has the potential to be better signed their deal. Demidov will probably not be better than Suzuki for a while. And by the end of the Demidov ELC, if Suzuki is up for renewal, he may sign his new pact, creating a new standard, allowing for Demidov's contract to be what it needs to be, hypothetically, if he deserves more.

 

[TheFutureisBright]

This reminds me of funny enough the player Suzuki is most compared to, Bergeron. It shows just how much respect everyone has for Suzuki to respect that ceiling.

Hopefully you are right. I think it also shows an amount of respect for the team that they agree to take a hometown discount and a belief that they can win at the top echelon.

I think it will hold more or less until the end of his contract unless we splash into FA. Not because it has to, but because the players to be signed are lesser players and the ones who has the potential to be better signed their deal. Demidov will probably not be better than Suzuki for a while. And by the end of the Demidov ELC, if Suzuki is up for renewal, he may sign his new pact, creating a new standard, allowing for Demidov's contract to be what it needs to be, hypothetically, if he deserves more.

Hopefully you are right. I do agree with the FA but knowing KH, he would justifiably offer more than this ceiling for an established and successful 27 or 28 year old

 

[Habs Halifax]

Am I crazy to think that we're building a damn good team here? Maybe no elite franchise level player but a pile of great pieces at great prices

It's tracking very well and we will be cap flexible. The one good thing with all of this is we have talent to work with talent but we will spread it out on 3 lines and roll a hockey team that is not just top heavy.

* We know what we got with Suzuki and Caufield.

* We need at least one or two more seasons to know how good Slaf, Dach, Guhle are. If all 3 reach potential, that is a game changer IMO.

* Futures coming with Demidov, Reinbacher, Hutson. 3 more core pieces that project to be top of the line-up.

* Then all the others. List is deep.

 

[Lshap]

Amazing to see Slafkovsky buying into the culture of this core. I'm sure his agent advised him to wait and demand a bigger payday. The kid opted to be part of the benchmark set by Suzuki. It speaks to the strong sense of loyalty in the locker room, which will translate onto the ice. Hopefully, the same will translate to Guhle, Dach, and other key signings.

The Habs get huge cap benefits and the kids will still get paid, thanks to the sponsorship opportunities in our insane market.

 

[Habs Halifax]

There is very little risk. All indications point to Slaf being a student of the game with an insane desire to compete and be the best. There is very little risk here, I mean sure he could become addicted to blow and become an alcoholic, but it would be out of character for him. So you right, the risk isn’t zero, but it’s damn close.

Agreed. This contract has low risks. 20 goals and 50 pts at age 19 and I don't see him going backwards.

Fans need to consider that even if he is just a good top 6F, $7.6M is the old $6M top 6F rate. Cap is going to rise fast.

I feel he has 30 goals and 70 pts in him. Anything north of that is gravy for a contract like this in a growing cap.

Amazing to see Slafkovsky buying into the culture of this core. I'm sure his agent advised him to wait and demand a bigger payday. The kid opted to be part of the benchmark set by Suzuki. It speaks to the strong sense of loyalty in the locker room, which will translate onto the ice. Hopefully, the same will translate to Guhle, Dach, and other key signings.

The Habs get huge cap benefits and the kids will still get paid, thanks to the sponsorship opportunities in our insane market.

Some fans were talking $9M+ for Caufield and also talking north of $8M with Slaf before this contract came out.

20 goals and 50 pts is what it is but Slaf also knows he needed Suzuki help. Certainly not a selfish self centered type thinking about "it's all me". Good sign of character and the core is starting to take shape.

 

[Lshap]

Agreed. This contract has low risks. 20 goals and 50 pts at age 19 and I don't see him going backwards.

Fans need to consider that even if he is just a good top 6F, $7.6M is the old $6M top 6F rate. Cap is going to rise fast.

I feel he has 30 goals and 70 pts in him. Anything north of that is gravy for a contract like this in a growing cap.



Some fans were talking $9M+ for Caufield and also talking north of $8M with Slaf before this contract came out.

20 goals and 50 pts is what it is but Slaf also knows he needed Suzuki help. Certainly not a selfish self centered type thinking about "it's all me". Good sign of character and the core is starting to take shape.

Agreed – the risk is low and the upside is huge. Hughes is investing in players ahead of their curve, which is a much smarter way to build a roster than knee-jerk contracts that pay for past accomplishments. Even if one player doesn't play up to his contract, the savings from another contract will probably compensate in the big picture.

As mentioned, I'm most impressed with these young guys investing in their future as a roster, rather than simply grabbing their own payday.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Agreed – the risk is low and the upside is huge. Hughes is investing in players ahead of their curve, which is a much smarter way to build a roster than knee-jerk contracts that pay for past accomplishments. Even if one player doesn't play up to his contract, the savings from another contract will probably compensate in the big picture.

As mentioned, I'm most impressed with these young guys investing in their future as a roster, rather than simply grabbing their own payday.

It's a nice look. Both the team and players are buying in to this core. Building it like how the Bruins did with getting guys locked up early.

 

[StCaufield]

I had a friend tell me “8mil for a guy that’s played 35 good games seems steep”. I don’t agree but I can see why someone would say that

 

[morhilane]

I had a friend tell me “8mil for a guy that’s played 35 good games seems steep”. I don’t agree but I can see why someone would say that

It was more like 50 good games.

 

[Jaynki]

I had a friend tell me “8mil for a guy that’s played 35 good games seems steep”. I don’t agree but I can see why someone would say that

Short sighted.

We dont pay him for those 35 games.

We pay him for the 656 he will play during those 8 years.

Imagine paying someone for 656 games for the past 800 great games he had. That is also short sighted and the biggest blunder that happens.

I think its safe to assume that Slaf will only trend up from those 35 games.

Where as the 30YO will only trend down from those 800 games.

Right ?