I’ve never understood this mentality. If a guy scores 50 goals… great! Pay him.
Hutson’s getting paid whether he wins the Calder or not. We might as well cheer him on.
Key contracts signed early for cheaper have helped teams assemble more depth and win Cups. The McKinnon contract is an example of this.
7 years at 6.3M for his 2nd NHL contract where he got 53, 97, 99, 93, 65 (in 48 games), 88 and 111 points were quite useful in assembling more skilled depth in Colorado and in winning a Cup in the final year of that contract, all before signing for a 12.6M per year contract that will also become a bargain with 140 points in the first year of the latest 8-year contract and a pace for another 125 points in this, the second year of that contract.
I'm not saying to pay Hutson peanuts on his second NHL contract, but not being in a situation like PK Subban was after winning the Norris can only help increase the odds of signing for a slightly more friendly Cap hit on a second NHL contract after only one real season to back up demands if the offer is made this offseason.
I'd personally go like they did with Quinn Hughes and buy only two UFA years on a 6-year deal to limit the Cap impact and give more power to the player on the third NHL deal. Not only is it long enough to be part of an eventual Cup window as the reconstruction comes to an end and the talented youngsters have gained more NHL experience, but it also lets the team see a longer term body of work before busting the Cap piñata wide open for Hutson with maximum term and money.
If Hutson could command 9M and he agreed to a 6-year 8.25M per year contract, the 750K savings, along with decent deals to Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky, as the Cap ceiling rises dramatically over the next three years and veteran contracts come off the books, can serve to ice a top-9 with skill superior, overall, to most teams.
It's the same principle as keeping total salaries for the Goalie position to 8M or less and spreading there Cap out to more skill on D and up front.
Nobody is asking to chintz out on Hutson's payday at all in a world where minimal, but spread out compromises add up when trying to build a genuine contender for the long term, not just for a one or two year window down the line.
Hopefully, you better understand my mentality for what it really is, whether than your imagined all-encompassing mentality, whether you agree with it or not, which is your prerogative, in the end.
I am always cheering Hutson on, but him not winning the Calder will certainly not destroy his chances of reaching his projected ceiling as an NHL player.
That ceiling is extremely high, IMO, and it's more about his production level in three years from now -- and for a very long time -- for me, rather than what hardware he goes home with after his rookie season.
