Confirmed Signing with Link: [TBL] Lightning re-sign F Nick Paul (7 years, $3.15M AAV)

[Ledge And Dairy]

Interesting. I recall him playing with Connor Brown and being moved up to play 2C in Ottawa when injuries hit.

Can you back up that he played with incompetent players in Ottawa?

He was moved up to 2C in Tampa when Point and Cirelli went down too, even centered Kucherov and Palat.

As for linemates Brown is a solid player but Hagel is better and Colton is better than Sanford. Coaching system and deployment also makes a big difference

 

[ManofSteel55]

Dammit, there goes a guy I wanted. Good signing Tampa.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Hopefully he keeps working on his skating. Still a little awkward to me and what held him back before. If he continues to improve that he'll be a very good middle 6 C for the length of the deal.

 

[Trade]

Awesome player. Well deserved. Dude was Tampa’s heart and soul at times during the postseason.

 

[Curufinwe]

A 27 year old with a career high of 20 points?

How is it possible that someone posting on a hockey message board can't add the numbers 18 and 14 together?

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Always a good omen when you see buyout figures in the first couple pages of a signing.

Teams should always consider the downside risk and upside payoff when signing a player, and I'd argue more teams should be willing to use the buyout strategically but it's not my money...

 

[ZDH]

Good.

Did not want.

 

[majormajor]

Shooting percentage for 227 career games: 7%
Shooting percentage for last 21 games: 14%

Paul does do other things and can impact a game without scoring goals. But part of this contract is based on his scoring more than usual.

I don't think it is. I think that contract is in line with Paul scoring closer to .3 ppg, on top of Paul being an overall beast.

 

[KevinRedkey]

Hopefully he keeps working on his skating. Still a little awkward to me and what held him back before. If he continues to improve that he'll be a very good middle 6 C for the length of the deal.

Why would his skating ever improve? He's 27yrs old. lol

 

[tsujimoto74]

that's a lot of term to keep the aav down.

Definitely worth it for a team like Tampa -- keep the contention window open as long as you can. Once it closes, who cares if you're left with some overpaid depth players who aged out of being worth their contracts?

 

[SpezDispenser]

He was moved up to 2C in Tampa when Point and Cirelli went down too, even centered Kucherov and Palat.

As for linemates Brown is a solid player but Hagel is better and Colton is better than Sanford. Coaching system and deployment also makes a big difference

Sanford sucks, but with no disrespect, Brown can easily hold his own vs Hagel. And Ottawa also used Formenton with him.

Great player though. Would have been real nervous signing him to that in Ottawa, but we're not in the same place as TB is obviously.

 

[Dr Quincy]

I don't think it is. I think that contract is in line with Paul scoring closer to .3 ppg, on top of Paul being an overall beast.

He was more than a .3 ppg player in OTT and if 3 months ago he was signed to a 7 year 3+M contract I think people would be wondering why. If he ends up at around 25 pts, even with other good attributes, I think that would be considered a bit of a disappointment.

And to be clear, I'm not saying it's a bad signing or a mistake. Just that, I wouldn't bet on him sustaining a 14% shooting percentage and being .5 ppg player.

 

[DFC]

I don't think it is. I think that contract is in line with Paul scoring closer to .3 ppg, on top of Paul being an overall beast.

Agreed, although I think the contract gives him the benefit of the doubt for his time in Ottawa while also taking his time in TB with a grain of salt. It settled somewhere in the middle. If we had paid strictly for what we saw in TB the contract would have been well over 4. He was pretty great from the moment he arrived.

 

[kerrabria]

Wow, good for Paul. I really didn't know anything about him prior to these playoffs, but he was an impressive, playoffs type forward for them. Like it for both sides.

Well, he was really good but it's a gamble. If he keeps it up it's a fantastic deal

Can't he comfortably slot in at any of the bottom 6 spots? Even come up to be a third wheel on the second line in a pinch? That versatility will age well.

 

[More 2004]

Good.

Did not want.

::checks to see what team you root for::

Checks out why you wouldn't want a playoff performer. I mean why would you when you never make the playoffs?

 

[Revansky]

Not a lost of risk. Tampa Bay window is likely open for another 4 years and Paul should offer more than a 3M per value in that time. For the last three years, even if his play drop off, with the upcoming cap increase in two to three years, it shouldn't pose a lot of problems. The contract is front loaded and could be buyout or trade off in the last couple of years where he'll make 2,5 per in real dollars (if Capfriendly is right on the contract details). Good move.

 

[DFC]

He was more than a .3 ppg player in OTT and if 3 months ago he was signed to a 7 year 3+M contract I think people would be wondering why. If he ends up at around 25 pts, even with other good attributes, I think that would be considered a bit of a disappointment.

And to be clear, I'm not saying it's a bad signing or a mistake. Just that, I wouldn't bet on him sustaining a 14% shooting percentage and being .5 ppg player.

Yes, but that (25 points) would also probably mean he becomes a 4th liner (our lowest scoring regular had 20 points). If he remains a tweener, he will likely score in line with TB tweeners, which is 30+ points.

I think 15-20-35 is a fairly reasonable projection.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

I like it.

 

[PromisedLand]

why not 8 years and bring aav down even more. then when tampa's window is closed they can retain him or deal him to another team for assets.

solid deal nonetheless IMO

 

[majormajor]

He was more than a .3 ppg player in OTT and if 3 months ago he was signed to a 7 year 3+M contract I think people would be wondering why. If he ends up at around 25 pts, even with other good attributes, I think that would be considered a bit of a disappointment.

And to be clear, I'm not saying it's a bad signing or a mistake. Just that, I wouldn't bet on him sustaining a 14% shooting percentage and being .5 ppg player.

If Paul was expected to score at. 5ppg then he would be paid a lot more than $3m per, probably closer to $5m.

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

This deal isn't really about his scoring ability its more of the other things he brings and the term brought down his AAV and he is young so I am fine with this deal.

 

[Mass]

Seems like a Sissons-esque deal, though Paul is only 1.5 years younger than Sissons at this point. That deal has worked out well for Nashville, could see the same happening with this one for Tampa.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Not sure what you're implying here. It's not like he found a new gear in Tampa - he's always been an excellent defensive forward who's great on the PK.

He was also a sub 30pt player

 

[SJinNewJersey]

The deal come with a a Tampa Special No Trade Clause starting in 2026.

 

[CycloneSweep]

This deal isn't really about his scoring ability its more of the other things he brings and the term brought down his AAV and he is young so I am fine with this deal.

This is most likely his last NHL deal. This deal brings him to 34