The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton compares Moritz Seider’s 7-year, $59.85 million contract at a $8.55 million cap hit to other defensemen around the league:
Owen Power (Buffalo Sabres, seven years, $8.35 million AAV) & Jake Sanderson (Ottawa Senators, eight years, $8.05 million AAV): the Divisional Rivals
What I like about the comparison here with Seider is that you have three very similar contracts (two seven deals and one eight, with just an AAV range of just a half million. They’ve also all been signed by Atlantic Division rivals that are looking to make the same leap in the standings over the course of those contracts. Chances are, all three deals won’t (and perhaps can’t) work out the way the teams signing them envisioned.
If I could have any of the three regardless of contract, I think I would chose Seider. The immediacy with which he emerged as an impact player (and, in fact, Detroit’s number one defenseman) and his ability to confront an obscenely difficult work load.
Regardless, it will be an interesting Atlantic Division storyline for nearly the next decade to track the health and viability of these contracts, as well as the teams and players who signed them.
