Updated at 12:00 PM: This morning, the Hockey Writers’ Tony Wolak discusses the Red Wings’ need to re-sign restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson, arguing that this summer’s shorter-term signings of restricted free agents has cost Detroit the ability to ink Edvinsson to an 8-year contract extension:
Chicago’s Bowen Byram topped the market with a six-year, $12.5 million AAV deal. Contracts signed by Pavel Mintyukov (five years, $7.4 million AAV) and Simon Nemec (five years, $7.25 million AAV) were also noteworthy.
For Mintyukov, Nemec, and others, five-year contracts are becoming an increasingly attractive option because they allow them to reach unrestricted free agency while they are still in their prime. Rather than giving up their entire 20s to one contract, players can maximize their earning potential by taking a shorter deal and negotiating another massive contract when the salary cap is considerably higher.
That creates a difficult decision for teams. They can pay a premium for long-term security now—provided the player is open to a max-term deal—or they can save money in the short term and potentially face a much more expensive negotiation later.
For Detroit, an eight-year contract would have bought the Red Wings cost certainty through Edvinsson’s prime years while potentially becoming increasingly valuable as the salary cap rises. But instead, Detroit has allowed the market to move.
And there is another complication: time is running out on the ability to offer Edvinsson an eight-year deal. Under the NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement, the maximum contract length is being reduced – Sept. 15 is effectively the final day for teams to secure an eight-year agreement before the seven-year maximum takes effect.
That makes the next month particularly important for the Red Wings. Unfortunately, though, Detroit doesn’t currently have a general manager.
Wolak continues, suggesting that the Wings would have to pay Edvinsson more than an estimated $8.5 million per season if they want to lock him up for 8 years–presuming that the team has a general manager to re-sign #77 before September 15th…
And, if you recall, I translated an article in which Edvinsson’s agent, Peter Werner, told Expressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom that “We don’t speculate about anything, we’re patiently waiting for the new general manager,” so the Edvinsson camp is in a holding pattern, too.
Update: Brian La Rose from Pro Hockey Rumors has weighed in as well:
At first glance, it would stand to reason that Detroit would want to keep Edvinsson’s contract below Seider’s, given that the latter is clearly their number one defenseman. Seider is entering the third season of a seven-year, $59.85MM contract ($8.55MM AAV). That deal was signed off his entry-level contract which is the same situation that Edvinsson is in.
However, the Upper Limit of the salary cap is a fair bit higher now than it was when Seider signed. By direct comparison, Seider’s 9.72% of the cap when his deal was signed is equivalent to $10.108MM today. While Edvinsson isn’t as proven as Seider was at the time, his camp certainly has a case to make that he should be making comparable money. To that end, AFP Analytics projects that a seven-year deal would be worth around $8.77MM per season, slightly above Seider’s cap hit but the percentage of the cap is lower at roughly 8.4%.
While Edvinsson is technically eligible to sign an offer sheet as a restricted free agent, Werner’s comment about waiting for Detroit’s GM search to conclude suggests that’s not an avenue the blueliner is currently considering. But while that should be comforting for the organization, with training camps now just a month away, there might be a bit of a race to get something done once Steve Yzerman’s successor is found. And if both sides want to work out a max-term eight-year agreement, they only have until the middle of September to do so.
