The contract
The Tampa Bay Lightning signed defenseman Victor Hedman to a four-year contract extension with an annual value of $8 million.
After the heartbreak of losing franchise mainstay Steven Stamkos on Monday, the Lightning signed defensive stalwart Victor Hedman a year early.
By signing Hedman now, the team and player avoid the roller coaster ride they just experienced with Stamkos. Instead, the player can start the season without any distractions. And management gains certainty around one of its most important players and defensive pillars. Between Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Brayden Point and now Jake Guentzel, the Lightning’s new core is officially under contract for at least three years. That should give general manager Julien BriseBois a firm amount of salary cap space to work around each year to find a supporting cast that will help extend this team’s competitive window.
More importantly, for a Lightning team that must operate on a tight budget, Hedman should provide positive value over the life of his next contract. An uncharacteristically disappointing year in 2022-23 may have raised concerns about Tampa Bay’s No. 1, but he rebounded last season and picked up the pace late in the season with his best play of the year. He’s gotten by without much support around him the last two seasons. With Ryan McDonagh back, he has the help he’s been missing to share the minutes load, which bodes well for him to maintain his high level of play.
Hedman will be 34 when his next contract kicks in, but he should be able to provide positive value over the course of the deal. The deal falls just short of Evolving-Hockey’s four-year projection of $8.6 million in salary cap space. And it falls short of his projected value over that period of $8.4 million.
It’s a pretty unique deal for someone of Hedman’s caliber. The closest comparison, according to CapFriendly’s comparison tool, is Dmitry Orlov’s two-year deal with the Hurricanes last season — and he’s only a 52.4 percent match, which isn’t close at all. The lack of comparisons isn’t a bad thing, though. Had Tampa Bay gone the route others have with franchise defensemen in their early to mid-30s, this deal could have been longer. Just think of Brent Burns’ eight-year deal with the Sharks at age 32, or Kris Letang’s six-year deal with Pittsburgh in 2022 at age 35. Keeping the term short is in the Lightning’s best interest.
Could that still be a burden at 37? It’s possible. Players tend to fall in value in their late 30s as age-related decline hits them. But remember: When their value starts as high as Hedman’s, their lows can still be above average for a player that age.
The deal itself could be painful, as Stamkos just signed yesterday in Nashville for four years at an average annual value of $8 million. But signing Hedman and Guentzel to seven years at $9 million is the best path forward for the Lightning now and in the long term.
Contract category: A
Adjustment level: A
(Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
News Source : www.nytimes.com
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