Quoting: capfriendlyaccount
Am I the only one who doesn't actually mind this? Dude had 45 points last year. Last year he had a career year, this year he's having a down year. I find it likely that next year will be somewhere in the middle, which would land him in the middle six range. 3.25 for a 3rd line player isn't too bad IMO.
People like to laugh at Benning before all else.
Lets counter some arguments:
- they kept pearson but not toffoli: yes. We have room next year. There was no room last year.
- now there's no cap for the big RFAs: benning has proven that he is very good at dealing with RFAs, assuming 7x3 for both players, there's still plenty of cap to work with. More if Loui is bought out and Beagle rides LTIR (his injury seems bad)
- pearson isn't worth this money in this market: Probably not, but how much of an overpay is it? A quarter million? He was a huge asset for the team last year and has taken a step back like everyone else. His impact on improving Horvat's game is alone worth it. This is a locker room guy to the same extent as Tanev or Markstrom.
tldr: this is a bit more money than I was wanting, but not to the level of laughing at. even if he plays the 3rd line, he's the first player we have had in that role that looks like a decent bottom sixer in some time. Good signing? Nah.... but it ain't a bad one either.