I would agree but for Suzuki, not KK yet. He has not showed consistency in the regular season.

He sits 3rd among the Habs all time in playoff goals before their 22nd birthday with 9 and still has a year to go. He can easily catch and pass both Richier and Lemieux who have 14 each. He also looks poised for a breakout with his confidence and post season play. The issue is if we don't lock him up long term we may not be able to afford it next year or the year after. Imagine if KK breaks out next season and puts up 65 points then follows it up the next season with 70 or so. Now you have Zuke who you just signed to a 6.5-8 Mil deal and Danault (hopefully on a 5.75 Mil deal) with no cap to extend KK to a 6-8 Mil deal. The advantage is IF KK doesn't break out and still only puts up 30-50 points we have a decent trade piece with who may be slightly overpaid but would still be young enough to get a 1st (especially if we retained 1-1.5 Mil). This is a case where you have to plan for the best case scenario and hope to avoid the worst case which still is not too bad.

Thatd be great but I doubt KKs clan agree to it as they sure know he could (will) explode next year

Perhaps on a 6 or 7 year deal would be better for them because he will be 27 or 28 when the deal expires and quite possibly getting a bigger deal. The hope is though that KK likes Montreal and will take a bit less on a long term deal to keep the team together and stay in Montreal.

Sure. If that can encourage Suzuki, Romy and Caufield to take less money as well it would be great for sure.

I think that would be a huge mistake on KK. Scoring some big goals as a youngster is nice when you backed it up in the regular season first. His regular seasons have given no indication of this. With Suzuki and Danault taking up most of the ice time, KK will not be getting the ice time needed to be a big star player. (Assuming they resign Danault which I think is a given now)

You sign him to a cheap bridge deal. 2 or maybe 3 years if we're lucky, to 2.25M. He's not earned anything higher. Even with his playoff goals. After that if he becomes a super stud, then by all means pay him, that's not a big deal for us down the road. You'll have saved so much from the previous 2-3 years and other contracts will have finally expired that you can now pay him. Remember, this is IF he becomes a super stud. I don't think he will. I think his comps are eerily similar to Jordan Staal. He'll be a 6M (maybe 7M with inflation) player at his absolute best either way. He doesn't have the high end skill to be anything higher like a 60-80 pt player.

If the Habs don't resign Danault, then all bets are off as KK will start getting prime time minutes which at that point, he'll get his 50 points simply playing regular PP and top end minutes. So it really hinges on Habs resigning Danault.

I don't think you have to worry about Suzuki taking less if they offer him 6-7 Mil this offseason and Bridge Romy next year. Then Caufield and Romy can get their raises when Edmundson's and Byron's deals end and possibly Weber, Price or both retire. Money will open up even if you trade someone in 2-3 years.

I could see 5-6yr deal but not an 8, especially if he believes in himself at all.

i think we only need a 3yr term with kk after that we will have space to pay the young gun

Yeah I guess going longer than 6 was a little optimistic lol

My thoughts on KK:

I think he signs a bridge. He’s played on the 3rd line, many times as a LW, and he’s still very young, and developing.

He was drafted as a #1C prospect, I suspect that many GMs still see him as just that. Size, skill, hockey IQ. A top 3 pick. Montreal drafted him to be their future #1C, if he eventually becomes their #2C, it would mean either a bit of a bust, or they have another great Center.

#2C as UFAs are $6M+, #1C are $8-12M. Even top RFAs have signed for over $8M per on longer term deals.

Is Jespari worth $6M+ today, I don’t think so, I’m also not sure many others would think so. Could he be worth that in a year or two, yup.

I can’t see a value that would work long term. Sign for 6+ and the risk is on Montreal in the short term, and if Jesperi develops into a #1C, he’s leaving millions on the table in the back years. Perhaps a $6x7 might work, but there is lots of risk on both sides.

Hence a bridge deal. I think that 2 years and $2.8-3.4M is most likely. He hasn’t played as well as Dubois who signed for $5M coming off his ELC) as the # 3 pick 2 years prior, but I can’t see him signing for less for more than 1 year. There are other comparables, but he’s a bit unique in that he’s only 3 years removed from his draft, and usually those players are the true superstars/elite (Matthews, Laine, McDavid, Eichel, Marner, Tkachuk, etc.) and those players performed much, much better their first 3 years.

It will be a fascinating negotiation to see the results of.

I would try for something a tad lower but this idea makes sense. Its gambling on his progression but I don't see any reason he can't establish himself at least as a decent second line center. If he breaks out over the next couple years and you only sign him to a bridge deal then you'll have him, Suzuki, Caufield and potentially Romanov with huge cap hits. Suzuki and Caufield could be 8+ per year easily

This was Exactly my reasoning as well. I was hoping somewhere around 4.75- 5.25 but I thought that was too low for a 6-8 year deal.