Quoting: BCAPP
You can call him a 20 something goal scorer all you like but he's 32nd in goals scored over the last two years. I'm not sure what you don't understand about that.
Specifically for LW he's 19th in points and tied for 10th in goals over the last two years
http://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?reportType=season&seasonFrom=20192020&seasonTo=20202021&gameType=2&position=L&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=goals&page=0&pageSize=50
So he's a first line lw....
And that's great and all, but the ceiling and production don't equal out here.
There are a whole slew of wingers who are producing more, had higher ceilings who are making just a tick above this.
But you want to justify it as right, I can't see how you end up at that conclusion. And yes, I do call him a 20 some goal scorer because that's what he is. But you are paying him like a guy who cracked 30 as a RFA. That doesn't balance. If he was a UFA we'd be having a different conversation. But he's not. It's also not like they bought up years here, they got 1.
That's what it boils down to.
I've said this before, I like the player, no one is calling him a bad player, but the contract does not fit. The numbers aren't there for a guy who's a RFA to get that.
Put it this way, You got UFAs who are putting up similar production.
Tatar 4.5
Saad 4.5
Hyman 5.5 UFA.
Hoffman 4.5
You got other RFAs who are arguably similar in value.
Kyrou got 2.8, his production is less but he's younger, they are projecting him as improving - RFA.
So when you look at the market, realize none of those guys signed bad contracts really, and you got 5.25 here.
If you are going to tell me you got better than say Saad, I'm going to tell you that you really didn't. That those 4 UFAs are really kind of similar in value.
And yet other than Hyman, who got a lot frankly, you are on the high end. All of those guys could play the market. Vrana could not.