Just for fun, here's every 5+ year deal for a forward that was 32 years or older since 2013:

-Vincent Lecavalier 5x$4.5M by Philly on 7/2/13 - Traded with full retention (along with Luke Schenn) for Jordan Weal & a 3rd halfway through the deal; retired at the end of the 3rd year of the deal. Played 175 total games with 75 points under that deal.

-Marian Gaborik 7x$4.875M by LA on 6/26/14 - Wandered into LTIRetirement after year 4; was traded to Ottawa for 16 games before he retired. Grand total of 225 games and 111 points before riding off into the sunset.

-Mike Cammalleri 5x$5M by NJ on 7/1/14 - Bought out after 3 seasons, played 171 games and put up 51-60-111 in Jersey before being bought out. Split one more season between LA & Edmonton before retiring.

-David Backes 5x$6M by Boston on 7/1/16 - Traded 25% retained with a 1st and a recent 2nd round pick for Ondrej Kase halfway through his 4th season in Boston. 217 GP, put up 39-55-94 in that time. The first turned into Jacob Perrault, for what it's worth.

-Frans Nielsen 6x$5.25M by Detroit on 7/1/16 - bought out after year 5, and I don't think it's crazy to say that the only reason he lasted that long was Detroit didn't need to worry about that cap hit as a rebuilder. 291 GP, 48-76-124 in that time.

5 players in the last 10 offseasons signed 5+ year UFA deals the summer before their age-32 seasons. None of the 5 finished the contract with their original team - two were fully bought out and the other 3 were traded with retention before the end of the deal. Only 3 total 20-goal seasons and 3 seasons of more than 40 points from these 5 players over a combined 28 years and $143.125M worth of contracts.

In the interest of fully doing the research, the only other contracts signed by over-32 players with that kind of term since 2016 have been extensions - Blake Wheeler signed 5x$8.25M in September 2018, and Nicklas Backstrom signed 5x$9.2M in January 2020. Wheeler has actually been the outlier - he's been basically a PPG player since signing, with 262 points in 268 games. Backstrom also hasn't been bad when he's been on the ice since then - 21-63-84 in 102 GP since signing the deal. He missed 35 games this year, though, and is in line to miss a ton more next year. It's going to be hard to find value in that deal going forward.

Nazem Kadri is a great hockey player

Ah, so you've got nothing to back up your position, got it.

There is no scenario where signing Nazem Kadri doesn’t move the needle. I don’t care how Vincent Lecalvier aged a decade ago.

"I don't care that there's extensive proof that signing an over-30 UFA to a 6 year deal is terrible - *this * time will be different, I know it!"

Did you just miss Andrew Ladd so much you wanted a new one?

Nazem Kadri is a better hockey player than Andrew Ladd was when they signed him. Ladd was already in decline.

Kadri had a career year in his walk year (literally the reddest red flag a UFA can have). He averaged 52 pts/82 GP coming in to this year and expecting anything close to the the 87 points he put up this year would be foolish.

Seriously though: tell me one time where a 6 year deal for an over-30 UFA worked out. Or tell me what's so special about Nazem Kadri's game that he will be the outlier that deserves a contract that no sane GM would give out. Saying "Nazem Kadri is a great hockey player" is subjective as hell, just try and bring *anything* to the table to back up your opinion.

Signing Nazem Kadri to this deal literally pushes Mat Barzal out the door and actively makes the Islanders a lottery team. Giving a player whose career scoring numbers to date (even including his career year this year) averages out to " a good Josh Bailey season" a 6 year deal with an $8M cap hit for his age-32 through -37 seasons is probably the most shortsighted move an already old team could make. The contract would be a cap dump from day one.

This deal wouldn’t exclude the Islanders from signing Barzal. They’d have plenty of money. All the Barzal stuff people are commenting here is surrounded by the idea of him being an absolute crybaby. If he’s upset that the team signed a great player, then get him out of here. He’s a cancer if that’s the case. I don’t want anyone who puts themselves above the team. He’s a center in name only.

In conclusion, Nazem Kadri is a great hockey player

you literally are bringing nothing at all to the table, man, try even a little to back up your position.

In conclusion, signing Nazem Kadri to a 6 year, $48M deal would be one of the stupidest signings in NHL history.

No, Islander fans are just entitled brats. He’s a great hockey player.

How is saying "I don't want to sign a player that old to that long and expensive a deal" being an entitled brat?

You keep saying he's a great hockey player but literally have brought nothing to the table to back up this opinion. One season of being a PPG player out of ten full years in the NHL doesn't make you a "great hockey player". It makes you a 2nd line guy who played against poorer competition and played on one of the better power play units the league has seen in some time - literally 1/3 of his points this season (29/87) were scored on the power play. You're an Islanders fan, you've watched this team over the past few years and seen how their power play runs - do you really think Barzal-Nelson-Lee-Kadri is going to produce at the same rate as MacKinnon-Rantanen-Landeskog-Kadri? Do you really think, out of those last 4 names, that Nazem Kadri was the one making it all run? Because if you believe that, buddy, give me a call, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale with your name written all over it.

Kadri’s competition was in the 82nd percentile, so not sure where you got “poorer competition” from. For reference sake, Barzal was the 44th percentile.

I get it, Kadri is 31. I get it, Kadri just had his best season. But he’s always trended as a very good offensive player with serious defensive ability. You’re right in saying that the final 2 years of this deal may age poorly, but the Isles aren’t exactly in a great spot for those years anyway. It’s time to go for it, and Kadri is a great player.

Also, the teammates he played with landed in the 71st percentile. Good, but for reference again, Barzal was 67th. Basically equal.

Lmao , whoever ignores these facts are straight up delusional. I guarantee you whoever wants Kadri loved the Andrew Ladd contract when it was signed

Entitled islander fan

Trading Barzal and signing Kadri is something I can get behind , because it would automatically throw them into a rebuild.

Barzal would only request a trade (or threaten to sign his QO) if the isles tried to move him to wing. He has every right to do that. Kadri has had one outlier season.

I just want to see the isles fail if they sign kadri. Trying to build a team of players who should be in a retirement home within a few years deserves consequences

If barzal is that upset about moving to wing when he basically already is a wing then I don’t want him anyway. He’ll get compensated a fair value. If he wants to be a center, he should consider becoming a good center.

Again you don’t know anything about the center position , you think winning faceoffs matters. Puck control and playmaking are the most important pre requisites for playing center.

If the isles are dumb enough to try to move Barzal to wing when he has all the leverage , I’m all for what happens after. Barzal getting traded (and thriving somewhere else at his natural position) while the isles are saddled with a 45-50 pt Kadri making 8 mill would fit my narrative. Isles would miss the playoffs by 20 pts , Lou would get fired and the isles would be forced to make extreme changes. The best part is that Kadri who wants to be on a contender would be on a team that wouldn’t even make the playoffs

You’re just painting barzal to be a cancer. He isn’t. He’d be fine with it. Chill

so much entitlement here btw

It’s not about him being a cancer, he knows hes a center and he’s not getting his role taken by a 32 year who had one great season. Wingers also get paid less than centers and it would affect his production because wingers need to be able to have above average scoring ability. His skillset is suited for center.

He’s gone if they try to move him to wing. His agent is JP Barry and Barzal has spoken about offer sheets before. He has all the leverage. Signing Kadri also signals this team has 0 future, Barzal is a smart guy.

Centers with one great season. Hmmmmmmmmmmm

As a fan , I can’t control what Lou does but I can root for things to go south if I don’t like the direction the team is going in. And if kadri signs , the most likely scenario is that Barzal will get traded and the isles will miss the playoffs. That is what I want to happen and I’ll definitely bet on the under 90 pts.

Barzal has had a higher pts per game than Kadri in 4 of the last 5 seasons

Kadri plays with Mackinnon, Makar, Rantanen, and Burakovsky.

ONE GREAT SEASON hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

sorry you hate success