Dobson is rumored to get a long term deal at a “big number”. Romanov contract will be in the 3 mill range.

The isles should look to sign Milano and give Wahlstrom an increased role

Source?

Friedman

I didn’t c it on Twitter. Was it on the pod?

I’m not argueing with you. But IMO they should bridge Dobson. And I’m surprised Lou wouldn’t do that given his history.

Isles have been done for a while now. I really do think the Miller and Kadri stuff was just bull**** that was being published for clicks. When you listen to Friedman’s podcast where he mentions Kadri to NYI he is much more skeptical than most people remember.

Bridging Dobson would be a terrible idea. He gave Morgan Reilly a 6 year deal

I would personally rather give Dobson a 2 or 3 year deal then go to 8 years. In NY he’s bridged everyone tho. Handling this situation differently than he handled Barzal seems risky to me.

It’s more risky to bridge him. With the way the defenseman market is (especially with point producers) he could command 9 mill in a few years

If you sign Dobson for 6-8 years and he hits UFA status at 28-30 then his next contract would carry him into his late 30’s. If you bridge him now and then sign him to an 8 year deal when he is 25 then you end up paying for more of his prime. Imo it’s better to pay a guy while he’s good instead of paying for past production.

You want to sign him for 7-8 years at 7-7.5 mill per and then let him sign somewhere else when he’s 29 or 30 unless he’s a top 5 D in the league at that time

I’m willing to bet he will be. I’d rather bridge him and have him until he’s 34.

And if you have to give him that contract it will bite you in the ass. He will get his money either way. Dobson seems like the kind of guy who will be very effective into his mid 30’s cause of his size and skating combo. I c no reason to let him hit UFA status early.

How will it bite them? You’re buying up all of his prime years and 4 UFA years at a number under 8 mill per. That’s not hitting UFA early.

Dobson has a similar makeup to pietrangelo. Pietrangelo has struggled since he got to Vegas because he lost some speed so he can’t recover if he makes a mistake. It’s possible Dobson will be good into mid 30s, elite? There’s no guarantee. Most elite defenseman lose their elite status by the time they are 31,32 YO

Usually that’s the case. But Dobson is a way better skater than Pietrangelo is. I think he will be worth having up until 34.

It’s more about the fact you would end up having to sign him to a big deal when he’s 28 or 29.

You want to sign him to a 8 year deal which takes him to his age 30 season. I’m fine with letting him walk at that time.

I understand your perspective. I just think Dobson is a bit of a unicorn cause of his size/speed combo. And I still think ur Pietrangelo comparison is way off.

Once he loses his speed he’ll be less effective. Most scouts compared him to pietrangelo before the draft and Dobson is pretty much exactly what he was said to be.

They’re both big defenseman with elite 4 way mobility. Both are great at everything. EV, PP, PK etc. They are nearly identical in play style, Dobson even said before the draft he models he game after him

I’m not disagreeing with what you or the analysts said. I’m saying he’s a better skater than Pietrangelo was. That’s literally it.

As far as I’m aware Pietrangelo never had this kind of speed. That’s all I’m saying. You have to take that into account.

Dobby got a 3 year bridge.

They’re going to regret in 3 years when he asks for 9-9.5 mill per

Look I get what your saying. But what if they signed him to a 7 year deal and they had to overpay to keep him at 29 because their window is still open? At some point you are gonna have to pay the guy. I’m fine with this contract tbh.

Eh, takes two to tango - I could see Dobson betting on himself by taking the 3 year bridge and, if he keeps his play up, cashing in 8x$9M in 2025. and basically setting himself up for his whole career.

Would've liked to pay big this year when they're not using the cap for much of anything else, but at the same time, I'd like to think that the cap resumes going up between now and 2025 so $9-9.5M isn't going to be as big of a percentage of the cap as it would be now.