Scott Mayfield is finally getting a legitimate shot at the NHL, and he’s not willing to wait around for a payday. The New York Islanders defenseman has signed a five-year extension worth just $7.25MM total according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. Mayfield is earning just $675K in the second season of a two-year deal signed in 2016, but will see his average salary jump to $1.45MM for the next half-decade.
Mayfield has been given extra responsibility recently, as the Islanders deal with injuries to Johnny Boychuk and Calvin de Haan, and has shown he can be an effective two-way option at the highest level. The 25-year old had played just 36 career NHL games coming into this season, but doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere anytime soon. Still with just 65 games played, had Mayfield not suited up for another 15 contests before the end of the year he could have become a Group VI unrestricted free agent. Either way, he was set to hit restricted free agency, but instead of battling it out in an arbitration hearing settled for the long-term certainty of his new extension.
The contract is certainly palatable for the Islanders, who have locked in a useful—if not exceptional—defenseman at a salary that is almost entirely risk-free. Even if his play falters and he’s buried in the minors, Mayfield will incur a very small cap hit. Instead, it seems more likely that this move is planning for a salary structure that includes a massive contract for John Tavares. If the Islanders do indeed sign Tavares long-term, they’ll need to keep costs low at every other opportunity. With Josh Bailey and de Haan also set to hit unrestricted free agency, money will soon be tight for New York.
Mayfield was a second-round selection by the Islanders in 2011, before going to the University of Denver for two seasons. Despite being an excellent one-on-one defender, he was known mostly for his physicality and willingness to drop the gloves to protect a teammate while in junior and college, and carried that feisty style over to the minor leagues when he eventually turned pro. Lately though, Mayfield has began to toe the line instead of jump right over it, and has turned himself into quite the solid defenseman. He’ll never be a real puck-carrying option, but he finds success playing a simple, mistake free game and could continue to blossom into a sort of shutdown option for the Islanders in the future. The fact that he’s added 10 points in 29 games hasn’t been overlooked, and Mayfield has earned himself more than 20 minutes in four of the Islanders’ last seven matches.
He’s not betting on himself with this contract, but it will likely keep Mayfield in the lineup and manning the blueline for the Islanders for some time. For a player who has had to fight to even get onto the ice on a regular basis, the security may be worth it.