The Minnesota Wild locked up the first of their three big restricted free agents yesterday, signing center Joel Eriksson Ek to an eight-year, $42MM extension Friday afternoon. With a $5.25MM cap hit, it provides Minnesota with both long- and short-term cost certainty. As both Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala undergo contract negotiations of their own, the Eriksson Ek deal was a nice one to get out of the way.
Some were quick to defend the deal. After all, Eriksson Ek is just 24 years old and finished fourth in Selke Trophy voting on the back of his best offensive and defensive season yet. While he may not be classified as a bonafide first-line center, Eriksson Ek has already won the hearts of Wild fans with his responsible play.
However, some were quick to criticize the deal, calling it an overpayment and an overcommitment. And while $5.25MM does seem like a lot for a player who’s had a career-high of just 30 points, he was on pace for 44 in a full season this year and over 20 goals. Considering he remains one of the best defensive forwards in the league at such a young age, it’s not unexpected to see differing opinions of such a long-term contract.
So, we ask you, PHR readers, what do you think of the deal? Is it a smart investment by Wild general manager Bill Guerin? Is it too much term and money for a young player who hasn’t proven himself offensively? Or do you think that Eriksson Ek is worth more than the price tag given to him? Vote below, and feel free to comment.
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All contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Was J-Double-E’s deal an overpay? Maybe a little one. Is his game and performance similiar to Phillip Danault’s? A bit, even though Eriksson Ek is slightly better in some areas, but not at Danault’s level in others (lower FO%, for instance). Could this be Bill G’s way of putting a small squeeze on Kaprizov to let him know that if he messes around with negotiations, he could get cap-cannibalized? Hmmmm, now there’s an angle…
Interesting angle. Billy ain’t one to be trifled with.
Honestly I think this KK situation is mostly driven by his agent.
I can’t possibly imagine why you’d want to overpay Eriksson Ek so that you can put the screws on Kaprisov … especially when KK can just flip them the bird and go back to Russia.
Maybe a slight overpay, but the AAV isn’t too bad. Even if his offensive game is what it is, a guy who can be capable of playing a strong shutdown role is always valuable.
Think it will end up being a steal for the Wild. This guy works his ass off, night in, night out and during the off-season.
I just don’t see how this ends up as an overpay over the course of 8 years
Really? Heck, you don’t even have to go far from home. How happy do you think your average Minnesota fan is to know that the team’s still on the hook for $7.5 million a year for four more years for Zach Parise to be a healthy scratch? Or that they’re on the hook for the same amount for FIVE more years of Jared Spurgeon giving second-pairing production on defense? Ryan Suter, another elder statesman in deep decline, four more years, same price. Jonas Brodin is a decent defenseman, but he’s making $6 million for five more seasons: Torey Krug money for a guy who has half of Krug’s production.
THAT’s how you imagine it’s an overpay … never mind that they’re giving the guy off of just one *okay* offensive season the same money that a Barkov or Coutourier commands, defensive studs who’ve proven themselves to be legit top-line scorers year after year.
All those players you mentioned are 24 right…. No they were past there prime when they got sweetheart deals for past services rendered.
This, getting this type of a deal in the prime years is solid and can’t be compared to overpaying for aging veterans
Nice try. Parise was 26 when he signed that contract. So was Suter. So was Brodin. All players in their prime.
But none of that was even the point. The point is that handing out eight year contracts to STARS come back to bite the teams, far more often than otherwise. Giving a big salary to a chronic underachiever who had ONE good year, and expecting that he’ll live up to that payday each and every season? Zach Parise was an ALL-STAR with nearly two hundred goals under his belt. Suter was the Norris runner up. JEE has nowhere remotely close to that kind of resume.
So your issue is just with the term then??
Pretty much. If it were a three year deal, $5.25 mil would still be an overpayment. But not THAT much of one, and it isn’t as if their cap space would be crippled for the better part of a decade if Eriksson Ek regressed. Eight years, sorry: you’re betting that the guy will be worth it for the whole term, and that is obviously a bet that the Wild have made a number of times in the past, and are living to regret it now.
Nice try by you making up stuff. Parise and Suter signed 13 year contracts when they were 27 and 28.
I won’t lie I’ve never really aligned with NHA Trang’s opinions but I agree with him on this..yikes 5.25mil a season for a 30 point guy is outrageous. And for 8 years..I hope Billy G knows what he’s doing here…
The argument that 8yr and 5.25 is an overpay is ok, but acting like the Parise and Suter contracts are the same is stupid. 13 years is 60% longer. Also bringing up Barkov and Coutourier as comps doesnt work because both signed long extentions (much like this one) years ago and about to be UFAs soon and will get huge raises. All the details are fudged to create an illusion of a bad overpay instead of recognizing the posibility of it being a steal if EE continues to improve.
Thoughts and prayers