Sens/Murray have done a great job of locking up a strong core of young players.....going forward, and haven't had to overpay any of them. All very good contracts by comparison to others around the league.
It looks like GMBM and MM split my two proposals for salary and a NTC -- I'm a genius! I'm pleased with the amount and modified NTC, and I'm surprised the term is 4 years and not 5.
Only little worry: both EK65 and MM are now UFAs at the end of the same season.
plus the guy he was traded for is now a point a game player and is really playing fantastic for CBJ, and Ottawa needs all the good players it can get and can't really let good players leave for nothing.
If it were to be signed as 4yr / $5.5M AAV, there should be no NTC/NMC attached to it. If there is a No ____ Clause, then $500k-$1M comes off the cap hit as far as what he's paid in return for that security for the player.
I'm leery of either a reoccurring injury or a 'lifestyle' / room problem, given some of the behind-the-curtains talk I've heard over the past 18 months, so I'd like the ability for the team to maximize the potential return for a trade rather than get stuck in another Heatley "I want options" situation.
I'm sure that the team will discuss the injury with their medical team to see if there is an expectation of future reoccurrence of the problem. Last year, I don't remember him being out for a long period of time, but getting scratched after being off sick (I have a feeling he was still partying when he was sick instead of getting better, but that's my TJ tinfoil moment). If it's not recurring, and I believe that he's 26, 4 years max around the $4.5-5 would be reasonable with a no trade. Still about a month before the trade deadline, but I expect this to be done fast since they were so close before the injury.
I think we are already seeing how important he actually is to the team. I agree, though - a short-term contract to see if this injury is going to be a recurring problem would be my preference. A slight overpayment for a shorter term would make sense right now.
Now that Methot is back playing again, hopefully for the rest of the season, the talk about his pending UFA status is coming back to the top of the list of Sens fans discussion topics (after JGP being a Habs killer and EK65's improved +/- under the new coach, of course).
Last year, the comparable being talked about was Andrew MacDonald (signed by Islanders, traded to Flyers) with a 4yr / $5M cap hit contract. Now, there is talk that Marc Staal is about to sign for 6yr / $5.7M AAV, so the question becomes (yet again!):
Where you do put Marc Methot in the cost/term matrix, given his injury problems last season, over the summer, and this season? I'm still inclined to try and get a 'bridge contract' of two years at around $5M to see if he is truly over the injury, and if so then I'd be comfortable with shelling out the kind of money Staal signed for as long as the term was reasonable.
