On Thursday, the Minnesota Wild signed promising young forward Charlie Coyle to a five-year contract extension. The deal, which will kick in next season when his entry-level contract expires, is worth a shade over $3 million per season:
This isn’t a landmark deal, but it is the latest example of a team making a choice between a short-term bridge deal and a longer-term potential-driven accord on a player’s second contract.
The second contract question is one that’s been around for a long time. An entry-level cap is a staple of the NHL system, but once that first deal ends technically the player is a restricted free agent like any other.
Some teams have opted to use their superior bargaining power—a player coming out of his entry-level deal lacks arbitration rights and is years away from unrestricted free agency—to force a cheap, short-term deal. Other teams have instead traded money for term, giving a player with upside a deal that pays him a little more now in exchange for a low cap hit in later years when he’ll presumably be worth significantly more.
While there ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
Minnesota Wild Making a Smart Bet with Charlie Coyle’s Contract Extension
October 23rd, 2014 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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