Abdelkader entering contract year, possible $4M extension?

[amato 3,210]

I agree Abby and Kesler aren't really comparable but, I see no reason why we should doubt Abby replicates last season..? He really seems to have found his game. As long as he works hard again like we know he will, and gets the same opportunity under Blashill that he did under babs, 20+ goals and 40+ points doesn't seem out of the question at all.

[Rivalred 630]

Kessler and Abby are two totally different types of players and cannot be compared that is a reach when comparing their point total productions

[Helmethead 235]

Abdelkader might be more comparable to a player such as Hornqvist.

[krsmith17 7,191]

I think his most comparable counterpart has already been mentioned, Matt Beleskey. I do however think that Abdelkader is a more skilled version of Beleskey. I also think Steve Ott from a few years ago would be a pretty good comparison...

I agree with most here that believe somewhere in the $4M range for 4-5 years would be a good deal for both Abby and the Wings.

[Jesusberg 1,256]

I'll give you the Beleskey comparison but Abdelkader is not even close to Ryan Kesler. Kesler is an elite 2 way center who consistently puts up 20+ goals and 45+ points and in his peak was a 70+ point player (and had 13 points in 16 PO Games), Kesler has the proven track record to be worth the 6.8 he's soon to be getting. Trying to compare an elite 2 way center to a net front winger is absolutely laughable.

Abdelkaders best statistical season is on par with Keslers mediocre/average seasons. Even if Abdelkader can pull a rabbit out of his hind quarters and replicate last season (I doubt he does) I still say he is not a $4 Million player.

Years with 40 or more points:

Kesler: 6

Abdelkader: 1

50 or more points:

Kesler: 3

Abdelkader: 0

70 or more points:

Kesler: 2

Abdelkader: 0

20+ Goal Seasons:

Kesler: 7 (with a high of 41 in 10/11)

Abdelkader: 1

The only way Abdelkader and Kesler are comparable is they both use the body and are both from Michigan, other than that they aren't close to comparable. An elite consistent 40+ point 2 way center to a 1 time 40 point net front winger, yeah thats a great comparison.

Sure, but if I'm pulling an argument out of my a** by using one year of Abdelkader, then throwing out Kesler's "prime" numbers during his strongest years kind of skew the comparison, too. IMO, Kesler's a player on the decline - I'll be shocked if he puts up 50+ points this season. He plays a physical game, and that generally catches up with guys who are 30+ years old.

If an argument is to be made about players not being paid based on potential (maybe you agree with this, maybe not), then a guy being paid based off of his prime years (the last of which was 2010-11) is kind of ridiculous too, no?. If you look at Kesler in his past three seasons (which is what I'm doing here) as a 40-50 point guy, then they're absolutely comparable. Is Kesler earning 2.8M more (if Abdelkader gets 4M) for playing on the PK? Kesler plays harder minutes (more defensive zone starts) and is a better defensive player. What I mentioned were points, hits and some of the underlying stats (G/60, P/60, Corsi For, etc).

Kessler and Abby are two totally different types of players and cannot be compared that is a reach when comparing their point total productions

Again, when you look at Kesler's past three seasons, he's a 40-50 point player. I believe he's on the decline.