Abby Signs 7-year, 29.75 mil Extension

[Shaman 713]

The cap is going up and will continue to do so.

This is a fair deal.

Not with the Canadian dollar so weak and continuing to weaken. It's more likely the cap will drop significantly over the next 5 years than it is that it will rise significantly.

[WingsallTheway 383]

Meh, just a bit more than I was looking at, but heck, if Franzen stays LTIR, then it's almost a wash. I agree with you's though, Ericsson IS NOT a top 4 D-man and gets paid maybe not too much, but for too long. Good thing is, Q will be off the books next year, Richards (if not traded at the deadline) will also be off the books.

Thank you haha

He would be a great bottom pairing dman but he gets completely exposed on either of the top 2 pairings. He doesnt generate offence and is extremely soft even with his size

Our problem since Lids has left is that alot of our dmen are playing 1 pairing higher than they should be. It causes problems because they then get paid for playing more minutes than they should be.

Kronwall - 1

Ericsson - 5/6

Green - 3

Dekeyser - 3

Smith - 5

Kindl - 6/7

Quincey 4

Its a bit better this year with the addition of Green since we can balance the pairings a bit more

Edited November 12, 2015 by WingsallTheway

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Longer and a bit more than I expected but the guy is a heart and soul player he brings energy and physicality.

plus the deal is front loaded by the time he declines the cap will be easily more than 100 million

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

Quite surprised that so many people actually like this deal or are even ok with it.

Personally, I think it's a pretty bad signing. 7 years is absolutely terrible for a guy like Abdelkader. Ya, he's maybe a 4.25 million guy right now but there's no way a 7 year term is worth that money. Feeling like this will be regrettable in a couple years.

[joesuffP 1,746]

How was Franzen dreadful? He led our team in goals every year until his injuries. People on these boards spend more time talking about players then actually watching them. There's something wrong with people having their own personal investment in players struggles just for the sake of I told you so's.

Abby got a fair deal in today's NHL and the term just guarantees he retires a wing. They probably see him as a great leader and somebody they need around when Dats retires

[Barrie 900]

I'm ok with it.

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

How was Franzen dreadful? He led our team in goals every year until his injuries. People on these boards spend more time talking about players then actually watching them. There's something wrong with people having their own personal investment in players struggles just for the sake of I told you so's.

Abby got a fair deal in today's NHL and the term just guarantees he retires a wing. They probably see him as a great leader and somebody they need around when Dats retires

It's more than a fair deal, I'd have a hard time seeing other teams giving a guy like Abdelkader this good of a deal. Feel like leadership qualities are often very overblown and let's be real here, no one other than the players themselves know how good of a leader a guy like Abdelkader is (And even then, I feel like they overstate these qualities).

To me the biggest thing that sucks is that there's also a NTC/NMC that we can't move if he declines as he probably should and hinders our ability to improve our team in the immediate and long-term future.

[krsmith17 7,191]

I could be wrong, but isn't the NTC just for the first 4 years or something?

[joesuffP 1,746]

If Abby scores around 25 goals (maybe) and leads our team in hits for the millionth time (definitely) teams would be offering him 5M. The term just says to me that they want him around for the future and see him as leader on this team. This contract should inspire guys like Glendening. Abby got here by working his arse off every second of every shift, started on the 4th line and now he's making big money playing with super stars. 4M cap hit contracts don't hurt your team these days

Edited November 12, 2015 by joesuffP

[nosyt612 103]

He shouldn't be a top 4 dman...that money could have went elsewhere to a legit top 4. I don't understand how its ok to pay him that much just because we were forced to give him top minutes. He plays top pairing minutes even though he plays like a 6th dman

Quincey is overpaid, Kindl is here next season as well. Even Green is overpaid. Abby's contract will be bad in 3-4 years.

#1,2 defenceman who make roughly the same as Quincey and Green:

Roman Josi 4M

OEL 5.5M

Keith 5.5M

Adam Larsson 4M

Yandle 3M

You're kinda cherry picking contracts, without providing the context in which they were signed. Yandle actually makes over 5 million, with Phoenix retaining salary to produce that cap number. Keith signed one of those crazy lifetime deals like Zetterberg and Hossa which keeps his cap hit down, otherwise he'd be one of the top salary guys in the league. Larsson is having a breakout year and finally looking like the top prospect he was, but before this year he hadn't been great. Josi signed his contract 3 years ago when he was 22 and just breaking out. OEL also was 21 when he signed his contract, and will be in for a payday on his next contract.

[Richdg 267]

Good deal. Locks up one of our leaders and glue guys. Something we need more of! I read over the summer-but I don't remember which site maybe WIM? That a few years ago Holland and the RW's made a decision to focus on bringing in more Michigan kids/kids with ties to the state, into the organization. Abby, DD, Miller, Larkin, Coreau, Mantha, Glendening etc... does support that idea. If that was the case then keeping them around for their careers makes sense.

As for the deal itself, the timing is very good. Years 28-35 is the term of the deal. Yes the last year could be an issue, but we are not talking about trying to get production from a 38, 39, 40 year old like we are hoping with some of our other deals. We have a ton of money coming off the books the next 1.5 seasons: KFQ 4.25, Kindl 2, Richards 3, datsyuk 7, Franzen 4-while on LTIR, Smith 2, maybe Helm 2, etc......

[amato 3,210]

I could be wrong, but isn't the NTC just for the first 4 years or something?

A full NTC the first 4, then partial..

Craig Custance ✔ @CraigCustance

Justin Abdelkader's contract includes full NTC in first four seasons and a partial after that.

11:15 AM - 12 Nov 2015

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

I could be wrong, but isn't the NTC just for the first 4 years or something?

Ya, and then I believe there is a modified NMC after that.

Still makes it hard to move the contract if we need to regardless.

[amato 3,210]

Also, just to compare....

General Fanager @generalfanager

Some close comparables to Abdelkader 7 yr @ $4.25M deal:

Sutter: 5 yrs @ $4.375M

Hornqvist & Smith: 5 yrs @ $4.25M

Frolik: 5 yrs @ $4.3M

10:39 AM - 12 Nov 2015

[WingsallTheway 383]

You're kinda cherry picking contracts, without providing the context in which they were signed. Yandle actually makes over 5 million, with Phoenix retaining salary to produce that cap number. Keith signed one of those crazy lifetime deals like Zetterberg and Hossa which keeps his cap hit down, otherwise he'd be one of the top salary guys in the league. Larsson is having a breakout year and finally looking like the top prospect he was, but before this year he hadn't been great. Josi signed his contract 3 years ago when he was 22 and just breaking out. OEL also was 21 when he signed his contract, and will be in for a payday on his next contract.

This is true, but these are #1/2 Dmen and are being compared with guys who are supposed to be 3,4.

To compare salaries of 3,4 dmen:

Cam Fowler 4M

Jack Johnson 4.2M

Johnny Oduya 3.7M

Dmitri Kulikov 4.5M

Ryan Mcdonagh 4.7M

Kevin Klein 3M

Jon Carlson 4M

I'd take these players over Quincey/Ericsson, with the exception maybe being Jack Johnson and Oduya

Although these salaries do prove that mid pairing Dmen make 4-5M so if Quincey is a mid pairing guy he isn't overpaid. I'll agree there

[xtrememachine1 795]

If we didn't lock him up, somebody out there would have paid more (probably around $4.5-5 mil) and we lose him. If we lose Abby, who creates havoc in front of the net? Who is a physical presence on our team? When D, Z and Kronner retire, who is looked to for veteran leadership? You may not agree with the length or the amount, but truth is we NEED him. When he got off to that fast start last month, he showed how much of a positive impact he can provide for our team. Because he's a physical player, I'm a little unsure about the 7 years, but considering all the good things he does for our team, $4.25 mil per year is a GOOD deal. You also have to take into account that $4.25 mil won't be the same 7 years from now. The cap will continue to rise and that hit won't be as impactful.

[nosyt612 103]

This is true, but these are #1/2 Dmen and are being compared with guys who are supposed to be 3,4.

To compare salaries of 3,4 dmen:

Cam Fowler 4M

Jack Johnson 4.2M

Johnny Oduya 3.7M

Dmitri Kulikov 4.5M

Ryan Mcdonagh 4.7M

Kevin Klein 3M

Jon Carlson 4M

I'd take these players over Quincey/Ericsson, with the exception maybe being Jack Johnson and Oduya

Although these salaries do prove that mid pairing Dmen make 4-5M so if Quincey is a mid pairing guy he isn't overpaid. I'll agree there

Agreed on not taking those two, and I'd maybe include Klein. But the rest of the contracts we're all signed when the guys were young, and not the talents they currently are. Fowler signed his when he was 20, Carlson when he was 22, and McDonagh 23. Also these were their first chance at some money, while their teams have more bargaining power. You're not comparing apples to apples, the going price of mid level free agent defensemen these days is in the mid 4s to 5s. in order to get the contracts you're comparing them to we need to develop some of our own young dmen.

[WingsallTheway 383]

Agreed on not taking those two, and I'd maybe include Klein. But the rest of the contracts we're all signed when the guys were young, and not the talents they currently are. Fowler signed his when he was 20, Carlson when he was 22, and McDonagh 23. Also these were their first chance at some money, while their teams have more bargaining power. You're not comparing apples to apples, the going price of mid level free agent defensemen these days is in the mid 4s to 5s. in order to get the contracts you're comparing them to we need to develop some of our own young dmen.

Fair enough.

I still think Ericcson should be paid as a bottom pairing defenceman though

After looking at the average salaries for mid pairing dmen I'd say Quincey isn't a horrible price but only because his play has improved. At the time the contract was made it was bad

[roboturner 562]

I like having Abby on the team, Seven years is a bit too much in my opinion, but if he ends up playing it out he'll be 36. That might be retirement age for a guy who plays his style. When I look at it that way it isn't too bad. But......

I'm just going to remind everybody that Dan Cleary is 36 right now (about to turn 37 in a month). His 35-36 year with the wings he was terrible and spent most of the games in the press box. His 34-35 year was probably even more terrible because he was in the lineup more. And to be honest I thought he looked done the year before that (when he was 33-34). I'm not saying Abby will turn into the next Cleary, but it's just something to keep in mind. Not everybody's body deteriorates (or holds up) at the same rate. On the other hand, Holmstrom took a beating over his career and played his last game when he was 39. Abby could get a couple more seasons in. But I don't know the future, it could really go either way with him.

I AM worried about him retiring in 8 years and there will be people calling for his jersey retirement (and you KNOW there will be).

[nosyt612 103]

Fair enough.

I still think Ericcson should be paid as a bottom pairing defenceman though

After looking at the average salaries for mid pairing dmen I'd say Quincey isn't a horrible price but only because his play has improved. At the time the contract was made it was bad

I don't mind Erriccson as much as it seems everyone else does, but I'm obviously in the minority. Agreed on Quincey, he's really turned around his play from when he first got back to the D.

[Vladinator16 236]

To me this is the difference between a contending teams signing and a pretending team signing, this is a Kenny Holland Pretender move. This is Kenny looking at the team and saying everything is fine here is a 7 year deal we'll continue to do the same thing we've done for the last 5-6 years.

A contending team GM would have seen Abbys agent asking for 7 years and laughed the agent out of the building, a contending team doesn't lockup bottom 6 players to unmovable 7 year contracts. Look at a team like Chicago and how they have stayed competitive and won 3 cups, they trade away and let players like Byfuglien, Saad, Sharp, Ladd, Niemi, and countless others go from the team in order to keep things changing and keep a team competitive. They don't lock players down to long term deals unless they are true centerpiece superstar players. Chicago realizes that the players they have can be replaced and still be competitive. Kenny Holland doesn't know how to do that anymore. Do you think if Abby played for Chicago they would give him a 7 year $4M dollar extension? No, no they wouldn't. Because they know that Abby isn't the type of player that will take the team to the Finals. Kenny doesn't look at this team like that though, he doesn't see that this team needs help. All Kenny sees is that Abby is a home grown talent and should be rewarded for his loyalty just like several past players he's resigned out of loyalty. Loyalty doesn't win Cups, heck loyalty doesn't even get you past the first round but Kenny doesn't see it that way.

This team has not made it past the first round in years and what's kenny doing about it? He's signing guys like Abby to 7 year extensions. Signing Abs to 7 years isn't going to make this team go past the first round, all Kenny is doing is resigning everybody and keeping the team exactly the same and setting us up for the exact same first round exit that we've become accustomed to.

At some point Kenny is going to have to realize he's going to have to drop the loyalty crap and actually try to better the team, not keep it the same year after year minus one or two new guys making the lineup. At some point Kenny needs to realize this isn't working and make some wholesale changes but that would go against everything Kenny believes in. Whens the last time we traded a roster player? Eaves? Does Kenny even try to better the team or is he just content with this roster and its first round exits?

Edited November 12, 2015 by Vladinator16

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Abdelkader is a useful complimentary player. Smart GMs don't give useful complimentary players, especially 28 year old physical ones, 7 year deals. Terrible. The likelihood of him being worth that over the last 3 years of the deal is close to nil.

[LeftWinger 4,951]

Ugh, the dreaded NTC....guess he's pretty much eliminated from any trade rumors.

So, again, a little more than I would've liked, but it's especially longer than I like. Since he got $4.25M AAV, he should of gotten less years at the higher salary. If he was looking for the NTC and the 7 years he should've taken a bit less money. IMO, 7 years should've been $3.5M AAV, $4.25M AAV should've been no more than 4.

We are quickly running out of cap room next season. Especially if we are looking to upgrade the top spot on D. We will need at minimum $7M available if we even want to start conversations with someone like Byf in July. Like I said, I am glad Abby is re-signed for it takes one task off the parking lot, but I sure wished it was more near $3.5M....but again, if Franzen is done, it's almost a wash.

I sure hope Helm gets traded before he gets anywhere near $4M!

[Bill Berzeench 310]

To me this is the difference between a contending teams signing and a pretending team signing, this is a Kenny Holland Pretender move. This is Kenny looking at the team and saying everything is fine here is a 7 year deal we'll continue to do the same thing we've done for the last 5-6 years.

A contending team GM would have seen Abbys agent asking for 7 years and laughed the agent out of the building, a contending team doesn't lockup bottom 6 players to unmovable 7 year contracts. Look at a team like Chicago and how they have stayed competitive and won 3 cups, they trade away and let players like Byfuglien, Saad, Sharp, Ladd, Niemi, and countless others go from the team in order to keep things changing and keep a team competitive. They don't lock players down to long term deals unless they are true centerpiece superstar players. Chicago realizes that the players they have can be replaced and still be competitive. Kenny Holland doesn't know how to do that anymore. Do you think if Abby played for Chicago they would give him a 7 year $4M dollar extension? No, no they wouldn't. Because they know that Abby isn't the type of player that will take the team to the Finals. Kenny doesn't look at this team like that though, he doesn't see that this team needs help. All Kenny sees is that Abby is a home grown talent and should be rewarded for his loyalty just like several past players he's resigned out of loyalty. Loyalty doesn't win Cups, heck loyalty doesn't even get you past the first round but Kenny doesn't see it that way.

This team has not made it past the first round in years and what's kenny doing about it? He's signing guys like Abby to 7 year extensions. Signing Abs to 7 years isn't going to make this team go past the first round, all Kenny is doing is resigning everybody and keeping the team exactly the same and setting us up for the exact same first round exit that we've become accustomed to.

At some point Kenny is going to have to realize he's going to have to drop the loyalty crap and actually try to better the team, not keep it the same year after year minus one or two new guys making the lineup. At some point Kenny needs to realize this isn't working and make some wholesale changes but that would go against everything Kenny believes in. Whens the last time we traded a roster player? Eaves? Does Kenny even try to better the team or is he just content with this roster and its first round exits?

They did it with Bickell, but got away with it. But you are correct. Ken Holland is useless.

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

I wouldn't say anybody is overpaid actually. E is objectively a top 4 defensemen on this team despite what you think about him. We have too many players not too much salary. Who in your mind is overpaid besides Ericsson which is objectively wrong? Kindl? He's gone next year so I'm not worried about it, not like he has a massive cap hit anyways

Kindl has 1 more year on his contract. I agree with your assessments of our D contracts. These are the prices dictated by the market.

Howard, Franzen, and Cleary cost $10 mil momil

Like the abby signing, but Holland is a buffoon.

Cleary costs .950 to the Grand Rapids Griffins and marks 5000 against our cap (nhlnumbers.com). Franzen was worth his production and now costs us nothing (Capwise) if he stays on LTIR.

Howard is currently top 10 in the league for stats. That's what a goalie at his level and experiance costs. I know everybody's on the Mrazek train now, but Howard's price is fair.

Thank you haha

He would be a great bottom pairing dman but he gets completely exposed on either of the top 2 pairings. He doesnt generate offence and is extremely soft even with his size

Our problem since Lids has left is that alot of our dmen are playing 1 pairing higher than they should be. It causes problems because they then get paid for playing more minutes than they should be.

Kronwall - 1

Ericsson - 5/6

Green - 3

Dekeyser - 3

Smith - 5

Kindl - 6/7

Quincey 4

Its a bit better this year with the addition of Green since we can balance the pairings a bit more

So if I take your rankings for: 1,3,3,4,5,5+6 that just means we chose depth since we couldn't land another top pairing guy.

I would argue DK is a #2 or on his way there. Also E is at least a #4.

We have good goaltending to cover for the D, which isn't quite as solid as we'd like. And now prospects with potential and low price tags on the way. All good to me

Good deal. Locks up one of our leaders and glue guys. Something we need more of! I read over the summer-but I don't remember which site maybe WIM? That a few years ago Holland and the RW's made a decision to focus on bringing in more Michigan kids/kids with ties to the state, into the organization. Abby, DD, Miller, Larkin, Coreau, Mantha, Glendening etc... does support that idea. If that was the case then keeping them around for their careers makes sense.

What are Mantha's connection to Michigan? He's from Quebec.

I AM worried about him retiring in 8 years and there will be people calling for his jersey retirement (and you KNOW there will be).

You're probably joking, but I doubt that. We've had many Lifelong or long term WIngs that nobody considers retiring: Holmstrom, Draper, McCarty, and reading into the future Kronwall, Franzen. Unless he transforms into the second coming of Hossa, he'll fall in with these guys

Edited November 12, 2015 by PavelValerievichDatsyuk