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Hall of a Contract. Now Time for the Eberle

August 22, 2012, 4:45 PM ET [212 Comments]
Richard Cloutier
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Quote from yesterday's rumor blog: "Taylor Hall will get a 7 year deal at $6mil per".

Quote from Oilers today: "Taylor Hall signs a seven year contract extension worth $6mil per."

Ain't I a genius? Wait, don't answer that. Hey, I rarely get stuff 100% right, so allow me to have a moment.

Okay, I'm done. Thanks for that. Now time for the Eberle. I love it. Your father loves it. Your Aunt Neda watches it every night in the VCR.

I have a healthy debate going on Twitter (@rdcloutier) with several people on whether Jordan Eberle will receive more or less money than Taylor Hall did. It's a safe bet the extension he's about to sign will be very similar in size and length to Hall's deal. No one seems to be arguing about that.

I say Eberle will get more money and a shorter term. $6.25mil per on a 6 year deal.

Why more than Hall?

Numbers.

Hall might develop into a better all-around player, but Eberle has slightly outpaced him offensively. Hall over his short career is a .754ppg player, with .389 goals per game. Eberle is a .810ppg player with a .354 goals per game average. Not much to choose from here, but perhaps the more important thing to consider is that Eberle, if he wouldn't have missed four games last season, likely would have finished in the Top 10 in league scoring. Hall is a bulldozer and a leader; Eberle is perhaps a more gifted offensive talent. Point-getters always seem to earn the most money in the NHL.

I've heard arguments that Eberle played "soft" minutes. There are a bunch of bloggers out there who love to throw out utterly random, meaningless, invented stats. I have a better idea: Go to games. Watch guys play. Eberle was the best player on the Oilers last season, even when Hall was healthy. I'm sure his agent noticed that too, and will make the argument with Oilers management while hammering out a new deal.

I'm gonna bring up Jeff Skinner again, but not to bash him. Skinner plays more like Eberle than Hall...He scored at a .688ppg clip last season and was extended for six years, $5.725mil per. Eberle scored at a .974ppg clip last season, so there's no way he can get less than Skinner. Which means $5.726mil to around $6.5mil per is the range we can expect to see his extension. If Eberle signs for less than Hall, consider it a clear sign he loves playing for the Edmonton Oilers. Other teams would pay him more.

The argument that Hall should receive more is based on a few things that actually do make sense:

- Hall has the ability to run over the opposition. Physically, he's developing into the power-forward most NHL teams are desperate to add.

- While Hall is actually a pretty quiet and shy guy, you get the feeling he's more of an emotional leader on the team than Eberle. This being said, word on Eberle is that even though he's a humble, fun-loving guy, he's incredibly competitive. Both players hate to lose and will not tolerate the half-assed-ness that was most of the other players on the team last season.

- Hall, of course, as a 1st overall pick, and that equals money.

- Hall is perhaps a better goal scorer. Goals > Assists.

All of this makes me wonder what Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gets next summer when they go to re-sign him. Nuge might be the best all-around player out of the wunderkids. If anyone has 100pts per season potential, it's Nuge. If Hall's a $6mil and Eberle is a $6.25mil, make Nuge a $6.5mil. It's a good thing Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff's contracts will be disappearing in the next few seasons, as the Oilers are gonna need cap space.
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