On Wednesday, GMRF announced that they had extended Slavin’s contract for seven years and $37 million. While this isn’t news to many, I did want to look at the contract and what Slavin means to the Hurricanes.
Most of the last season, Slavin paired with Pesce, and the two typically played the role of locking down the opponent’s top competition. To the surprise of some, Slavin led the team in TOI averaging 23 minutes and 26 seconds a night over 26 shifts. Some haven’t realized how vital he is to the Hurricanes future success, but some did notice his skill, and he earned two fifth place votes for the Norris.
I noted earlier in the year that I thought he deserved to
represent the Hurricanes at the All-Star game.This wasn’t meant as a slight to Faulk but more an indication of just how well Slavin performed this season.
The TOI and Norris votes don’t even begin to tell the story of just how valuable Slavin is to the Hurricanes though. Looking deeper at Slavin’s role, one will notice that he was vital to one of the best PK units in the NHL too. He led the team in blocks on the PK with 40, which was 19 more than the next teammate.
Looking at his TOI during the PK too, he didn’t just lead the team; he obliterated it in comparison to Pesce who was second on the team in PK TOI. Slavin logged 255 minutes and 49 seconds, compared the Pesce who had 177 minutes and 27 seconds. That’s more than an entire NHL game worth of minutes more logged...
Another aspect that stands out with Slavin’s play is just how well of a positional player he is. This can be seen directly in how few penalties he takes despite playing against top competition. He only logged a total 12 PIM the entire season which is amazing given his usage. It is rare to catch him out of position, and even more rare to see a lapse in his discipline.
While Faulk certainly plays more of a vital role on the PP, one can’t ignore the fact that Slavin also has a strong offensive threat too. He logged more even-strength points than Faulk—Slavin had 26 even strength, four on the PP and four on the PK. He doesn’t have the scoring ability that Faulk brings, but he has just as good if not better vision and playmaking abilities.
Slavin was tied on the team for second with assists, as he tallied a total of 29. His ability to find open guys whether it be on the breakout or in the offensive zone is one of his best skill sets. I imagine that his point production will not decrease over the next few years as the team improves and scores more.
The final statistic that I think shows how well he performed this year is looking at his plus/minus. While many know that plus/minus isn’t the best statistic to determine a player’s value, I do think it holds more value than many give it credit.
The fact is that on a team that struggled to score, he and Pesce were both plus 23. Only one other teammate who played more than ten games was in the positive, and that was Stempniak at a plus 2. There were ten players who were below a minus 10—with Faulk and Hanifin being the worst at minus 19 and minus 18 respectively.
The big question this year will be if the Slavin/Pesce line is separated. Personally, I think it makes sense to have Slavin and Faulk on the first line. The two of them would bring a very strong blueline that would create problems offensively too. Looking at the Hero Charts, Slavin’s numbers put him as a solid #2 D and Faulk clearly slots as the #1.
Defensively, Slavin brings the speed and hockey IQ to read Faulk and allow him to take more offensive risks too. Faulk is a much more offensively focused D and needs someone reliable defensively (like Slavin or Pesce) to help mitigate any potential mistakes. Pesce is a RHD, similar to Faulk, so there is zero chance that he fills the first pairing role.
Some think that Hanifin may fill the LHD spot on the top line, but I don’t think he is the best match for Faulk. While he has a similar offensive skill-set to Slavin, he doesn’t bring the same awareness and occasionally made big mistakes with blown coverages. I feel that Hanifin with Faulk puts Faulk more in the role of covering for Hanifin, as opposed to being given more flexibility with Slavin.
Hanifin getting paired with Pesce, who is one of the best defensive D and shot suppressors on the team seems to be a more logical approach. It allows for Hanifin to focus on creating offense when in the offensive zone while giving him the D support needed to not be afraid of mistakes. The big question with this pairing is if Hanifin can consistently play D against the opponent’s top competition.
At this stage in his development, he has shown to be comfortable offensively, but still needs more defensive improvement. All too often last season when Hanifin made a mistake in the offensive zone the puck wound up in the net because Dahlbeck/Murphy/Tennyson provided little help.
This is exactly why I think Hanifin would benefit from having a D partner who is known for their D first, not their offensive capacity. Looking at the Hero Charts and in comparison to 2nd pairing NHL D, I think the two help fill the others deficiencies.
It’ll be interesting to see how the D pairings come together next season. The Hurricanes will certainly have a strong top-four, as this doesn’t even take into account TVR/Dahlbeck and some of the prospects rumored to be NHL ready too. Now that the Hurricanes have a goaltending upgrade too, I imagine that this might become one of the best defensive teams in the NHL next season.
All in all, signing Slavin for a role most likely on the first pairing for seven years and $37 million is an amazing deal. As Slavin continues to garner more notice and respect through the NHL, I imagine many will look at this deal and just say “wow.”
My biggest worry with Slavin wasn’t so much the cost, but how long GMRF could get him signed for. I believed it would be more for three or four years and around the same price tag range. Getting seven years at only a $5.3M cap hit is just amazing work on both sides.
It shows GMRF commitment and belief to Slavin’s role on this team, as well as showing Slavin’s commitment for the long-term. I’d put this deal down as a win for everyone.
Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts on Slavin’s deal and how you see the top-four shaping up next season too. I will be writing on Jordan Staal early this week, so be sure to check back—pending of course no big announcement on Monday…fingers crossed.
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