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In this edition of the hotstove we share our thoughts on Danny DeKeyser's six-year, $30 million contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings.
Todd Cordell
I don't mind DeKeyser as a player but I don't like this contract at all.
Dating back to his BCHL days in 2008-09 he has recorded more than 25 points just once.
His offensive rate stats at 5 v 5 are second-pairing level but his shot suppression and possession numbers are bottom-pairing. At 26 he is probably as good as he'll ever be so I don't think he's going to suddenly improve and be worth the contract he was given.
Locking up defensemen is never cheap but I just don't see how the Wings can justify giving him $5 million per over a six-year term.
James Tanner
It's terrible. Dekeyser just got the same contract the Leafs gave to Morgan Rielly, who is four years younger and has way more upside.
Already, today, Rielly is the superior player and so this contract is an overpayment with no real value to be gained unless Dekeyser does an unlikely late career Jose Bautista-like improvement.
This is an example of a team with bad defense overpaying to keep what they have.
John Jaeckel
I like DeKeyser's upside, always have.
But this to me seems like a gamble on salary cap growth and his continued growth into a top-flight defender. There are better defensemen making the same or less money today in the NHL, that's just a fact. Generally speaking, I respect the personnel moves of the Wings, but this one seems a bit of a stretch. Time will tell.
Peter Tessier
The Dekeyser deal is another one of those deal where it's not inherrently bad but it's not some fantastic deal either. Frankly what it represents is a signing within the parameters of the market for defence players and to a lesser degree all skaters.
It's structured well, not too long and does not over pay into older years. However it generally over pays for what Dekeyser is right now which may be the peak for him over the next 2 years. The 3 after that could be a bit ugly but again, it's really not that bad.
I think we're ingrained almost to find lingering fault with deals from one side or the other and right now it's hard to find and glaring problem with this deal. So in this case, try as I do, it's fair and that's the way it should work.
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