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22 years ago today I lost my tuxedo pants but gained my soulmate. (My brother had to speed from Ypsilanti to Briarwood Mall once I realized. I thought my brothers were pranking me). The pants got there just in time, and Jen was cool as a cucumber when she found out. A beautiful day and a beautiful life.
Adam Erne and DET settle at 2x$2.1M AAV
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) August 15, 2021
Take a look at part 2 of my series on Detroit’s drafts 2013-2018. Unfortunately I had to bump the posting due to some breaking news. Adam Erne has received a 2 yr deal with a 2.1 AAV. That is double what he made last season.
Last year Erne scored 11 goals in 45 games. The year before he scored 2 in 56. The year before that he scored 7 in 65. Two seasons of 3 goals each before that with 26 and 25 games played (respectively).
He nearly matched three years of production in the shortened season. I’ve considered him an Abdelkader 2.0, but last season he broke out. Vrana lead the team with 19 (11 with Washington), Mantha scored 15 (4 with Washington) and Erne drops in at 3rd with 11. Still, this was clearly a far cry from his track record.
I have to assume Yzerman believes that the production will continue to be better than what Erne showed in the previous four seasons. 15 goals in 4 NHL seasons (partial to be sure). I hope he’s right. It’s only a 2 year commitment, and time will tell if the former 2nd round pick (33rd) of Yzerman’s Bolts will continue to harbor double digit production.
I know Kooleus called Erne out as having potential. He certainly didn’t show it in his first season (2 goals in 56 games….) but K had a victory lap after last season. I’ll be honest, I’m not wild about this deal. It’s fine, it’s not overly expensive (or extensive) but breaking 2 million with the past track record (all but last season) just feels like a reach. I may well be wrong, and I’ll happily admit to it.
This leaves only Hronek and G. Smith as RFAs without deals. Let me now how you feel about this deal. Is Erne more the 11 goal guy, or will he be back down to single digits?
Check out some of my previous posts: