So Darren Dreger of TSN broke the news that Blake Wheeler and the Winnipeg Jets have reached an agreement for a contract extension starting after this season. It's for 5 years and 41.25 Million in that span for an 8.25 million per year. Given the lockout that most believe is coming it would make sense that this contract is front-loaded and heavily.
The captain will be back and that's good news but what of the cost?
The Jets have now eaten up another 3 million in precious cap space that will also be needed for players such as Trouba (if that's even possible) Connor, Laine, and Morrissey. In some ways I would expect there to be bridge deals to buy time to clear off contract and create cap space.
It's hard to believe that Blake Wheeler who played at a significant discount for the majority of his expiring six-year deal was going to take less than fair market-value but what about the term? Wheeler will be 38 when this deal ends and as of this writing will be the highest paid Jets player.
Only Carey Price will have a higher AAV at age 38 than Wheeler's deal as contracts in the NHL stand. There are only three other contracts by memory that go past that age which are even close to the AAV of this, Weber, Suter, and Parise.
Make no mistake but Blake Wheeler is a good player and he's a top 5 RW in this league right now. but will he be next year, or in three years? There is the risk for the Jets and given the contacts that need to come the fallout across the team could be large too.
The glass half-full optimist will say that the salary cap is likely to up and that Wheeler has shown to be a durable and reliable player worth taking the risk. That's a fair statement and one worth remembering but age is a funny thing it never tells you when it's about to strike.
Here is a >list of players since 2000 who between the ages of 35-38 and played 60 plus games had Wheeler's Jets its per game average of .895
Is Blake Wheeler of that calibre?
Wheeler has come off his most productive season ever with 91 points in 81 games and has only missed 5 games in his seven seasons with the Jets. Durability has not been a problem...yet. That's the concern here given his age and the term of this deal. Also, what about production? Wheeler reached his high-water mark this past season but has hovered around just under a point per game as a Jet prior. Is that good enough for 8.25 per year?
For the team and Jets fans this is a feel good the moment, the captain and most productive Jets player will be back for five more years most likely finishing his career as a Jet. It's one of those Sally Field moments when the city can say "He likes me, he really, really likes me," but that does not mean he likes the team at any cost. There is the downside and concern because there was no discount taken by Wheeler and given the other contract issues the Jets have this one just adds more pressure on the GM to keep a strong group of players together.