I was reading Todd's Eberle articles, and I agree with everything he said about the risk of signing Jordan Eberle.
For the New Jersey Devils - who are now in a Leafs-like position of trying to win while their star players are relatively cheap - it wouldn't make any sense to screw up their future with a long-term contract to a player like Eberle.
Eberle is 29 and he is past his prime.
The Coyotes, however, should be interested.
In the NHL past, a guy like Eberle would be about to get paid for his 30s based on things he did in his 20s and it would be a terrible contract.
While this practice isn't dead in the NHL, it is on life support.
The new way of doing things is to guess on a players value before he accomplishes anything big and pay him for what he might do.
The Coyotes have done this with Christian Dvorak and Nick Schmaltz. They simply bet that a long term deal for more than they are currently worth had good enough odds to end up as favorable to the team to make it a worthwhile play.
While the jury hasn't returned a verdict, Christian Dvorak doesn't really have to get that good to be worth $4.5 million when Brock Nelson is making $6 million. It's a risk, but it's a smart risk.
If this is the way the NHL is going, and the evidence is strong that it is, then it's bad news for guys like Eberle.
(Although not that bad, because he's only 2 years older than Brock Nelson and is a much better player).
The Coyotes need goals, and Eberle provides them.
If the NHL is trending away from big contracts for guys about to hit 30, perhaps the Coyotes could overpay Eberle for a short-term deal and get him in the lineup.
If not, they should probably just pay full price. They've got a small window while Stepen, OEL, Hjallmarson, Galchenyuk, Grabner and Raanta are all still excellent players.
I'd like to add Eberle to this mix.