BREAKING: The Canadiens have signed Brendan Gallagher to a six-year extension. The deal has an average annual value of $6.5 million.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/w57uPcmwoQ
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 14, 2020
Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin is going all-in. Bergevin wants to win a Stanley Cup and and wants to win it now. The Habs fought valiantly but were eliinated from the Sdtanley Cup playoffs by the Philadelphia Flyers. The Canadiens showed promise at center with the trio of Philip Danault-Nick Suzuki-Jesperi Kotkaniemi. However, they needed more scoring on their wings.The left side of the Montreal defense corps was lacking in the playoffs and changes were needed.
Bergevin wasted little time hulking up his impressive roster.
The Canadiens now have all the ear markings of a Stanley Cup contender.
Last month, Bergevin aquired goalie Jake Allen from St. Louis. Allen's new deal is for two years and $5.75 million. In mid-September, the Habs acquired defenseman Joel Edmonson from Carolina and dsigned him to a new four-year $14 million contract ($3.5M AAV).
Last week, Bergevin boldly traded forward Max Domi to Columbus for burly power forward Josh Anderson.The Habs have committed seven years and $5.5M AAV to Anderson.
On Sunday, Tyler Toffoli was signed as a free agent and was promptly give a four year contract with a $4.25M AAV.
Today, Bergevin agreed to terms on a six-year contract extension with forward Brendan Gallagher. The contract has an average annual value of $6.5 million. Gallagher has one more year left on his current contract at $3.57M AAV.
When you add up all the new aquisitions and their contracts, the Montreal Canadiens have now spent to the top of their 2021 salary cap and have just $380,000 in available salary cap space. The Gallagher signing is interesting to me. After the Toffoli signing, all indicators pointed to Gallagher transitioning to the trade market. Last weekend,weekend, there was a report that Gallagher's contract extension talks with the Canadiens had come to a screeching halt.
The spunky winger scored 22 (21 at even strength) goals in 59 games last season. The grinding Gallagher scored 40 points for a third straight campaign. In nine playoff games, Gallagher scored a goal and added three assists.
In eight NHL seasons with the Canadiens, Gallagher has scored 173 goals and 161 assists in 547 regular season games.
Gallagher's new six year contract extension at $6.5 million per copy puts him on par with the Rangers' Chris Kreider at $6.5M for seven years, Wild forward Mats Zuccarello's $6M x 5 years and Flyers' James van Riemsdyk's $7M AAV for five seasons.
The Brendan Gallagher contract extension has me wondering about Buffalo Sabres winger Samson Reinhart.
You remember Reinhart, right?
Remember Samson Reinhart? The former second overall draft pick of #Sabres will have his case heard by the arbitrator on October 27. Kevyn Adams can avoid the acrimony and struggle of arbitration process by coming to terms on a new deal for Reinhart before the hearing begins
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) October 14, 2020
Reinhart, 24, finds himself in a dubious poistion. The Vancouver native is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. The Sabres have the salary cap space to sign Reinhart today, however, have chosen not to do so. In today's pancake-flat salary cap economy, long term contracts are hard to agree to due to the lack of available cash on hand to commit to players. The Sabres are one of the rare teams that has avilable cap space at this time.
Buffalo's new general manager Kevyn Adams just boned out a whopping one year, $8 million contract to premier unrestricted free agent winger Taylor Hall. Several suitors offered Hall multi-year contracts with lower annual average value. It's belived that Vegas offered Hall a multi-year deal with a $5 million AAV. In the end, he chose Buffalo's one year, $8 million contract rather than leave $3 million cash on the table.
Reinhart has to be wondering what he has to do to get the respect of the Buffalo management team. Perhaps Reinhart's camp is leaning toward another short term deal with a higher AAV rather than a longer term deal with high AAV like Gallagher signed on Wednesday.
Would Reinhart say yes to a two-year, $12 million contract?
Reinhart has out performed his most recent two year, $7.3 million "show me contract" that former GM Jason Botterill signed him to after he took over the GM desk after Tim Murray was canned. Reinhart earned $3.65M AAV for the past two seasons and was given a qualifying offer that scooches him to $4 million-ish.
Reinhart and his agent know the market for 20-goal/50-60 poingt scorers is certainly north of his $3.65M AAV and they are about to dig in their proverbial edges. Will Reinhart skate with Jack Eichel and Taylor Hall this season. It’s not likely. All Rookie team nominee Victor Olofsson will slide next to Eichel-Hall duo. Reinhart is slotted to skate with Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner.
Reinhart is scheduled to take his new GM to arbitration. Reinhart's case will be head by the arbitrator on October 27.
One wonders if the Sabres will let it ride and hope that the arbitrator rules in the team's favor. Or will Reinhart be awarded a large contract by the arbitrator. The Sabres can always avoid an acrimonious event at the arbitrator's office by offering the skilled top six winger a new contract offer before the arb hearing begins on October 27.
In 400 career NHL games with the Sabres, Reinhart has 109 tucks and 146 assists for 255 points. The young gun has yet to play in a Stanley Cup playoff game.
The four-time 20 goal scorer tied his personal best in points last season with 50. He scored 22 (17 at even strength) goals in 69 games. There is no doubt in my mind that Reinhart would have achieved a career high in goals scored (previous high was 25 goals in 2017-18), however, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to cancel the rest of the NHL season on March 12.
Reinhart has scored 36 power play goals, 75 power play points, and 14 game winning goals in his five year NHL career.
I'm a big believer in rewarding players for progression and points production. Were I the GM of the Sabres, I would have closed Reinhart on a five year, $25 million before the start of the 2019-20 season. In my opinion, locking up a potential 30 goal, 30 assist scorer for $5M AAV is good business. Would Reinhart have inked such a long term contract? I'm not sure because a long term contract extension was never a legitimate option for Reinhart. Botterill said "show me". Reinhart said "You got it!" and over delivered on his end of the bargain. Little did Reinhart know that Botterill would be fired. Reinhart seemingly is advese to signing another "show me contrcat". He's been there and done that. He feels like he has earned a long term contract at annual average value comparable to the other scoring wingers in his points and production echelon.
Reinhart was selected second overall by the Buffalo Sabres at the NHL Draft. He's built a rather impressive body of work during his NHL career.
Reinhart's 255 total points puts him in sixth place in scoring which places him in excellent company with his fellow 2014 Draft classmates Leon Draisaitl (422), David Pastrnak (379), Dylan Larkin (266), Brayden Point (262) and Nik Ehlers (257).
Samson Reinhart is the 6th leading scorer from the 2014 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/mhUVYohpiW
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) October 14, 2020
Reinhart's case will be a curious one. He will be 25 in November and is two seasons away from unrestricted free agency. Reinhart may opt for a two year contract that will skaate him into unrestricted free agency.
The arbitrator will have to pull market comparables for scoring wingers. Brendan Gallagher's new $6.5M AAV will be front and center. Ditto Kreider at $6.5M AAV and Zuccarello's $6M AAV. The other comps will be Draisaitl's $8.5 million AAV, Pastrnak's $6,666,667 AAV, Point's $6.75 million AAV, Larkin's 6.1 million AAV and Ehlers' $6 million AAV.