I wrote a few days ago about the potential extension of Bobby Ryan, and why the Ottawa Senators will likely prioritize getting their big scoring winger locked-up long-term.
There's another important player that's coming off of the books at the same time as Bobby Ryan, though, and that's linemate Clarke MacArthur. Bryan Murray rightly gambled on MacArthur -- a player the underlying numbers suggested was a quality and impactful top-six winger -- in free agency last season, signing him to a two year, $6.5MM deal.
It was, I think far and away, Bryan Murray's best move last summer. Granted, there's a bit of a low-bar here, with big extensions for Colin Greening and Jared Cowen, and letting Daniel Alfredsson walk as the biggest competition. But, excellent signing nonetheless.
The only problem with MacArthur's deal? It was only two years in length. Hindsight's a beautiful thing, and I get why the team didn't want to go longer-term on a player who had an unceremonious exit from his previous hockey club.
MacArthur came in and produced in a big way with Bobby Ryan and Kyle Turris in 2013-2014, scoring 24/31A in 79 GP. Considering the entire season, I think there's an argument to be made that he was the team's single-most productive player, with the aforementioned Turris and Erik Karlsson as the other, logical choices.
The quality point-production wasn't too surprising, once his line was assembled: MacArthur's neutral zone excellence and ability to get off a quick shot in the offensive zone complemented Turris' sound defensive-zone play and ability to work the center of the ice. And, prior to suffering that sports hernia, Bobby Ryan was just a lethal third weapon in that group, scoring almost at will.
MacArthur's point-production, if you assume that it's going to finish this year around where it did last year, is going to be a bit problematic for the budget conscious Senators. They have the cap space, but you expect that MacArthur -- who was an absolute bargain last off-season -- will be looking to land a much more player-friendly deal the next time around.
I think Murray has an interesting move here, if he wants to pull the trigger. Do you try extending Clarke MacArthur this off-season, and biting the bullet on spending on a player coming off of an excellent season? As a general rule, that tends to not make sense more often than not. But if Murray thinks MacArthur will have another big year in 2014-2015, he could jump in early and try to get MacArthur to agree to a bit more team-friendly deal, avoiding free agency and still getting his money.
If you're MacArthur, you don't necessarily have to even talk extension at this point. Especially if you want to see what UFA has to offer. But, you wonder if MacArthur and his counsel worry about the periphery stuff -- an injury sidelining his season, slowed point-production, etc. -- enough to at least consider a deal now.
So, two-part question for you guys. One, do you extend Clarke MacArthur now/next year? Two, if so, what do you bring him in at?
Thanks for reading!