As the Olympics begin and NHL rosters temporarily lock themselves in, it’s a good time to look at Ben Chiarot signing by the Detroit Red Wings. Chiarot was signed to a three year, 3.85 million dollar contract, expiring at the defenseman’s age 37 season.
The Red Wings faced an interesting dilemma when it came to Chiarot. He has never performed at the level the Red Wings have technically asked him to, with the surface metrics saying he is a below average player and liability on the defense. The eye test, tells a slightly different story, though.
Providing Value
The Red Wings needed a veteran to help shelter their second pairing with Axel Sandin-Pellikka still learning the NHL game, and the eye test will tell you that Chiarot is still worth the money. He’s never been an offensive juggernaut, but for the Red Wings, he provides a physical presence and a knowledge of the game many on the team simply haven’t had time to accumulate.
Although much maligned by a vocal minority of Detroit’s fanbase, Chiarot’s extension actually shows that the rapport between the team itself and the player is quite good. In the time of an explosively growing market under the league’s current salary cap rules, many players are cashing in with big contracts once they hit free agency.
Chiarot, however, chose to stay with the Detroit Red Wings, taking a nearly million dollar pay cut from his current cap hit (4.75 million dollar AAV) in the new contract.
Part of that, of course, is due to a reduced role on the team and his age, but Chiarot is still signing for what may end up being a highly discounted value come this time next year.
As it stands, Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings are paying Chiarot a little under what most cup contenders pay their third or fourth best defenseman when he may be closer to being a third pairing role.
The market says...
Consider the Colorado Avalanche and defensemen Sam Malinski and Josh Manson, who the Red Wings played twice before the Olympic Break.
Malinski signed his first big-money contract after going undrafted and joining the team as a free agent post-university this season for four more years.
The Avs have a pretty loaded defense with Brent Burns and Manson playing on the second pairing, both of whom are experienced NHL vets like Chiarot. Burns is in town with a cap hit of just one million dollars. Manson, meanwhile, has a cap hit of 4.5 million dollars this year, which then drops to 3.95 million dollars over the next two years.
Sound familiar?
However, it was Malinski who the Avalanche called up from the third pairing to play opposite Makar, even if it was on his off-hand, and Malinski is now signed to a 4 x 4.75 million dollar contract. Chiarot provides that same versatility, playing both on the left and right depending on the night.
Chiarot, who is seven years older, has been playing on the second line with rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka this year for Detroit. He spent much of the past two years, however, playing opposite Mo Seider on the top pairing, taking on some of the hardest minutes in the NHL. With Simon Edvinsson injured, he has rotated back into that spot, with Jacob Bernard Docker also playing some nights on the top line. Chiarot is the same age as Manson and while comparing the two isn’t quite apples to apples, they fill a similar role on their respective teams.
Looking forward
Chiarot’s new contract with Detroit represents that the team believes that he is going to be helping them compete in the playoffs, and possibly for a Stanley Cup in the next few years. If the Red Wings are smart, they’ll get another veteran defenseman who can play on a night to night basis before the trade deadline this year to allow for Chiarot to assimilate to a role closer to his skillset at this stage of his career.
After all, Seider can’t play every minute of every night, and Detroit needs a reliable second pairing if they want to make it in the dance