In an NHL world of small and large contracts, Kevin Weekes reported Thursday that he believes the Devils and Nico Hischier will agree to a “medium” sized extension in the range of $11-13m this summer. Will this be a strategy of new Devils GM Sunny Mehta? Or is this a one off type of deal, specific to Nico. Only time will tell.
As I've said here before, the 27 year old Hischier is irreplaceable. A point per game, shutdown center that can play up or down in the lineup, is something every team would desire. In addition to his special teams prowess, the Devils captain joined an elite group of just 20 NHLers to win over 1,000 face-offs since the stat began tracking in 1997. The $11-13m range is exactly where I put the value on a player like Hischier.
While I would have preferred max term for Nico, perhaps the Devils get a slight discount today in signing him to 'medium' term (3-5 years), which would leave the Swiss Centerman the luxury of signing yet another deal while still in his prime. WIth the salary cap growing exponentially, this could be an interest with many players and agents alike. In 2022-23 season the cap was just $82.5m, fast forward to today, just four years later the salary cap is $104 million. With another scheduled increase next season, the budget for NHL rosters will increase substantially yet again, to $113.5m in 27'-28', a 37.57% increase. At 27 years old, Nico's value is most likely at it's peak, this is the highest percentage of a salary cap he will ever sign for. However 8-9% of the cap in 2030, will most likely be more than the 10-12% of the cap that Nico will sign for this off season. With the historic explosion of NHL popularity, cap projections will continue to be a major factor in all free agent signings going forward.
Will this “medium” length deal will yield large sized results? If they do, for which party? If a player rapidly declines, the team will benefit from a sooner expiring deal. If the player excels, they have another contract on the horizon with a much bigger cap to fit under. Either way, expect to see more "medium" sized deals in the NHL going forward as Sunny Mehta seems to be already setting the trends...