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Who Are The Caps Overpaying? |
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Hello All,
Today we are looking at some of the contracts on the books. More specifically, the players I feel like we are overpaying. When assessing an individual contract and its value, I try to factor in the following: team cap situation, player production, future contract offers that need to be made to other players, current prospect pool, and overall team direction.
In no particular order here are three current contracts on the books that I am not a fan of:
1. Brenden Dillon – 4 years, $3.9 million AAV
2. Justin Schultz – 2 years, $4 million AAV
3. Nicklas Backstrom - 5 years, $9.2 million AAV
Brendan Dillion – For me, the Capitals overpaid here. Don’t get me wrong, Dillon is a very solid defender. However, his stats have remained stagnant the last few years. He has produced 22, 22, and 14 total points in his last three seasons. Also keep in mind, the Capitals gave away a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick just to rent him last year. Dillon led the entire league with 38 minor penalties in 2019-2020. Dillon also turns 30 this season. Considering his age and recent level of production, the Capitals may have been able to get him for closer to what he was making in San Jose. His cap hit in San Jose was $3.25 million AAV. Dillon’s contract isn’t the worst one on the books, but it certainly isn’t great either. The Capitals could have let Dillon walk, thereby handing Siegenthaler the keys for a more prominent role in the defense. This would have saved Capitals $3.1 millon in cap space. Some notable contracts that still need to sured up in the future are: Ovechkin, Vrana, Siegenthaler, and Samsonov. Every dollar will count in getting these deals done. It is clear the Capitals are not 100% sold on Siegenthaler’s development otherwise they would have paid him. The team chose the safe and expensive route with more veteran defender in Dillon. This all comes back to really making a run here in the first couple years of the Peter Laviolette era.
Justin Schultz – He has missed an average of 36 games a season for the last three years. He will be on the second power play unit as opposed to the first where he played in Pittsburgh. Sure, he supposedly fits with a Peter Laviolette style team but $4million?! He was making $5.5 million a year in Pittsburgh before so I guess its technically a better cap hit. Maybe I am being picky here but again I would have liked to see the same two-year deal for $3 million AAV.
Nicklas Backstrom – I will come out and say that Nicklas Backstrom deserves every penny of this contract. He was underpaid for years. I still don’t like the deal for the team. Since coming into the league in 2007-2008, Backstrom ranks 5th in total points behind Ovechkin, Crosby, Kane, and Malkin. However, for the last three seasons he ranks 36th in total points. Backstrom will be 37 years old when the contract concludes in 2024-2025. $9.2 million is a lot of money to pay a player until they turn 37. Not to mention the Caps will eventually pay Ovechkin at least $9-10 million a year until around the same time. That would give the Capitals two players over the age of 35 making over $9 million a year. The league gets younger and faster every year and our veteran players get....older. The Capitals recently ranked dead last by the Athletic for farm systems prospects. If we had the luxury of some standout prospects to fill in the third and fourth line for cheap, I would be marginally more comfortable overpaying for top guys. However, that is not the case. Again, Backstrom has earned this contract but taking feelings out of the equation, the contract does not make a lot of fiscal sense.
Honorable Mention: Evgeny Kuznetsov – 5 years left, $7.8 million
Thanks for reading everyone. Any contracts on the books you like or dislike?
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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