Signing Wifi bridged: 2x $1.3 AAV

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/canadiens-re-sign-d-xhekaj-on-two-year-2-6m-deal-1.2155756

 

Seems reasonable. He is a prototypical case of a guy to whom you give a bridge deal IMHO.

 

Side note: I hate this habit of reporting the total value of a deal as its main feature, as opposed to its annual cap hit, which (along with term) is all that concerns us as fans.

[DON]

I dont know contracts, but seems reasonable, dont know what it was expected to be.

So, now when will Barron be signed?

 

WHoops i missed Brians piece.

Pricing Out Arber Xhekaj’s Next Contract – HabsWorld.net 

"Based on these, a price point around $1.5 million on a two-year deal feels like the right fit."

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

It seems reasonable to me, actually a little less than I expected. Now Arber has 2 years to prove himself. 

[Habsfan]

I think this is a very good signing. If Wifi can have another good year (2024-25) then you can sign him to a longer term deal! It might end up costing us more, but I think we can sign him at a reasonable number!

[hab29RETIRED]

2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/canadiens-re-sign-d-xhekaj-on-two-year-2-6m-deal-1.2155756

 

Seems reasonable. He is a prototypical case of a guy to whom you give a bridge deal IMHO.

 

Side note: I hate this habit of reporting the total value of a deal as its main feature, as opposed to its annual cap hit, which (along with term) is all that concerns us as fans.

That's an awesome contract! I think he can be better and more valuable than Harris, so another great deal after the excellent Slafkovsky deal!

[hab29RETIRED]

1 hour ago, Habsfan said:

I think this is a very good signing. If Wifi can have another good year (2024-25) then you can sign him to a longer term deal! It might end up costing us more, but I think we can sign him at a reasonable number!

Agreed. And I I wouldn't have wanted to commit to higher cap hit contract with him yet. He isn't a can't miss, and it's harder to project what his ceiling is.

[Commandant]

OOF

 

 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

There are a couple of really great stats there but wholly molly Xhekaj has some serious work to do. 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

3 minutes ago, Commandant said:

OOF

 

 

 

Who cares what JF Fresh thinks, he also had Kecas Kraviny at #12 in his 2024 NHL mock draft. 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

2 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

There are a couple of really great stats there but wholly molly Xhekaj has some serious work to do. 

 

JF Fresh fooled you again. Remember you posted his 2024 NHL mock draft. 

[Commandant]

15 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

Who cares what JF Fresh thinks, he also had Kecas Kraviny at #12 in his 2024 NHL mock draft. 

 

1) This isn't what he thinks, its entirely based on stats.

 

2) This isn't a joke like his mock draft. Its the actual player card from his patreon.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

5 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

1) This isn't what he thinks, its entirely based on stats.

 

2) This isn't a joke like his mock draft. Its the actual player card from his patreon.

 

I know, just saying when I see the name JF Fresh I become a little suspicious now. 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

This stat card brings more depth to the discussion about Xhekaj’s fighting skills and the importance. 
 

If Xhekaj can’t improve greatly over the next couple of years he is going to get leapfrogged by better players and his toughness won’t matter much 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

2 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

I know, just saying when I see the name JF Fresh I become a little suspicious now. 

I should be more suspicious now because he got me with his joke rankings. 
 

JFresh is legit though. He has an enormous paid following 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

We all know the kid is a work in progress. Hence the bridge deal.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

51 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

I should be more suspicious now because he got me with his joke rankings. 
 

JFresh is legit though. He has an enormous paid following 

I was fooled for a bit as well, took some time for me to figure it out. Kecas Kraviny is a good name though. I will remember that one.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

We all know the kid is a work in progress. Hence the bridge deal.

 

Yup, he is a bit of a wild card. A work in progress with some good tools and a big heart. 

[Sir_Boagalott]

I didn't like this contract at all really.  I would have preferred him to be locked in for a long time at a cheap rate.  Arber's priority is to retire his parents ASAP and this contract isn't enough $ to accomplish that.  His poor mom will still be slinging tires at Costco. 

 

$2 mil/yr for 5 years = $10 mil, and pay him half of it in the 1st year would have retired his mom.  $2 mil/yr would not have been a crazy over payment for a player who is in the top 5 toughest and top 5 hardest shot even if he doesn't improve and it would be a great deal if he does improve.  i.e. when that contract is up he'll probably get a minimum of 2-2.5 times that amount on his next contract.

 

Yes, it is true that Arber takes a bunch of penalties, but he's young.  Pezz took a ton of penalties too, but guess what, now that he's played several seasons his penalties have reduced significantly.  Similar should happen with Arber.

 

 

 

 

[dlbalr]

8 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

$2 mil/yr for 5 years = $10 mil, and pay him half of it in the 1st year would have retired his mom.  $2 mil/yr would not have been a crazy over payment for a player who is in the top 5 toughest and top 5 hardest shot even if he doesn't improve and it would be a great deal if he does improve.  i.e. when that contract is up he'll probably get a minimum of 2-2.5 times that amount on his next contract.

 

I don't think he'd have taken that.  And that contract structure is illegal, it can't be 50% total compensation in Year 1.

[Sir_Boagalott]

1 minute ago, dlbalr said:

 

I don't think he'd have taken that.  And that contract structure is illegal, it can't be 50% total compensation in Year 1.

 

It is true that we have no idea what Arber might have wanted or what Hughes might have been willing to sign.  I find that amount to be low and the length too short.  

 

What is the max amount of compensation that is allowed? I'm sure something better could have been done that could have retired his mom at the end of the 2 year contract he signed.  ex:  if 25% is allowed, even $1.5 mil x 4 years = $6 mil total, and pay him half of it in 2 years = $3 mil - which would be enough to retire his mom.  

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

27 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

 

I don't think he'd have taken that.  And that contract structure is illegal, it can't be 50% total compensation in Year 1.

I don't think he would have taken that either. Arber could be worth a whole lot more than 2M a year in 2 years, or not. The potential is there, it's up to him to show that he is worth it. He hasn't proven yet that he is worth Guhle money. 

[GHT120]

1 hour ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

I didn't like this contract at all really.  I would have preferred him to be locked in for a long time at a cheap rate.  Arber's priority is to retire his parents ASAP and this contract isn't enough $ to accomplish that.  His poor mom will still be slinging tires at Costco. 

 

$2 mil/yr for 5 years = $10 mil, and pay him half of it in the 1st year would have retired his mom.  $2 mil/yr would not have been a crazy over payment for a player who is in the top 5 toughest and top 5 hardest shot even if he doesn't improve and it would be a great deal if he does improve.  i.e. when that contract is up he'll probably get a minimum of 2-2.5 times that amount on his next contract.

 

*** IF *** he would have taken that I expect HuGo might well have gladly offered it.

 

I would prefer EVERY player be locked up long-term at a cheap rate ... but describing the pay in that way explains why players would never sign such a contract.

[hab29RETIRED]

3 hours ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

I didn't like this contract at all really.  I would have preferred him to be locked in for a long time at a cheap rate.  Arber's priority is to retire his parents ASAP and this contract isn't enough $ to accomplish that.  His poor mom will still be slinging tires at Costco. 

 

$2 mil/yr for 5 years = $10 mil, and pay him half of it in the 1st year would have retired his mom.  $2 mil/yr would not have been a crazy over payment for a player who is in the top 5 toughest and top 5 hardest shot even if he doesn't improve and it would be a great deal if he does improve.  i.e. when that contract is up he'll probably get a minimum of 2-2.5 times that amount on his next contract.

 

Yes, it is true that Arber takes a bunch of penalties, but he's young.  Pezz took a ton of penalties too, but guess what, now that he's played several seasons his penalties have reduced significantly.  Similar should happen with Arber.

 

 

 

 

i would have liked Slavkosky to have been signed to an 8 yr $32 million dollar deal. Doubt if he would have been willing to sign that though.

If Arber is a confident guy, he is going to think he will be worth more than $2m in 4 years time, so why the hell would he sign that deal??? 5-6 years ago, Ryan Reaves was making over $2m. If Arber believes in himself, he is going to think he will more than double his next contract. Hell, Alzner was a pylon and he was making around $5M.

 

From the Habs perspective, Arber still needs to prove himself. He may bottom out to be a 6th D, or a middle pairing guy. I'd rather wait.  I know you like big guys, and overvalue big, but let's see how good of a man Alzner is. If he earns it, I have no problem paying him more - but only if he is a legit top 4 on a good team. Not because he can fight.

[dlbalr]

10 hours ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

What is the max amount of compensation that is allowed? I'm sure something better could have been done that could have retired his mom at the end of the 2 year contract he signed.  ex:  if 25% is allowed, even $1.5 mil x 4 years = $6 mil total, and pay him half of it in 2 years = $3 mil - which would be enough to retire his mom.  

 

It's not necessarily a fixed number but rather a guideline - on a front-loaded contract, any variance cannot exceed 25% of the salary in the first year.

 

On your originally proposed breakdown, this is what would be legal: $2.5 year 1, $1.875 years 2-5. 

[Commandant]

5 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

 

It's not necessarily a fixed number but rather a guideline - on a front-loaded contract, any variance cannot exceed 25% of the salary in the first year.

 

On your originally proposed breakdown, this is what would be legal: $2.5 year 1, $1.875 years 2-5. 

 

Of course, The player doesn't want this typically though.  Because the way qualifying offers work.  Better to backload the deal for a higher QO once they are rfa again.