The Nashville Predators have given themselves some cost certainty among their depth defensemen, signing Yannick Weber to a two-year extension worth a total of $1.35MM. Weber was set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, but will now be with the club through the 2019-20 season. The team also announced a one-year extension for Anthony Bitetto, worth $650K. Bitetto was in the final season of a two-year deal, and would have also been eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.
Additionally, a few minutes later, the team announced a two-year deal for Matt Irwin also worth $1.25MM. Irwin was on a one-year deal that was set to expire in the summer, and thus had to wait (like Weber) for January 1st to sign an extension.
Because the Predators have always put a hefty amount of responsibility on their top four, getting depth defensemen locked up for the minimum salary is a key part of their salary structure. Even with P.K. Subban eating a huge chunk of the cap, the team can feel now confident trying to extend Ryan Ellis before he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2019.
Weber, Irwin and Bitetto certainly don’t play huge roles on the team, but their presence as the third-pairing or extra man is still valuable. Until the Predators acquired Alexei Emelin to help cover for Ellis’ long-term injury, Irwin and Weber were the go-to pairing for around 11-13 minutes a night. The two played in all 22 games in last season’s Stanley Cup run, and can be relied upon in at least a limited capacity.
The Predators now have seven defensemen and eleven forwards signed and penciled into the NHL roster for next season, meaning that their remaining ~$12MM (depending on where the cap lands) can be used for landing a big fish on the open market or bringing in more salary in trade. GM David Poile has done a masterful job of retaining the core pieces of his team while adding through trade when necessary, and has built what looks like a sustainable winner at this point. Getting three depth pieces under contract for the league minimum is only the latest example.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
It’s sad when NHL players don’t get paid like MLB, NBA, or NFL players.
Part of that is because the NHL lacks well behind in yearly revenues to those sports. Another part is due to the NHL’s complete lack of a good television contract($2 billion vs NBA’s $24 billion, MLB’s $12 billion and NFL’s $27 billion). And then add in that nearly half the NHL’s teams aren’t actually making money which has helped stagnate the salary cap.
On the flip side though, where the high end guys in the NFL can easily double or even triple what the high end NHL guys get, NHL contracts are fully guaranteed. Where as in the NFL, you can get a splinter and be released with little to no compensation. Even comparing to the MLB, young players in the NHL are far better compensated than young MLB players. It doesn’t balance it out completely but their are some aspects to NHL player compensation that surpasses other leagues.
Also the salary cap is a huge part (and consequently roster sizes). The NBA for example has a $99m soft salary cap for about 15 players. The NFL has a salary cap of $167m for 53 players plus IR players. And the MLB is uncapped of course. The NHL, on the other hand, has a $75m hard cap for a 23-man roster.