The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Nikita Zaitsev to a long-rumored contract extension today.
Reaction has been mixed.
Some do not care for the length. I personally don’t see how you get him so cheap annually if you don’t go long on the term.
Some don’t care for the plus/minus. I say plus minus is a pretty dumb way to analyze a hockey player.
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Here’s what Twitter had to say:
Some comparables. Cap hit’s are in brackets. Zaitsev is either better or younger than all of them.
Negative - term on @Zaitsev22 's deal.
— Sunny (@Takhar77) May 2, 2017
Positive - The Leafs pay him, Kadri, Reilly, and Gardiner, combined, less than $20million a year.
NZ's results were solid given his place on the usage spectrum and it *looks* like the inputs are there. It's just the uncertainty + this... pic.twitter.com/cqdd181jMc
— Domenic Galamini Jr. (@DomGalamini) May 2, 2017
They probably think the Leafs need a #1 (they don’t, they should just get six good guys in total) then Gardiner #2, Rielly #3 and then Zaitsev #4.
GAR is goals against replacement. It’s a handy one-number rating system that attempts to take all the data, weight it appropriately and crunch it into one number. Keep in mind Tanev’s 4.9 is with zero offense. I still think the Leafs should go for him.
Rielly - Tanev
— Platinum Seat Ghosts (@3rdPeriodSuits) May 2, 2017
Gardiner - Manson
Shattenkirk - Zaitsev
Dermott - Carrick
THIS IS 100% SERIOUS AND I EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN.
That’s a Stanley Cup defense, for sure.
Zaitsev signs with the Leafs long term at 4.5m. Arguably the best defender this year for the Leafs. Still has a lot to prove. 25 yrs old.
— Leafs Society (@LeafsSociety) May 2, 2017
That is extremely loose use of the word “arguably” because that isn’t even close to true, but I dig the enthusiasm.
This is the kind of know-it-all “of course it’s stupid” thing I can’t stand. The reason you have to pay this for Zaitsev is that $4.5 is extremely cheap compared to lots of comparable players (see above) who is already better than. If you want to keep him cheap, you pay him long-term.
People seem to forget that you can pretty much always find a sucker GM who’ll bet on a talented right-handed defenseman with a sub $5 Million Cap Hit.
At worst, it’s a fair deal for player and team.