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The announcement of the seven year, $20 million contract that the Nashville Predators and Colton Sissons signed yesterday was greeted with some very puzzling criticism of both term and dollars and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.
Sissons has been a solid contributor to the team, shown an ability to play up and down the lines, has stepped up big time in the playoffs when needed and is coming off a career year, scoring 15 goals and posting 15 assists and a +20. As an RFA, the 25 year old center could’ve signed a bridge contract and rolled the dice as a UFA in a couple of seasons.
It is my take that; similar to the Roman Josi contract expiring this coming season, this contract will be looked at as a steal in about three years. This player is hitting the prime of his career and has continued to develop and improve to this point. The big question may be, was the contract year performance the next consistent level of performance or an aberration. This contract seems to indicate a belief in that new standard.
Sisson’s contract has an AAV of $2.857 million per year but the dollars expended vary from year to year… almost creating a bonus situation. Here is how the contract breaks down (s/t to CapFriendly.com)
2019-20 $3.45 million
2020-21 $2.5 million
2021-22 $3.65 million
2022-23 $2.775 million
2023-24 $3.5 million
2024-25 $2.3 million
2025-26 $1.825 million
Colton Sissons has developed into one of the young leaders on this team. A player that shows fire and passion and helps inspire his teammates. The performance is one thing, the intangibles are another. This contract is another term vs. dollars deal that David Poile has specialized in over the years. Sissons will be a Nashville Predator until the age of 32, meaning this contract will cover five years of UFA eligibility.
Another solid signing that keeps core players on this team intact… 14 players from this year are signed through 2021, nine through 2022. Stability and cost certainty look good for this team in the near future.
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About eight years ago, readers of this blog and Predators fans everywhere got behind an effort to get a diabetic assist dog for a member of the Preds game ops team, Ron Zolkower, giving of their hearts and wallets. That effort led to a new member of the game ops team… Duncan the Service Dog. Pred fans have been seeing him at Pred games for quite a few years now. It is apparently time for Duncan to retire… here is what Ron has to say on this…
Over the last seven-plus years, I’ve been lucky enough to have Duncan the Service Dog along my side, acting as my superhero, but sporting a vest instead of a cape. As a Type 1 Diabetic for over 34 years now, Duncan serves as my Diabetic Alert Dog and alerts me several times a day to my blood sugar rising and falling when I am unable to feel it.
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Unfortunately, the time has come for Duncan to hang up his vest, retire from service work, and become a stay-at-home dog, doing all the things the normal dogs do. Duncan’s retirement is set for the middle of October.
These dogs take a lot of training and unfortunately, cost a great deal and that cost has gone up from the last effort. A fund-raising drive is underway and I am asking for Pred Nation to once again, rise up and help. These dogs do incredible work. Check out this video to see exactly how Duncan has impacted Ron’s life.
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