The New York Islanders locked up a key restricted free agent yesterday, signing defenseman Adam Pelech to an eight-year contract, which carries a $5.75 million cap hit.
Pelech is 26 years old and plays on the team’s top pairing, alongside Ryan Pulock. Over the last few years, Pelech has cemented himself as one of the league’s best defensive defensemen.
It was always going to be very difficult to project what a contract would look like for Pelech, given that his situation is somewhat unique. At this point, there aren’t a ton of top-pairing defenders around the league who strictly excel in their own zone, while producing little offense. As a result, Pelech was never going to be paid as much as other top offensive defensemen, who consistently produce offensively. In terms of negotiations, even his ice time wasn’t a massive selling point compared to others, considering he was averaging around 21 minutes per game.
That said, the number could’ve gone higher, potentially between $6 and $7 million per year, so to lock up Pelech at a $5.75 million cap hit is a win for the Islanders. I’d argue that Pelech brings as much or more value than other defensemen who put up points and aren’t as strong defensively, but are making $2 to $3 million more per year.
Considering Pelech is still only 26 years old, the eight-year term shouldn’t be a cause for concern either. He has many, many good years ahead of him and there’s no need to worry about a decline until potentially the very end of the contract. Much of his game also shouldn’t be affected by his age, as a good portion of his success is how strong he is positionally and how he can consistently win battles in the defensive zone. We can also expect the cap to go up at some point in the coming years, meaning the contract should only start looking better and better.
Overall, this is a really solid deal for the Islanders. Pelech will remain a key part of the team’s defense group for a very long time and will do so at a cap hit that should allow the team to continue building a contender around him.
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What AAV would you have been expecting for Pelech on an eight-year deal?
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