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The New York Islanders re-signed defenseman Noah Dobson to a three-year contract in August, which carries a $4 million cap hit.
Dobson is coming off a breakout year, in which he scored 13 goals and 51 points in 80 games. He also took on a much larger role, averaging around 21:30 per game, which was over five minutes more per game than the season prior. While he took a major step offensively, he also looked a lot more comfortable handling the puck in his own zone and was making the right play more consistently under pressure.
His contract comes in at a fairly expected price and term, with the sides opting for a bridge deal. For the Islanders, Dobson has only produced at a high level once so far and projecting his value on a long-term deal without knowing what’s sustainable for the defender would be a bit of a gamble. For Dobson though, he could make a lot more money on a long-term deal if he can repeat, or even increase his production in the next few seasons, so going for a shorter deal now works out well.
A $4 million cap hit comes in fair for both sides. Assuming Dobson is able to take on a similar role and continue to produce at a high level from the team’s blue line, this deal should provide really good value over the next three years.
Dobson was by far the team’s top offensive defenseman last season and we can expect that to be the case once again. While the team’s defense group remains very effective in terms of eliminating quality opportunities against, they aren’t able to chip in a ton of offense. For a team with a somewhat underwhelming forward group and scoring issues, Dobson’s ability to create offense from the blue line is crucial.
The defenseman still just 22 years old and is likely to continue developing in the coming years. While he’s a lock to be a long-term, top-four defenseman, it’s a matter of how large of a role he’s able to grow into and how high his ceiling could be.
For the next few years, he should provide really good value for this contract.
PollMaker
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New York Islanders Blogger • 
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