TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 From the Lightning website: https://www.nhl.com/lightning/news/tampa-bay-lightning-re-sign-forward-tyler-johnson-to-seven-year-extension/c-290351492 And from the Hockey Writers: http://thehockeywriters.com/tampa-bay-lightning-re-sign-tyler-johnson/ 26 yr old centerman Tyler Johnson and the Tampa Bay Lightning agree to 7 yrs and $35M. Johnson filed for arbitration, but apparently, both his camp and TB GM Steve Yzerman were able to find numbers that both found palatable. Honestly, this is a bit more than I thought Johnson would be getting given his bit of a downturn the last two seasons (I expected something in the 4-4.25M range, up from his 3.3M/per contract he had previously), and I thought the term would be less (perhaps 5 yrs), but Johnson is young enough to where this 7 yr contract may not end up like most long term contracts do....meaning, he shouldn't be old and broken down at its tail end, as he will be just 33 at that point in time. In the grand scheme of things, $5M per isn't a terrible number for a bona fide goal scorer like he is and I can't help but think that this was made possible by Steven Stamkos taking only $8.5M to stay, as opposed to Stammer eating up more of the cap (he probably could have pushed for more) and not allowing Yzerman to sign a good supporting cast for him. Still though, this contract DOES have some risk (all longer term ones do, don't they?), because the last couple seasons, Johnson has missed time with injuries that have kept him out for weeks at a time. No doubt most hockey players have their bodies beaten down to the point where there is some breakdown here and there, but hopefully, the Bolts see more of Tyler ON the ice as opposed to OFF of it. As for his down seasons, perhaps a healthy Johnson is a more productive one? The last two seasons he only managed 38 and 45 points in 69 and 66 games respectively...and this, after he posted 72 points in 77 games the season prior. For 5M, I am pretty sure the Bolts are going to be expecting more than a 40'ish point type producer. At any rate, good to see Tyler back in the fold and if the injury gods aren't against the Lightning, TB should have, as usual, a very good 1-2 punch down the middle....and that means some good centers are going to be found in the bottom six giving teams mismatch problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I'm never a fan of these long term deals, but depending upon how it's structured salary-wise this really isn't a bad deal for Tampa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 12 hours ago, ruxpin said: I'm never a fan of these long term deals, but depending upon how it's structured salary-wise this really isn't a bad deal for Tampa. Well, no matter how you slice it, it is going to be a $5M cap hit across the board for the duration of the contract. But as you can see below, the actual salary year to year is different..........and it is structured somewhat strangely too. Seems to be 'front loaded', then the salary dips for two years, then it jumps back up, dips, then jumps back up again on the final year. I dunno. Maybe I haven't paid very close attention to the way the actual salary pay outs are done, but this just seems really weird to me. The only thing, according to this shot from capfriendly, that isn't reported yet, is what kinds of clauses there are. They indicated there ARE NTC and modified NTC clauses, but those too will vary year to year as does the salary. I trust Steve Yzerman knows what he is doing, but from my amateur viewpoint, that all just seems....odd. But I think the AAV cap hit is the important number for the Lightning with regards as to who else they will be able to add (or re-sign), and given the type of player Tyler Johnson is, I can live with $5M as long as he stays healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 @TropicalFruitGirl26 @ruxpin I try to not only look at comparable players from today, but a few years back. Since its a 7 year contract, I will look at 7 years in the past. 5 million now compared to 7 years ago with cap increases is 3.33 Million a year. 7 years ago, would you have said 3.33 million is worth it for Tyler? I would. In 7 years will the cap have risen that much? Probably not. We are starting to look like we are heading for another lockout in a few years. But in 7 years, I still cannot see 5 million as being crippling Overall I think this is a fine deal for a guy like Johnson Edit: now the two of you can make fun of me for not just stat crunching in NAHANA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 10 minutes ago, J0e Th0rnton said: @TropicalFruitGirl26 @ruxpin I try to not only look at comparable players from today, but a few years back. Since its a 7 year contract, I will look at 7 years in the past. 5 million now compared to 7 years ago with cap increases is 3.33 Million a year. 7 years ago, would you have said 3.33 million is worth it for Tyler? I would. In 7 years will the cap have risen that much? Probably not. We are starting to look like we are heading for another lockout in a few years. But in 7 years, I still cannot see 5 million as being crippling Overall I think this is a fine deal for a guy like Johnson Funny you should mention $3.33M...that was Johnson's previous AAV on his last contract. So (and I know I am over simplifying), accounting for cap increases, the team is paying out to Johnson today's equivalent to the previous $3.33M cap hit? Nice number crunching by Yzerman and his 'bean counters' if so... Also, according to the capfriendly shot below, in looking at the top comparable contracts to this one Johnson got (around 80%+ comparable anyways), I'd agree with you and say he did get a nice deal that the team should be happy with long term. His teammate, Alex Killorn got almost $5M, but Johnson's production (again, barring significant injury) should be much better. And for the money, I also like Johnson's chances to out-produce Vegas' Reilly Smith and Philly's Sean Couturier. Toronto's Nazem Kadri and NJ's Kyle Palmieri rival Johnson in "bang for the buck", however, Kadri had a career year last season at 60+ points...can he match that for the money once again? And will Palmieri stay consistent (as he has the last two seasons)....he just might, given NJ's newer acquisitions up front. And if the Canadiens can figure out how to best utilize Alex Galchenyuk, he too could rival Tyler Johnson in production for the money at $4.9M on his deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 1 hour ago, J0e Th0rnton said: @TropicalFruitGirl26 @ruxpin In 7 years will the cap have risen that much? Probably not. We are starting to look like we are heading for another lockout in a few years. But in 7 years, I still cannot see 5 million as being crippling Unless the NHLPA completely rolls over on everything the league wants going in to negotiations, always assume there will be a lockout. This is where we've been for over 20 years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriendlyGuitarist Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 I too thought he was going to get less than what he did. I don't think he is worth that much but we'll see how he plays and see if he plays like he has earned this contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Sure this is a lengthy deal. Maybe 2 years more than i would like because he will be 33 in his last year but the average for the deal isn't that bad. I think we've seen him peak as far as goals per season go but at today's crazy salary pace 5 mill per is tolerable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 His contract seems fairly in line for what we could expect: https://www.capfriendly.com/comparables/tyler-johnson-7950 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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