Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Setting The Bar
With the Canucks rumored to be one of the front-runners to sign Scott Niedermayer, the key question is, how much will his services cost? Because of the salary cap, the size of his contract will have a huge impact on whether or not the team will lose one or more of its core players.To get an idea of Niedermayer's market value, let's look at what teams are paying other free agent defensemen. The following group of players signed in the last couple of days and easily belong among their respective teams' top 2 or 3 defensemen:
- Adam Foote, Columbus Blue Jackets - 3 yrs/$13.8 million ($4.6 million per year)
- Adrian Aucoin, Chicago Blackhawks - 4 yrs/$16 million ($4 million per year)
- Derian Hatcher, Philadelphia Flyers - 4 yrs/$14 million ($3.5 million per year)
- Mike Rathje, Philadelphia Flyers - 5 yrs/$17.5 million ($3.5 million per year)
Of these players, Foote is probably the most comparable. Like Niedermayer, he has won the Stanley Cup (twice actually) and gold medals with Canada's Olympic and World Cup of Hockey teams. However, Foote has had some recent injury problems, while Niedermayer has just won the Norris trophy as the league's top defenseman.
The consensus is that Niedermayer is this year's most sought-after defenseman. I agree. And given what other top defensemen are signing for, I (humbly) place Niedermayer's market value at 4 yrs/$22 million ($5.5 million per year).
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