Montreal Canadiens: The Evander Kane contract works in Bergevin’s favour
Evander Kane received a big payday and commitment from the San Jose Sharks which helps the Montreal Canadiens when dealing with Max Pacioretty.
The Montreal Canadiens weren’t the only team dealing with their free agents on Tuesday. Reports came out that the San Jose Sharks were working on a seven-year contract extension for Evander Kane. The deal would see the left-winger make $7 million annually and cost the Sharks their first-round pick in 2019 from the conditions of the trade with the Sabres.
If you watched Kane play down the stretch of the regular season into the playoffs, this shouldn’t be surprising. The 26-year-old scored 14 points in the remaining 17 games. Additionally, his 4 goals were a boost for San Jose in the post-season.
What is interesting about this isn’t the impact it will have on the Sharks, but more so the rest of the league. Any big name free agent who saw that probably has a big smile on their face. James van Riemsdyk of the Toronto Maple Leafs most likely added another million dollars or so to his asking price once free agency hits.
The same could be said for Michael Grabner and James Neal who had 27 and 25 goals respectively. However, the one who should have a decently-sized grin is Marc Bergevin. Max Pacioretty was already part of a group in the NHL of players with amazing contracts. Despite his 17-goal performance this year, the team captain still has at least 30 in 5 of the last 6 seasons.
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It was a down season for Pacioretty, but not a defining one. Odds are he gets back to his usual plateau adding another chapter to his sweet deal.
Kane’s deal again could make Pacioretty the more attractive option to team’s looking for goal-scoring. Would you rather have a JVR that will cost you at least $8 million per season, score you 30-goals but play poorly in his own end? Or a guy still in his prime making $4.5 million, scores, kills penalties, and still leaves you room to add something else at next year’s deadline.
The other spectrum of the argument is that there’s more of an organization cost of acquiring Pacioretty. Bergevin’s price tag for the 29-year-old is most likely the same. It will definitely cost a first-round pick, a centre prospect, and a roster player. A team going for it would be more willing to pay up, but the reluctance in wanting to pay with futures could have organizations turn the other way.
Another thing that works against Pacioretty is his performance in the playoffs. Kane and JVR score just as much there as they did in the regular season. Some may look at Pacioretty’s one assist tally from the 2016 run and scrunch their faces. But that may be different on a new team.
Kane’s extension may not fully move the microscope over to Montreal, but it may push other general managers to pick up the phone. We can say for sure that the ceiling for wingers in the offseason was pushed higher because of the deal.
Next: Drafting Zadina Could Force a Pacioretty Trade
Whether Bergevin can take advantage of it is the next mystery. That being said, his track record this offseason so far is building the optimism that something can do be.