Derick Brassard Signs 4 Year Extension
 

Unexpected, but awesome news nonetheless. Reported on puck-rakers:

http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/

Totally by surprise. This is a great way to end the week!

Sneaky move by Howson et al. Nicely done.

48 NHL games and we're signing an extension? I hope it's not paying him much. He has yet to prove he can hold up for even half an NHL season.

I like what I've seen, but I just haven't seen enough to be excited about this.

awesomeness.

Now get Vermette signed too.

exxxcellent. word is, Vermette is next.

priorities for this summer, as I was told:

a) Nash
b) Nash
c) Brass
d) Vermette

core is shaping up quite nicely. give us time for these young d-studs to develop

color me excited

I was on puck-rakers and basically did a triple take. Unexpected but awwwwwesssooomme news. Not a bad deal either because if he plays as well as he did last season his market value would have skyrocketed.

Derick Brassard's extension will pay: $2.8M in '10-11, $3.0M in '11-12, $3.3M in '12-13 and $3.7M in '13-14. He will still be a restricted free agent at the end of his contract extension.

The outlay is a bit concerning, but if he's "core" he's "core."

Howson: "And if he develops into the player we think he can be, we get a top six center at a very reasonable price."

Pretty much. With the inverse being, well, the inverse.

Awesomeness hinges on terms and health.

I dont think anyone would argue his skill, but my biggest concern is he's yet to play a full season of professional hockey. If he can hold up, we'll be good, but it could be pretty pricey if he only averages 40 hockey games a season.

Bit of a risky move by Howson but if Brassard pans out as Nash's center for the next 4 years then this deal is going to be aces for the team. Plus he'll still be a RFA at the end of it. What a surprise!

Only problem with that is that he's going to want $5-6m as an RFA, and we still have Mason, Jake and Filatov, which except Filly, have played more games then Brassard. There is no way we'll have Nash, Brassard, Mason, Vorachek and Filatov, all making $5m+. The baseline has been set for those guys with this contract

Its a good move, and its pretty clear what the expectations are for Brassard,

Me like.

I don't ever like paying a guy for what you hope he'll do. I prefer some combination of paying a guy for his accomplishments and realistic potential continued contribution.

Flashes of promise do not constitute accomplishments for me. And when a guy has consistently had problems with his shoulders, that's even more troubling.

Voracek, Filatov, and Mason won't all be making $5 mil+ on their next deals. And if they earn that amount, we've probably won a Stanley Cup or two by that time. It will be a great problem to have if we need to trade one for a bunch of young and cheaper assets.

I love this move. Totally unexpected, totally awesome, and a great start to my day.

Like Nordique said, it's pretty clear the intentions and expectations are for Brassard. Line him up next to Nash all year long and who knows what he'd expect/earn next summer. (Hello Manny Malhotra)

It's risky, but not the type of deal that will handcuff this team. If he gets injured again, it will be OK. (Hello Pascal Leclaire)

Wow

While it could turn out to be a great move, it may have been wiser to let him play it out this year and make sure:

A)He can stay healthy. .

B)He can put up the numbers consistently.

Don't get me wrong, I love the way he plays, but after only 48 games. . . .
Of course, most of Howson's moves have turned out to be good ones.

BTW, is that Malhotra's money and term that Howson just gave to DB?:sarcasm:

WOW, GREAT news. Definitely unexpecte, but awesome like you said. I figured they would wait till next summer to do this.

Absolutely crazy good deal for us. IF, he plays to his potential this is a GREAT deal. And you always want to have the player be a RFA after their first big deal gets done. TREMENDOUS.

EXACTLY.

Which is worse.

Brassard isn't as great as we think and is making $3m?

or

We don't sign Brassard, he puts up 80+ pts, and we have to sign him for $5m?

The upside is greater and the downside less by doing this deal. I tried to tell people that all our young kids wouldn't be getting $4-$5 on their next deal when we were discussing Spezza last year. :sarcasm:

Holy crap. Where did this come from? I like it, though! No offer sheet worries next year, anyway. I'm still waiting to extend Vermy & we get Brassard locked up. I'm a tad gunshy, but then I remember how hot he was until he tossed the gloves in Dallas.

As a Sharks fan said on the trade rumor board, this deal could look like a steal here shortly.

An annual cap hit of 3.2 is not bad at all. Modin coming off the books next year already pays his contract.

His injuries don't worry me too horribly much. Hopefully he has learned not to fight, and it's hard to sustain getting an injury like that by just getting hit, as the arm has to be in a certain position moving in a certain direction.

I also don't think he merely displayed "flashes" of brilliance. For nearly half the season, until he was injured that is, Brassard was leading Nash in points. Of course anything could have happened with his play the latter half, but I think this is a win.

I worry more about a likely Filatov-Vermette-Voracek line. If Voracek doesn't improve from last season and Filatov (what I considered flashes of brilliance) doesn't live up to expectation, then that could mean that Vermette struggles too, and that would mean a non-threatening second line. Of course, Voracek could be eschewed in favor of RJ, so I'm still not really that worried that this either.