Quote:
Originally Posted by Storminator16
You're entitled to your opinion, just as 46,846+ other members of HF are entitled to theirs. I've seen enough hockey to know "don't count your chickens before they hatch, XXX fan of team XXX". He'll get better defensively through experience, but if some team want to break the bank on him then they are fools. What's he suppose to do, become a massively better hitter than he is now? What is his major upside that I don't see?
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I think it boils down to what's a premium in free agency?
Typically you'll see top 6 forwards and defensive defenseman get "overpaid" in the open market, because those types of players are in high demand.
Is Oprik worth $4-5 million a season? Probably not...will someone give it to him...maybe. Scott Hannan signed a four year deal at $4.5 million per last season...although he has an edge in experience and can chip in offensively a lot more than the Chiropractor. But that's the type of deal he could be looking for if he makes it to July 1st.
The biggest factor is for determining how much a free agent is worth is comparing him to the other options available. Orpik and Commodore might be the top defensive defenseman available this summer, so teams will have less options and someone will be forced to overpay. It happened last year with Roman Hamrlik, who is a really good fit in Montreal but eats up a lot cap space with his 4 year/ $22 million contract.
For the Pens, Orpik isn't worth $4 million a season (not unless they can move Ryan Whitney), but to a team with cap space and a glaring need...he easily could be.
Supply and demand at work.