I knew the second he said that about Benn that someone would argue, but he put up some very valid points as to why he thinks so, agree with him or not at least he had reasons.
But Benn isn't? I love Benn as much as the next guy, he is going to continue to develop and become a great player but sometimes I think people think a little to highly of him.
Grammatically not correct and I would argue Eberle is better then Benn right now.
Looks grammatically correct to me, but I may be wrong.
Anyway, I laid out reasons why I think Benn is a superior player. It is definitely up for debate - all three are top young talents. As I said, it isn't easy finding direct comparables, and I figure Eberle and Skinner are probably the best for Benn (not playing style, but for his next contract).
After a clean hit he was challenged by former Blackhawk Mark Bell, fight ended in a draw (and Jamie is fine )
He again went pointless, but had some good plays his linemates just couldnt finish, no need to worry (and nice to see we don't rely on him that much, as we easily won 5:0)
Jamie is back on track, after 4 games without finding the scoresheet, he had 3 assists yesterday in a 7:1 blowout win against the 2nd placed Cologne Sharks (and had a few smashing hits as well)
He asked for a timeout due to personal reasons and is heading to Victoria tomorrow morning, either he plays for the Stars in january or he will return to Hamburg in about a month.
Benn will obviously be given a contract over the next week. Anyone want to guess what he'll get? I think he'll get a deal similar to Eberle (6 years at $6M). I don't think he'll get a bridge deal.
Will be interesting to see how variance is applied in this situation. All talk has been from a front-loading stand point.
My guess, is it will still be pretty straight forward. I assume that the definitions are all based on the highest salary year rather than the first year of the contract.
Therefore, let's say in the last year of Benn's back loaded contract (Dallas' M.O.) is $5 million, similar to Eriksson. No contract year could be lower than $2.5 million, and no year could go up or down more than $1.75 million.
Benn has lost some of his leverage with Roy ready to go and Eakin playing so well in the AHL. If the Stars had to they could make do with Roy-Eakin-Wandell-Fiddler for a limited time.
Benn has lost some of his leverage with Roy ready to go and Eakin playing so well in the AHL. If the Stars had to they could make do with Roy-Eakin-Wandell-Fiddler for a limited time.
Maybe, but I'd be surprised if that happened. Joe has had a lot of time to think about this one.
Jamie Benn, 23 years old, 222GP, 70G-90A-160PTS, 0.72 PPG
Based on these numbers, I'll say that Tavares is the most important comparable. His production is similar, and his situation in that he's the brightest players on the team are very similar. Both guys are being touted as franchise players, and key cogs of the future for their franchise.
I'll add that I don't think they'll want to pay him more than Eriksson in the first part of the contract. Call it just a hunch. Eriksson makes $4.6, $4.5, and $4.5 in the next 3 years.
$3.5 million in Year 1; $1.5 million is a signing bonus.
$4.5 million in Year 2
$4.5 million in Year 3
$6.5 million in Year 4
$6.5 million in Year 5
$6.5 million in Year 6
6 year contract worth $32 million; Cap Hit of $5.333 million
Wait ... that doesn't work with the Eriksson hunch..... He'd make $6.5 million in Eriksson's last year of the contract.
Still. I like the way that looks. It seems like a very good fit.
EDIT: By giving Benn the signing bonus, he makes $1.5 million immediately and then $1.220 million over the remaining $2 million (assuming 50 game season).
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