Email Hot Stove: Methot Extension

Question: Is the deal good for the player? The team? Do you like it?

Michaela: I really like the contract terms. At 4 years and $4.9 million/year, this contract gives Methot a decent term (and pretty darn close to the money he was after) while looking attracting to other GMs, should the Sens decide to move him at some point. Even in the final year, a 33-year-old defenceman making $4.9 million is not that expensive. If nothing else, we have one of our best defenceman locked down for the next 4 years, and that is a very nice feeling!

Ary: Really good work by Murray + Dorion to get Methot to sign a deal that accurately portrays his worth, which is really hard to do. I definitely think Methot could've received more on the open market (5.5 for 5 or something) but can understand both why the Senators were wary (back injuries are scary; just went through uncertainty with Spezza) and needed this to be done (to have TWO capable top four D + to keep Karlsson happy).

As Michaela pointed out, four years is term that I'm comfortable giving to a defensive D (would've been hesitant to give more) and also sets up a fun offseason heading into the 2019-2020 season, when Karlsson and Methot are both Unrestricted Free Agents.

Nate: I thought it would take as much as 5.5x5 to get it done so I'm pleasantly surprised. Who knows what Methot will look like at 33, but this was ultimately a deal the team needed to make; they're simply too weak on the backend to not bring him back. Considering Methot had almost all of the leverage, this is a hometown discount. Good for Murray for recognizing he needed to get it done, and good for Methot for committing long term. Smiles all around.

Now comes the hard part because this does, of course, put the team in a spot where they need to make a decision about the rest of their depth on D. If management enters 15-16 with Methot-Cowen-Borowiecki as their Left-handed defensemen, they're asking for trouble. I'm eager to see what's next.

Michaela: I definitely thought they were going to sign him at 5x5 (minimum) too, so to get a little below that is great.

Peter: I'm pretty stoked for the deal... although Karlsson says he still isn't fully recovered from his Achilles injury, he will need a guy like Methot to get him back to where he was. And the contract definitely works from the team's budgetary perspective.

It's kind of too bad that Methot had to leave like $2M on the table to remain in Ottawa, but he's still $20M richer so he is still doing pretty well.

Adnan: I am pretty happy with this deal to keep it to four years and under $5 million. Very good deal for the club and I am pretty surprised.

Brad: I think it's a solid deal for the team, but Methot definitely is leaving money on the table with this one.

It feels like a deal that could have been done much sooner, so you've got to wonder what the holdup was with the previous agent.

Ary: doesn't that same group represent Hoffman as well? If Larry Kelly is retiring, then someone else should hopefully be handling his negotiations too

Ross: I really like the deal for the team. I think Methot definitely left money on the table. I'm surprised he dropped $0.6-million and a year for the team. He definitely could have got what he wanted in free agency. Overall though I'm really happy with this deal. The term is what I wanted, and the price is just over what I picked as the best-case scenario. This was a great Family Day surprise.

A day later, how do you feel about the Methot Deal?