kimzey59 wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 13:53 pm
The delay is just part of the negotiating process.
McMichael is 25 and just came off his bridge contract. He's at the stage of his career where he's going for his first big deal(5+ years).
Those types of deals take time to hammer out.
Army completely blew a gasket over the Parayko stuff at the deadline. Steen probably hasn't mentioned anything because that is still fresh in everybody's mind. I have zero doubt that a McMichael deal will get done(and it will probably be a little richer than anybody here is really comfortable with). I really can't see a scenario where we trade him before he even plays a game for us. He brings too much to the table to toss aside like that, and there are far lesser players that we could deal from if that's the direction we want to go(Suter for starters).
This is a good thread that really hasn't been talked about.
What kind of contract numbers are you (and others) thinking about?
I expect at least 5 years with an AAV between 6 and 7.
I can't see us going above Holloway's number but I could see him getting close to McTavish.
kimzey59 wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 13:53 pm
The delay is just part of the negotiating process.
McMichael is 25 and just came off his bridge contract. He's at the stage of his career where he's going for his first big deal(5+ years).
Those types of deals take time to hammer out.
Army completely blew a gasket over the Parayko stuff at the deadline. Steen probably hasn't mentioned anything because that is still fresh in everybody's mind. I have zero doubt that a McMichael deal will get done(and it will probably be a little richer than anybody here is really comfortable with). I really can't see a scenario where we trade him before he even plays a game for us. He brings too much to the table to toss aside like that, and there are far lesser players that we could deal from if that's the direction we want to go(Suter for starters).
This is a good thread that really hasn't been talked about.
What kind of contract numbers are you (and others) thinking about?
I expect at least 5 years with an AAV between 6 and 7.
I can't see us going above Holloway's number but I could see him getting close to McTavish.
Wow
Just catching up here.....was hoping/expecting he was under 6?
I think another thing people are gonna have to get used to with all this expansion is not only prices going up but the quality of player you get for that money going down
skilles wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 18:08 pm
I think another thing people are gonna have to get used to with all this expansion is not only prices going up but the quality of player you get for that money going down
Agreed. And if you compare the production from Holloway, McTavish and McMichael, there isn’t that much difference. DH has a higher ppg average the last 3 seasons, but has also had some injury issues. His contract bought out some UFA years. McTavish has slightly less production and his deal bought out some UFA years. MM has been more durable (only missing 6 games total in the last 3 years), has similar production from a ppg perspective, and will have UFA years bought out if he signs a 5 year deal.
Like it or not, my gut says he’s looking for $7-7.5m on a 5-6 year deal or maybe $5-6m on a shorter deal that takes him to UFA. I guess we’ll find out, but Skilles is spot on. With the rising cap, more money gets you less of a player than a few years ago.
skilles wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 18:08 pm
I think another thing people are gonna have to get used to with all this expansion is not only prices going up but the quality of player you get for that money going down
Agreed. And if you compare the production from Holloway, McTavish and McMichael, there isn’t that much difference. DH has a higher ppg average the last 3 seasons, but has also had some injury issues. His contract bought out some UFA years. McTavish has slightly less production and his deal bought out some UFA years. MM has been more durable (only missing 6 games total in the last 3 years), has similar production from a ppg perspective, and will have UFA years bought out if he signs a 5 year deal.
Like it or not, my gut says he’s looking for $7-7.5m on a 5-6 year deal or maybe $5-6m on a shorter deal that takes him to UFA. I guess we’ll find out, but Skilles is spot on. With the rising cap, more money gets you less of a player than a few years ago.
Yeah a rising cap causes that automatically and then on top of that all the expansion being the reason for the exploding cap makes it even more exaggerated (more buyers/same supply)
Maybe when the whole league decides they want to screw Vegas more than they care about improving their own teams we can swoop in and grab one of those good players for nothing
kimzey59 wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 13:53 pm
The delay is just part of the negotiating process.
McMichael is 25 and just came off his bridge contract. He's at the stage of his career where he's going for his first big deal(5+ years).
Those types of deals take time to hammer out.
Army completely blew a gasket over the Parayko stuff at the deadline. Steen probably hasn't mentioned anything because that is still fresh in everybody's mind. I have zero doubt that a McMichael deal will get done(and it will probably be a little richer than anybody here is really comfortable with). I really can't see a scenario where we trade him before he even plays a game for us. He brings too much to the table to toss aside like that, and there are far lesser players that we could deal from if that's the direction we want to go(Suter for starters).
This is a good thread that really hasn't been talked about.
What kind of contract numbers are you (and others) thinking about?
I expect at least 5 years with an AAV between 6 and 7.
I can't see us going above Holloway's number but I could see him getting close to McTavish.
Wow
Just catching up here.....was hoping/expecting he was under 6?
I don't see it.
McMichael has done a LOT more than Luostarinen to this point and Luostarinen just signed at 5 mil. I absolutely can't see McMichael accepting that amount.
I think McMichael has a somewhat legit case to use Holloway at 7.75 as a comp in negotiations, but Foerster at 7.1 might be closer. I also see Mason Marchment as a pretty good comp at 6.75 mil. I think that's the general range you have to look at when projecting McMichael's cap hit. You might get him a slight bit cheaper than that given that he's coming off a down year, but I think 6 is the absolute floor for him with something closer to 7 being more likely.
And the scary part is; that's probably the same range you have to look at for extending Jake Neighbours in a year, also.
It shouldn't be an issue fitting that salary in once Binnington'(poop) expires, but 5-7 mil seems to be the new going rate for middle 6 forwards.
Really makes Bobby Tommy's deal look like a steal in comparisson.
skilles wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 18:08 pm
I think another thing people are gonna have to get used to with all this expansion is not only prices going up but the quality of player you get for that money going down
Would 5 x 6-7 get in the way of Snuggerud or Neighbours?
Unless McM really shows us something I would rank both of them as more valuable than him.
kimzey59 wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 13:53 pm
The delay is just part of the negotiating process.
McMichael is 25 and just came off his bridge contract. He's at the stage of his career where he's going for his first big deal(5+ years).
Those types of deals take time to hammer out.
Army completely blew a gasket over the Parayko stuff at the deadline. Steen probably hasn't mentioned anything because that is still fresh in everybody's mind. I have zero doubt that a McMichael deal will get done(and it will probably be a little richer than anybody here is really comfortable with). I really can't see a scenario where we trade him before he even plays a game for us. He brings too much to the table to toss aside like that, and there are far lesser players that we could deal from if that's the direction we want to go(Suter for starters).
This is a good thread that really hasn't been talked about.
What kind of contract numbers are you (and others) thinking about?
I expect at least 5 years with an AAV between 6 and 7.
I can't see us going above Holloway's number but I could see him getting close to McTavish.
Wow
Just catching up here.....was hoping/expecting he was under 6?
I don't see it.
McMichael has done a LOT more than Luostarinen to this point and Luostarinen just signed at 5 mil. I absolutely can't see McMichael accepting that amount.
I think McMichael has a somewhat legit case to use Holloway at 7.75 as a comp in negotiations, but Foerster at 7.1 might be closer. I also see Mason Marchment as a pretty good comp at 6.75 mil. I think that's the general range you have to look at when projecting McMichael's cap hit. You might get him a slight bit cheaper than that given that he's coming off a down year, but I think 6 is the absolute floor for him with something closer to 7 being more likely.
And the scary part is; that's probably the same range you have to look at for extending Jake Neighbours in a year, also.
It shouldn't be an issue fitting that salary in once Binnington'(poop) expires, but 5-7 mil seems to be the new going rate for middle 6 forwards.
Really makes Bobby Tommy's deal look like a steal in comparisson.
You're right this is why they didn't want to commit to Bolduc and moving Kyrou made sense
skilles wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 18:50 pm
Buch starting to make more sense to anyone yet?
Nope! To my death bed, I’ll stick with that being a poor decision to keep and extend him and then to extend him at $8.0m. The posts above are talking about 23-28yr old players (if Marchment included). Extending Buch for 6 years was dumb. My two cents. Which I already know several disagree with. Not changing my mind though.
skilles wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 18:50 pm
Buch starting to make more sense to anyone yet?
Nope! To my death bed, I’ll stick with that being a poor decision to keep and extend him and then to extend him at $8.0m. The posts above are talking about 23-28yr old players (if Marchment included). Extending Buch for 6 years was dumb. My two cents. Which I already know several disagree with. Not changing my mind though.
I agree Buch was a mistake, but it IS looking less and less bad. In five years, we may well be grateful Buch only makes 8M aka the new league minimum
skilles wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 18:50 pm
Buch starting to make more sense to anyone yet?
Nope! To my death bed, I’ll stick with that being a poor decision to keep and extend him and then to extend him at $8.0m. The posts above are talking about 23-28yr old players (if Marchment included). Extending Buch for 6 years was dumb. My two cents. Which I already know several disagree with. Not changing my mind though.
I agree Buch was a mistake, but it IS looking less and less bad. In five years, we may well be grateful Buch only makes 8M aka the new league minimum
If we griped as fans about Steen being a $5m fourth liner, Schenn being a $6.5m third liner, we might be suicidal about Buch being an $8.0m healthy scratch!!! Ok, that’s an extreme, but that contract is going to age REALLY bad. This is only year 2 and last season he had his worst season with the Blues setting lows for goals, points, point per game, short-handed points, +/-, and most importantly, TOI time. But yeah, he’s awesome.
Edit: And apologies for derailing this MM thread everyone. I’ll stop now. MM will cost around $7.0-7.5m per year if I’m a betting man.
skilles wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 18:08 pm
I think another thing people are gonna have to get used to with all this expansion is not only prices going up but the quality of player you get for that money going down
Would 5 x 6-7 get in the way of Snuggerud or Neighbours?
Unless McM really shows us something I would rank both of them as more valuable than him.
It shouldn't.
The Cap will go up another 9+ mil. Plus Binnington, Krug, Carlo and Suter will be coming off the books. And we should have some ELC's coming up from Springfield to replace some of those guys(Stenberg, Lindstein, Jiricek, Carbonneau).
Getting Jake, Snuggy, Hofer and Mailloux extended shouldn't be too much of an issue.
We're currently projected at 54.3 mil in cap space for '27-'28. Granted that's for just 8 forwards and 3 D men, but it's still plenty of space to get the key players locked up.
skilles wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 18:08 pm
I think another thing people are gonna have to get used to with all this expansion is not only prices going up but the quality of player you get for that money going down
Would 5 x 6-7 get in the way of Snuggerud or Neighbours?
Unless McM really shows us something I would rank both of them as more valuable than him.
I have a hunch that McTavish is going to have a better season than Jake.
Jake is who he is at this point. 20-25 goals if he stays healthy. I am hoping to see more than that from McTavish.
skilles wrote: ↑02 Jul 2026 18:08 pm
I think another thing people are gonna have to get used to with all this expansion is not only prices going up but the quality of player you get for that money going down
Would 5 x 6-7 get in the way of Snuggerud or Neighbours?
Unless McM really shows us something I would rank both of them as more valuable than him.
McMichael has outproduced Neighbours so far. I can understand valuing Neighbours more because of the intangibles he brings but as the two players stand today, McMichael would be worth more in terms of what sort of contract they could command.
And no, I don’t think a McMichael contract in the range of $6.5M gets in the way or re-signing either of those 2.
To my death bed, I’ll stick with that being a poor decision to keep and extend him and then to extend him at $8.0m. The posts above are talking about 23-28yr old players (if Marchment included). Extending Buch for 6 years was dumb. My two cents. Which I already know several disagree with. Not changing my mind though.
