One of the young core members of the Edmonton Oilers, Jordan Eberle just signed a six year deal with the team, for the modest amount of $36 million. With a hefty $6 million a year, this deal strikes as one of the most profitable of the season. Just to put it on perspective, Taylor Hall signed for the same cap hit over a seven years deal.
But how is that two young promising players can have such a different worth in the eyes of teams? The answer is pretty simple. Steve Tambellini, former NHL player and current manager for the Oilers signed Hall for $6 million quite ahead of time, some might say that even before he needed to. When the time to sign Eberle came, it was pretty hard for Tambellini to offer him a lesser figure, especially considering that it has been Eberle, and not Hall, the main reason why the team has scored in the previous two seasons.
Although it’s true that Hall outscored Eberle on a point per game scale, it was the latest overall numbers what gave him the advantage over Hall. Taking under consideration the multiple health issues that Hall has shown in the last couple seasons, one can’t help but think that his contract was based on some measure of faith. On the other hand, Eberle’s shooting percentage has not been as stable as expected, and perhaps if the Oilers would have waited until next year, they could have signed him for a lesser amount.
Just this last Wednesday, it was reported by Jim Matheson that the talks for Eberle’s extension were coming along smoothly, however when you take a look at the terms and the context, it’s rather easy to see why. Even though the Oilers didn’t show patience, it seems clear that they wanted to get both Hall’s and Eberle’s deals closed before the expiration date of the CBA, which would put the terms to a five years limit.
This deal strikes as over the top for many, however many more have shown their support to the deal the team managed to score. We’ll have to wait and see how next season goes in order to determine whether those $6 million a year will be worth it.
