After a far too long period with precious little NHL news, two large signings were announced today. Sean Couturier and Andrei Svechnikov were both signed to identical eight-year contracts within hours of each other. The deals came in at $62 million total, or $7.75 million per year over eight years.
There has been much speculation over the last several months about RFA Brady Tkachuk’s next contract. Some say he will opt for a three-year bridge deal at a relatively low cap hit, while others remain adamant that he will sign for the full eight years.
As Kevin Francis from HockeyBuzz.com writes, the Senators have offered Tkachuk their biggest contract yet, at $42 million over six years. If this is in fact the direction both camps are leaning in, this would make sense for both sides.
An eight-year deal would eat up four UFA years right in Tkachuk’s prime. A three-year bridge deal would place Tkachuk exactly one year away from unrestricted free agency, something the Senators don’t want to do.
While Brady Tkachuk and Sean Couturier are not comparable players by style, age or value, Andrei Svechnikov is a good comparable.
Since Tkachuk and Svechnikov were drafted two spots apart in 2018, their stats have been quite similar. Tkachuk has 125 points in 198 games, while Svechnikov has 140 in 205 games.
While Svechnikov has a higher points-per-game (0.68 to 0.63), Tkachuk has a good case to make that he is a more valuable player. Svechnikov was drafted to be a mostly one-dimensional goal-scorer, which he is. Tkachuk brings so much more to the table than just points.
The Senators’ winger has finished top-two in the NHL in hits over the last two years, accruing 175 minutes in the penalty box. Coupled with his natural leadership, his energy, not to mention his faceoff skills, Tkachuk has a solid case to ask for north of $8 million per year.
Regardless of how much Tkachuk and the Senators end up agreeing on, the bar has been set by Andrei Svechnikov for league-wide RFAs
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