Daniel Brière Keeps Busy, Signing Jamie Drysdale to a 4-Year, $26M Deal ($6.5M AAV)
It is safe to say that Daniel Brière has had a busy summer. After the record-setting offer sheet to Leo Carlsson that was unfortunately matched, he ended up re-signing two key players, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, to mid-term contracts, locking up his young core.
Drysdale is coming off a career high in goals (8) while tying his career high in points (32). He was traded to Philadelphia from Anaheim three seasons ago in exchange for Cutter Gauthier. Since being acquired, he has become a stabilizing force on the back end, earning increased ice time while averaging 18:22 per game, including just over two minutes of power-play time.
The AAV seems a bit much in my opinion, but I’m hoping he can stay healthy and prove me wrong. It feels more like a right-shot premium than anything else. For those who may not know, the majority of NHL defensemen are left-handed shots, so right-shot defensemen with a hard shot and strong defensive responsibility tend to command a premium because they are much harder to find.
The other factor is that Rasmus Ristolainen is entering the final year of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent. He is currently slotted on the first pairing on the right side, and depending on what his next contract looks like, Drysdale could eventually replace him on that pairing should Ristolainen’s play regress as he enters his age 32 through 36 seasons. If that happens, Drysdale’s contract could end up looking like a bargain for a top-pairing right-handed defenseman.
I do wonder if the delay in getting Drysdale signed was related to a potential offer sheet for Connor Bedard that ultimately never materialized. I admittedly fell for a fake post about a $20.3M offer sheet from the Flyers, but Brière and Sunny Mehta have certainly been aggressive this offseason, making it one of the most dramatic summers in recent memory. Had Bedard actually accepted an offer sheet and the Blackhawks decided not to match, it would have created a significant cap crunch with both Grebenkin and Drysdale still unsigned.
With $13.9M in cap space remaining, I am curious to see where Grebenkin’s contract lands. I could see it coming in somewhere between $2.5M and $4M AAV. As I mentioned in my Dubas article, the free-agent market is thin, so Philadelphia may even be willing to pay a little more to lock him up for three or more years. He had a difficult rookie campaign, recording just 14 points in 55 games.
While Drysdale’s contract may be a slight overpay in my opinion, only time will tell. This upcoming season should give us a much better indication of whether this deal ends up looking expensive or turns into a steal.
