The Edmonton Oilers re-signed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins a few days ago, and there are a few things that still needs to be said about the extension.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is one of the best Edmonton Oilers the team has had in a long time. Drafted first overall in 2011, Nugent-Hopkins is the longest-tenured player on this roster and seeing that he just signed a long extension, it should keep him in Edmonton throughout his entire career.
Giving out a big long contract like this is usually frowned upon by fans. Nugent-Hopkins is 28, and this deal will expire when he is 36, by then his play could decline significantly. However, I still think it is worth it to have Nugent-Hopkins in Edmonton till then.
Now the franchise has one face that will be here through it all. Nugent-Hopkins has the ability to play in over 1000 games with the franchise. So far in his career, Nugent-Hopkins has played in 656 games. Well if he were to play in all 82 games over the course of the next eight seasons he would play in an additional 656 games.
Obviously, the chances of a player playing in every game over the course of eight seasons are not high, so I would say we put the number at around 600 or so of those games. Nugent-Hopkins would pass Kevin Lowe who leads the franchise with 1037 games. Giving Nugent-Hopkins a no-movement clause definitely is something that he wanted to make sure he stayed in one place, and considering this deal is less than his last I think it was in his right to ask for that.
Who knows where the league is going to be in two or three seasons. Paying a player 5.125 million might not seem as much as it does right now. Overall, I think the Edmonton Oilers made the right call giving Nugent-Hopkins this contract. Now the team can not worry about one of their star players for the remainder of his career and he can go out there and play his best every night.
The team is definitely going to need Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to bounce back now that he is extended for another eight years. Giving out a contract for that long with that much term only happens when they can help lead the charge on the roster. Now it is up to him to be that guy and put up 60 or more points again.
Nugent-Hopkins was not at his best last season, and there are definitely some reasons to be doubtful of this deal. Share in the comments what your thoughts are on the Nugent-Hopkins contract as I would love to read them!