The ceiling for top defenseman contracts may not sit still for long.
Macklin Celebrini’s five-year, $94MM extension reset the NHL’s record for highest cap hit, but Newsday’s Andrew Gross believes Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer could be the next player to push it even higher. Schaefer is eligible for an extension in July, and with the cap set to rise again by then, Gross floated the idea that a five-year, $95MM deal could be enough to get a quick agreement done.
Schaefer’s camp, naturally, would have every reason to aim a little higher. The Calder Trophy winner put up 23 goals and 36 assists last season while averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time per game.
There’s also been chatter around Hurricanes restricted free agent Alexander Nikishin, and not all of it has held up. Some speculation this summer suggested he was after $8MM per season on his next contract, but when RG’s Daria Tuboltseva asked him about that figure, Nikishin said he wants more than that.
He didn’t give a number, and he also didn’t say whether he’s looking for a long-term deal or something shorter. The 24-year-old’s only NHL season produced 11 goals and 22 assists in 81 games, and that makes some of the recent five-year contracts for Brandt Clarke, Simon Nemec, and Pavel Mintyukov imperfect comparisons since each had considerably more NHL experience than Nikishin.
Even so, he’s clearly aiming high.
For the Devils, Brett Pesce spent much of last season battling through injuries. He told Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News that a finger injury lingered for a good portion of the year, and the lower-body injury he suffered in early March was an MCL sprain.
That combination left him appearing in fewer games than he played in. Pesce said he’s now fully recovered from both injuries and has already had a full summer of training.
The veteran still has four years left on his contract at a $5.5MM AAV, and when he’s healthy, he remains a key shutdown presence for New Jersey.
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Matthew Schaefer Just Entered A Franchise Player Debate Islanders Fans Crave
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Mike Johnson of NHL Network recently put Schaefer second on his list of ideal franchise starters, behind only Macklin Celebrini and ahead of names that usually dominate this kind of debate, including Connor McDavid, Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes. For Islanders fans, that kind of company says plenty about where Schaefer stands already, even with the second-season pressure about to rise around him. The next step is proving he can handle the spotlight that comes with that sort of respect. [Read more 🡒]