Is Jakub Voracek worth $8 million per season?
Philadelphia Flyers winger Jakub Voracek has 189 points in his last 212 NHL regular-season games, with 67 goals in that stretch. He’s 25 and one of the League’s premiere right wingers, driving possession for the Flyers (52.55 Corsi close, 4.95 percent CorsiRel close) along with center Claude Giroux.
So what’s that worth in a new contract?
Voracek is in the last year of a $17 million, 4-year deal. GM Ron Hextall said signing him is a priority, meaning Voracek will have a new contract by the time training camp rolls around. In theory.
What’s that contract going to look like? Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet took a crack at it:
Flyers GM Ron Hextall confirmed things were underway with Jakub Voracek, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Voracek has 189 points in the last three seasons, 10th in the NHL. Ahead of him: Nicklas Backstrom, Jamie Benn, Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Claude Giroux, Phil Kessel, Ovechkin, Tyler Seguin and John Tavares. I looked at the contracts involved to find comparables. Throw out Crosby and Ovechkin, because he’s not going that high. Throw out Backstrom, Benn, Seguin and Tavares, because those players had several years of restricted free agency remaining, unlike Voracek. That leaves Getzlaf, Giroux and Kessel who signed on the cusp of freedom. AAVs are $8M for Kessel, $8.25M for Getzlaf and $8.275 for Giroux. Is Philly going to go there? Is Voracek? At the very least, you have to think his number starts with a 7.
Kessel of course is a winger, like Voracek, Six of the top 10 cap hits for forwards are for centers; Patrick Kane, Ovechkin, Corey Perry and Kessel are the wingers.
Let’s assume Voracek gets less than Giroux but more than Kessel. That still makes him an $8 million AAV player, and would join just 12 other players (including Henrik Lundqvist and P.K. Subban) on that level.
So he’s an $8 million a year, based on accomplishments and comperables and the way of the world under this salary cap.
Any chance he might take a hometown discount on an 8-year deal?
Broad Street Hockey theorized why it could happen:
It seems pretty clear that Voracek likes playing in Philadelphia. He’s an integral part of the team and he gets to play next to Claude Giroux, one of the league’s best centers. It’s unlikely he’d get a chance to go to another team where he can form that kind of tag team.
Giroux’s contract is a thing. Claude is the captain and the face of the franchise, regardless of how good Jake is, and there’s a hierarchy there. You can foresee a world where the Flyers would not want to pay Jake more than Claude, and that they would draw the line right there. Claude makes $8.275 million against the cap.
Were Voracek to hit unrestricted free agency, he’d only be able to sign (at most) a seven-year deal. If the Flyers lock him up before July 1, 2016, he can sign for up to eight years. One additional year of security for Voracek — a year which he would lock down while essentially at his peak value — is certainly something he’d like to have.
That said, the Flyers will likely have two players locked up at over $8 million per season through at least 2022. Based on what Giroux and Voracek give them, there’s no arguing it’s money well-spent.
MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY
