The NHL has begun the process of wildly expanding the salary cap, allowing for massive salary growth for every player in the league.
As such, we've seen some sticker shock at the price tags of various new contracts. Last summer, the Boston Bruins shocked some with the Tanner Jeannot contract, but Jeannot earned every last penny of his contract this season.
With a very weak UFA class, the expected pay day for pending free agents is high. Teams have cap space and will be desperate to improve, or even keep their own guys.
Take Charlie Coyle, the Massachusetts native and former longtime Bruin. Coyle might've been the top UFA center at the age of 34 and with over 1,000 games played.
The Columbus Blue Jackets fell short of the playoffs, but saw Coyle have a fantastic year.
Coyle scored 20 goals and 58 points, one of his best ever seasons despite coming at an age where some might have thought he'd start to regress.
The Blue Jackets announced today they've signed Coyle to a monster six-year, $36 million extension. That's an AAV of $6 million for Coyle until he's age 40.
If Coyle plays in all 82 games over the next six years, he will play over 1500 NHL games, one of the longest careers in league history.
Coyle anchored Columbus' second line for most of the year, and played key roles on special teams.
It's hard to say he hasn't earned it. While the price point and length might be shocking, this contract under the new CBA is not that crazy.
When the cap went flat around $80 million, a cap hit of $6 million was worth 7.5% of the cap. Under the upcoming $104 million limit, that's equivalent to a $7.8 million cap hit, notably richer.
Coyle's new contract will only start at roughly 5.77% of Columbus' cap space. Under the frozen cap at the beginning of the decade, that's equivalent to $4.6 million cap hit.
With the cap expected to rise another $10 million the following season, that percentage will only shrink.
Yes, the term is rather surprising at six years. But Coyle's known for being a great leader, and the style he plays he can age gracefully.
The cap hit may look shocking, but falls right in line for what you'd expect.