One model ranks the Pittsburgh Penguins among the league’s best in contract efficiency.
Ron Hextall is going into his third season as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins. With several trades and signings this off-season, Hextall has his fingerprints throughout most of the Penguin's current contracts. If you ask Dom Luszczyszyn of the Athletic, Hextall has done a great job securing value through his contracts.
The Penguins re-signed six everyday players from last season while bringing in four others via trade or the free agent market. With those moves, the Penguins are currently sitting $1.48 million over the NHL's salary cap, according to CapFriendly. Luszczyszyn ranked the Penguins eighth in the NHL with a grading scale that used players' combined surplus value and positive value probability.
Signing the team's top players on long term but low yearly valued contracts was a primary focus for the Penguins front office this season, which graded well on this scale. Kris Letang's new contract was ranked the most efficient among Penguins blue liners and second on the team. B grades were given to the contracts for Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, and Danton Heinen, with Rust's contract elevated to a B+ on this scale.
However, not all of the long term contracts inked by Hextall this off-season netted positive results. Rickard Rakell's six-year $5 million contract extension is considered a C on Luszczyszyn's scale. While this model praises Hextall's work in bringing back star players, it also criticizes his depth signings of Brock McGinn, Jeff Carter, and Kasperi Kapanen, graded at a C+ or lower. All of those players had disappointing finishes to last season.
That criticism falls in line with the general review of Hextall's off-season, where he did well with the contracts of the top-six forwards but struggled to add value to the bottom-six.
Ron Hextall's standing with Penguins management was questioned early in the summer, but he has seemingly solidified his position. This model shows us exactly where his strengths and weaknesses were this off-season and highlight his need to find better value at the bottom of the forward lineup.
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