The Maple Leafs, in the last hours, offered crazy contracts to Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
But at least, seeing what their former defender Joel Edmundson had in Los Angeles, they had the good idea not to go too far in overbidding him.
Because yes, the Kings gave him a four-year contract valued at $3.85 million per year. Eh boy.
In 2020, Marc Bergevin gave the Hurricanes a pick to negotiate with him. He then gave him a four-year contract valued at $3.5 million per season to help his blue line.
Now Edmundson is four years older and has a bigger contract. That’s something.
The ceiling has gone up, he’s still a good defender and in the playoffs, he’s important… but for three years, you never know when his back is going to give out for good.
And now the Kings are offering him four years? So let’s see.
There was some question as to whether he would be able to get more than a year on his contract and now the Kings have offered him a golden bridge to move to the next level. The club might regret it in two years.
Even if he is not the GM in Los Angeles, this idea screams Marc Bergevin.
I guess the Kings are thinking short term and thinking that Edmundson is the kind of guy who will be good for the locker room and who will help the club beat the Oilers in the playoffs.
That’s right… if his back holds up. And that’s really not guaranteed.
There is a risk that the Kings, with ideas like that, will close their window of opportunity very quickly. After all, if Edmundson is forced to slow down because of his back, it will hurt the club.
It’s not a risk I would have taken.
A lot of
– 4 years for Duclair in New York. He is going to join Patrick Roy.
– The Flames add experience.
– More reinforcements in Nashville.
– Nice contract.
– To be continued.
– The defender.
