Nikolaj Ehlers “will earn more than $9M per season”: The Canadiens must forget the project

Dose
Crédit:

Among the interesting players on the free agent market, which opens on July 1, is Nikolaj Ehlers.

The forward may not sign a new contract with the Jets, because Winnipeg probably won’t have enough money to pay him.

Especially considering his demands…

James Myrtle wrote about it in a recent article: the team that wants Ehlers will have to get its cheques out because it’s going to be expensive.

Very expensive.

The journalist from The Athletic claims that Ehlers “will earn more than $9 million per season”… which is still a lot for a guy who has never once reached the 70-point plateau since the start of his career.

He’ll earn over $9 million per season. – James Myrtle

At that price… I think the Canadiens should pass.

After all, even if Ehlers were to fill a certain role in Montreal – that of adding talent and offensive punch to the top-6 – the salary he’s going to command is likely to be too big.

We’re talking about a guy who’s often injured (he only has three full 82-game NHL seasons under his belt), who’s not the biggest guy at 172 pounds… and we know, on the other hand, that the Canadiens need to bulk up.

The idea of adding a player like him to the line-up may be attractive for a number of reasons. Ehlers is one of the (very) good skaters in the National League, he has a truly undeniable offensive flair, he has a (very) good vision of the game… and he’s also capable of putting it in.

But then again, at 29, this is probably his last chance to get a big contract, and he’ll definitely want to sign for the long term. I can’t see Kent Hughes giving him a multi-year deal at $9M+ per season, because that’s not part of his plan either.

If the salary were more reasonable… I’d go for Nikolaj Ehlers tomorrow morning. But at $9M+ per year… I’m a little skeptical.

Even if the ceiling is going to go up in the next few years!

Overtime

– Still!

– I love it.

– Good.

– His rise is meteoric.