Was Signing Ryan Kesler Part of GM Bob Murray’s Diabolical Plan?
The former General Manager of the year did not just improve Anaheim’s chance of winning the Stalney Cup when he gave Ryan Kesler an extension.
When the Anaheim Ducks out the finishing touches on a contract extension that will keep Ryan Kelser in SoCal through the 2021-2022 season (and pay him $41.25 million, to boot), there were a lot of eyebrows raised.
It’s not that people don’t see Kesler as a vital piece in the Anaheim Ducks’ quest to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup for the second time in franchise history; there is no doubt that bringing in Kesler last summer was nearly the move that got the Ducks over the hump.
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Still, extending a player’s contract for six more seasons is the sort of thing you might expect to do for one of its superstars, not a second-line center like who is already past his prime, as Kesler is. At the age of 30, Kesler certainly should be able to give the Anaheim Ducks 40+ points per season for most of the years of the years remaining on his contract, but gone are the days when he was able to produce 70+, or even close to 60, as he did with the Vancouver Canucks (although pairing him with Jakob Silfverberg and Carl Hagelin might prove me wrong, fingers crossed).
What this all boils down to, then, is that the Anaheim Ducks needed to make sure they held onto Ryan Kesler, yes – his ability to win faceoffs, defend the **** out of opposing players, coupled with his locker room presence would have been damn near impossible to replace – but let’s be honest: they slightly overpaid the guy.
Which, pardon my censored French, is pure ******* evil genius on the part of Ducks GM Bob Murray.
Think about how Kesler’s extension will affect the negotiations of players such as Anze Kopitar. Los Angeles’ center is expected to begin discussing an extension with the Kings soon, as his current contract is set to expire in July of 2016. Kopitar will turn 28 in August, and since his career scoring numbers are far better than Kesler’s (218-392-610 versus 202-238-440) despite playing 53 less games, you know Anze is looking at Kesler’s $6.875 million per season and thinking, “If he’s worth that, I’m worth at least $7.5 million per season.” After all, Kopitar is currently making $6.8 million per season, and if we agree that he is worth as much, if not more, to the Kings than Kesler is to the Ducks, then it’s apparent that Kopitar is going to be asking for a sizable raise, soon.
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Since the Los Angeles Kings do not have anywhere near as much cap space available as the Anaheim Ducks do, it is possible that the team will not be able to meet Kopitar’s demands, meaning he will become a free agent on July 1st.
Now, I’m not saying that Bob Murray deliberately overpaid Ryan Kesler with the thought of being able to sign Anze Kopitar next summer; Kopitar is just of many desirable UFAs who could hit the market. Still, we all know Bob Murray is a hell of a smart guy. Overpaying someone like Kesler not only puts pressure on other clubs to overpay their talent – and well know not every team will be willing to do so – but makes Anaheim an attractive destination for future free agents, or players who find themselves on the trading block.
This is all just speculation on my part, of course, but with Kopitar, Jakub Voracek, David Backes, Steven Stamkos, Andrew Ladd, Eric Staal and more potentially testing the waters of free agency in July of 2016, Ryan Kesler’s contract may very well ensure that one of those guys winds up considering retiring while wearing an Anaheim Ducks jersey.
Bob Murray: hockey’s version of Dr. Evil? Mu ha ha ha ha!