Does history repeat itself?
It was reported by TSN’s Bob McKenzie that Justin Abdelkader and the Detroit Red Wings reached a seven-year deal with an AAV of $4.25 million, bringing the total of his contract to $29.75 million. Abdelkader, who was drafted by the Red Wings in the second round of the 2005 draft, is going to be 29 when the deal kicks in and will finally end once he is 36.
The deal is definitely raising some eyebrows from reporters around the league.
Player A is David Clarkson, Player B is Justin Abdelkader. Sometimes history teaches us stuff? pic.twitter.com/J8L7gfTzzG
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) November 12, 2015
I asked earlier if history does repeat itself, apparently we can say that it does. We take a look at those basic numbers that are presented to us and we can tell you that this isn’t a smart deal. The money I guess could be excusable but the length is utterly inexcusable for a team that has seen similar deals not work out. Most recently Johan Franzen comes to mind as he is signed for what seems like an eternity.
David Clarkson was 29, with two RT @tsnscottcullen: Ooh boy, lot of money for a 28-year-old with one 30-point season https://t.co/5ugb344UWa
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) November 12, 2015
You would think a front office would monitor the activity around the league and come to the conclusion that overpaying borderline bottom six talent isn’t the best idea. Alas they have yet to come to that conclusion. As the old school gives way to the new school maybe at some point they will realize that intangibles are not worth the money.
As the analytics movement continues to move forward, we will continue to see these deals instantly criticized but it is hard to justify a deal like this when looking at all the variables. The Red Wings have missed on the last few of these deals which is starting to remove some of the shine that was on this once pristine franchise.
