What is a #4 defenseman?
He's an offensive defenseman playing second pairing minutes with heavy PP time. If he can average 30 or more points a season, $5.5m is a very fair salary. He had his second best offensive output last year.
I don't know what a number 4 defenceman is, but next season he is going to be playing less minutes than Klef, Larsson, and probably Davidson. A healthy Klefbom is going to take those PP minutes from Sekera. Larsson will take those PP minutes away from him too to some degree.
Sekera is a fine depth defenceman. He put up 30 points with prime PP time which isn't that spectacular. He fit Carolina's system well because he was paired with an offensive dynamo in Faulk and played a defensive role. I don't see him as an offensive defenceman at all. He doesn't stand out as either offensive or defensive. He eats up some minutes looking very normal. His shot is absolute trash and never gets through, his skating is at best average, he is not intimidating, and he can't make a breakout pass.
Rewatch our games from last year or wait until the preseason to see Sekera getting the puck in our end and flipping it sky high into the air over and over again. I saw Davidson make sweeter plays in our own zone as a rookie defenceman through 10 games than I saw Sekera make the entire season.
Let me be clear: Sekera in my eyes fits as a #4 defenceman. He shouldn't be carrying a line. He can't produce offence on his own. If we had an offensive dynamo like Faulk or Barrie, I would understand putting them together like how Sekera succeeded in Carolina.
In L.A. he played #4/5 minutes on that team and looked like he was struggling. Here is Edmonton he played mostly #1 minutes until Davidson took that spot from him down the stretch and he looked to struggle. I think he is a very mediocre defenceman and while he doesn't make too many mistakes like a Nurse, I don't see much difference in their value to a team.
Sekera is a very weird player. Like I said, for 5.5 mil ages 30-36, that is a contract that could become a hindrance down the road when Klef, Larsson, Davidson, Nurse, etc are all outplaying him. I was completely for the signing at the time and still understand it because we badly needed a defenceman who wasn't trash. If his contract was 3 mil a year I would be happy.