Confirmed Signing with Link: [WPG] Bryan Little signs extension (6 years, $5.29M AAV)

[Tasteless Beaver]

This contract is fantastic. Little is a 1st line center on a lot of teams, and was running 1A/1B with Scheifele to start last season. These 1B centers are worth more than 5.29m - especially when they want to retire in the city that they play in. Our center depth is SET: Scheifele - Little - Roslovic - Lowry - Copp (and Perreault, and many others). There is absolutely zero wrong with this contract, and just about every team in the league would be happy to have it.

So let's recap:
Little is a low-end 1C.
He wants to play here.
He does not have fragility issues - only freak hits.
The cap hit is CHEAP.

 

[thadd]

That's a lot of term.

But the cap hit is pretty low considering what everyone else has been signing for.

People talk about how Winnipeg's GM isn't awesome based on how he doesn't get many trades made, but it's really hard to nitpick the contracts he's signed.

 

[Tasteless Beaver]

But the cap hit is pretty low considering what everyone else has been signing for.

People talk about how Winnipeg's GM isn't awesome based on how he doesn't get many trades made, but it's really hard to nitpick the contracts he's signed.

Stuart, Pavelec and Thorburn do leave a lot to be desired from our management.

 

[1989]

Very solid contract for both sides. Hope that NTC doesn't hurt the Jets too much when it comes time.

Calgary should be so lucky to get Backlund re-signed to a similar contract (albeit possibly with one year less if at all manageable.)

 

[varano]

Most underrated center in hockey

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

I think Derek Stepan is a good comparable to Little.. both players can be counted upon to play in any situation and point production is very consistent year in year out.

Last 4 years Little averages 51 points per season in just 67 games played. If he didn't miss his annual 15-20 games, he'd put up 55-60 points every single season. That's in the same point range as Stepan is every year.

Stepan makes 6.5M, Little makes 5.29M, can't complain. Basically that 1.2M difference is because of the health issues.

Said it previously in this thread though, if Little stays healthy this season somebody would've given him Stepan-money next summer there's no doubt in my mind. It was good to get this done now.

Anyway, Rangers made the cup finals with Stepan as their 1C. That's pretty telling how perfect of a fit Little is playing behind Scheifele. Basically this is the situation as far as the top 2 centers go Rangers fans always wanted to have but never did.

 

[thadd]

Stuart, Pavelec and Thorburn do leave a lot to be desired from our management.

Pavelc contract happened because they needed a goalie.

Sturat I didn't understand.

Thorburn... yeah. That was pretty bad.

But for those 3 bad contracts they've probably got 15 great ones.

 

[TS Quint]

You can call it "unfortunate injuries" if that makes you feel better. That's a fair assessment of it. But the point remains, it's happened to him...and has kept him out of the lineup for significant periods. An ironman he is not. And the durability of players and that sort of thing doesn't typically improve as a player ages later into their 30s. Maybe they are just "unfortunate injuries" and he'll buck the trend, but there's a reasonable expectation that he may not. That's going to raise questions on a contract like this.

This doesn't answer my questions. Someone who has never seen a hockey game could say this. Do you have anything specific behind what you're saying or did you just look at the GP on hockeydb?

 

[No Czeck Pucks]

Bryan Little the most overly-underrated forward in the NHL.
2008 Draft
N, Backstrom 4th Overall(O), 734GP, 728P, .99 PPG, Starting Next Year $6.7M Cap Hit(CH), 2 Years(Y) $13.4M Total(T) Will Be Paid
J, Toews 3rd O, 717GP, 622P, .87PPG, $10.5M CH, 5Y, $52.5M T
P Kessel 5th O, 832GP, 649P, .78PPG, $6.8M CH, 4Y, $27M T
C. Giroux 22nd O, 656GP, 575P, .88PPG, $8.3M CH, 4Y, $33M T
M Lucic 50th O, 729GP, 447P, .61PPG, $6M CH, 5Y, $30M T
J Staal 2nd O, 764GP, 436P, .57PPG, $6M CH, 5Y, $30M T
B Little 12th O, 672GP, 432P, .64PPG, $5.3M CH, 6Y, $31.5M T
No one else in the draft has had(or probably will have) more points than Little.

Looks to be a good draft pick by Atlanta, and a great contract for the Jets.

 

[State of Hockey]

A tick on the long side, but that's a much lower AAV than I would have expected. I guess that was the trade. Such an underrated player. The guy I wanted the Wild to draft in 2006.

 

[KingBogo]

Pavelc contract happened because they needed a goalie.

Sturat I didn't understand.

Thorburn... yeah. That was pretty bad.

But for those 3 bad contracts they've probably got 15 great ones.

And none of them are on the books as the Jets look to take the next step to contention.

 

[TheDoldrums]

People talk about how Winnipeg's GM isn't awesome based on how he doesn't get many trades made, but it's really hard to nitpick the contracts he's signed.

Pretty easy to nitpick Kulikov's deal.

 

[JetsHomer]

Pretty easy to nitpick Kulikov's deal.

And you'd look pretty dumb doing so considering Kulikov hasn't even played a single game with the Jets yet

 

[TheDoldrums]

And you'd look pretty dumb doing so considering Kulikov hasn't even played a single game with the Jets yet

This is a new one. I guess new acquisition threads should all be locked right away, lest someone dare speak ill before the player suits up. Can't believe anyone had the nerve to question the Marleau signing when it happened.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Great contract for an underrated center who gets it done in all corners of the rink.

 

[6ix]

Nice deal

 

[Cleatus]

Really hope he can stay healthy through most of this contract. Very important player to Jets success.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Very underrated.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Seems like Winnipeg got hooked up with a nice hometown discount. Good for Little and good for the Jets.

 

[Hogan86]

One of the most forgotten guys in hockey. Great signing by Winnipeg.

 

[rynryn]

Great contract for the Peg. This guy is under the radar super effective. I'm jealous.

 

[Riptide]

Absolutely love this contract. The guy is somewhere between a 1B and a 2A center, consistently putting up 60+ points (or on pace to do so). The contract takes him to his to his mid 30s, but doesn't really overpay him and keeps the cap hit very reasonable.

And for Winnipeg in general... to have their top 2 centers locked up long term for 11.5m... that too is amazing. If they can keep filling in the talent around them, this is a team that should do good things in the near future - especially if Mason can stabilize the goaltending situation.

 

[Riptide]

These deals always carries a risk, but for UFA 30y contract this looks pretty damm good/low risk.



Have you seen the UFA market?
30y top6 W guys still get those and Little is a 1B C, much more valuable.

Yep. I mean when you're paying Oshie more then you're paying Little... you know things are messed up - or looking pretty damn good - depending on where you're standing.

6 years for a guy turning 30 that can't stay healthy?

You get that when you're signing for around 1m less then the market value.

 

[Esq]

Jets fans seem happy about this, which is the most important thing.

But I'd be a bit concerned about his durability, or lack thereof, across a 6-year deal.

 

[buggs]

Jets fans seem happy about this, which is the most important thing.

But I'd be a bit concerned about his durability, or lack thereof, across a 6-year deal.

I think it's because of this:
2008-09 79/82 (0.65)
2009-10 79/82 (0.43)
2010-11 76/82 (0.63)
2011-12 74/82 (0.62)
2012-13 48/48 (0.67)
2013-14 82/82 (0.71)
2014-15 70/82 (0.74)
2015-16 57/82 (0.74)- broken vertebra in his neck due to "odd" hit
2016-17 59/82 (0.80)- knee on knee hit

Not wear and tear types of issues. Arguably both were dirty hits that took him out for an extended period of time. The rest of the time he's showed above average durability. His style of game isn't a pounding game that lends itself to the types of injuries that wear players down.

Numbers in brackets are ppg.

Invariably there is risk involved in signing any 29/30 year old to a multi-year deal. But proportionally for production versus cap hit this deal is a win. So long as Little can avoid getting run down by illegal hits there's actually little to indicate he's not relatively (70+ games/season) durable.