Confirmed Signing with Link: [CHI] D Alex Vlasic signs extension with the Blackhawks (6 years, $4.6M AAV)

dj Mahoney

Registered User
Apr 11, 2021
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19 NHL points. Insane deal, I don’t care if he turns into Bobby Orr next year.
Watch how much Morbid Cider signs for , 8.5 , the new "Willie Huber". Justin Holl over 3 million for watching from the pressbox . Another stroke (could explain many of Stevie Whine decisions )of genius.
 

kmwtrucks

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Mar 11, 2014
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I know analytics is not everything but his prjected war on Jfresh is 88%. at 6-6 and 22 years old. he could be become a top Def d man in the league. he is just really good for being that big and that tall and can really skate.
 

HawksDub89

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Apr 17, 2019
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I know analytics is not everything but his prjected war on Jfresh is 88%. at 6-6 and 22 years old. he could be become a top Def d man in the league. he is just really good for being that big and that tall and can really skate.

He already is a top def d man in the league…literally.

If he adds more offense as the hawks get better this contract will look even more favorable
 

StreetHawk

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Sep 30, 2017
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And he got paid 27.6 million after 97 NHL games.
Well, he has an early June birthday, so turns 23 soon. What is the official wording in the CBA regarding 1/3 buyouts. Is it before the player turns 26? KK in Carolina has 2 more years as a 2018 pick to still get bought out as he has a July birthday and buyout occur mid to late June.

So the Hawks would have 2 years to decide, vs 3 because of the timing of his birthday to exercise that option.

It' a bit of a gamble, but Chicago has that out, plus they have cap space now and hoping when he's into years 4-6 he's going to be worth more than the $4.6 mill aav.
 

CallMeShaft

Calder Bedard Fan
Apr 14, 2014
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According to this article from The Athletic, he's the second best shutdown defender in the league.

Speaking of impressive defensive results on a bad team, Alex Vlasic has overtaken Seth Jones as the Blackhawks’ best blueliner. Vlasic’s combo of a 6-foot-6 frame and excellent skating is a nightmare for attackers to navigate around. He covers so much space and closes gaps exceptionally quickly with his reach and feet. The 22-year-old left-shot has logged the most minutes against “elite” competition of all Chicago defenders. Despite difficult top pair usage, Vlasic is driving the best expected goal share on the entire team (forwards included). Chicago has a near break-even goal differential during Vlasic’s minutes but has a whopping minus-73 goal differential when he’s on the bench at five-on-five.
 

wej20

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Aug 14, 2008
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Well, he has an early June birthday, so turns 23 soon. What is the official wording in the CBA regarding 1/3 buyouts. Is it before the player turns 26? KK in Carolina has 2 more years as a 2018 pick to still get bought out as he has a July birthday and buyout occur mid to late June.

So the Hawks would have 2 years to decide, vs 3 because of the timing of his birthday to exercise that option.

It' a bit of a gamble, but Chicago has that out, plus they have cap space now and hoping when he's into years 4-6 he's going to be worth more than the $4.6 mill aav.

I assuming he won't become terrible enough to be bought out and given where Chicago are in their rebuild they're not going to be tight to the cap for a bit. Assume players who are injured can't be bought out so he'd be safe from that perspective.

Deal makes a ton of sense for both sides.
 

JaegerDice

The mark of my dignity shall scar thy DNA
Dec 26, 2014
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He IS good, but Blackhawks fans are being a little silly about the number.

He wasnt going to get much more than this given his offensive output. We all know he’s great defensively, but agents havent figured out how to monetize that for their clients.

He’s a Hjalmarsson-style dman making Hjalmarsson money.

Fair deal.
 

ChiHawks10

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Jul 7, 2009
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He IS good, but Blackhawks fans are being a little silly about the number.

He wasnt going to get much more than this given his offensive output. We all know he’s great defensively, but agents havent figured out how to monetize that for their clients.

He’s a Hjalmarsson-style dman making Hjalmarsson money.

Fair deal.
He's actually making like 1.5% less(I believe) than Hammer was, relative to the cap. He's also a 22 year old D on a really bad offensive team. His points output will increase as the Hawks have forwards that can actually score at the NHL level.

I'll argue within 2 seasons this is one of the best contracts in the league.
 

Ezpz

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Apr 16, 2013
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According to this article from The Athletic, he's the second best shutdown defender in the league.
To be fair the disparity highlights that Chicago were icing four non-NHL dmen whenever Jones and Vlasic weren't on the ice. It's unlikely guys like Zaitsev, Tinordi, Murphy, or Megna are in the league when their contracts are up. Korchinski obviously wasn't ready defensively. Not that Vlasic isn't a solid dman, just comparisons to team mates are not great when half the team are AHLers.

Obviously shutdown D never really get paid too, and Vlasic's own cousin Marc-Edouard is a good example of why. This is a pretty fair value contract for the player Vlasic was this year, assuming no regression in the future as Chicago gets better top pairing options. There's no reason for Chicago to not take gambles like these with 77 million in cap space in the summer of 27.
 

wej20

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Aug 14, 2008
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He already is a top def d man in the league…literally.

If he adds more offense as the hawks get better this contract will look even more favorable

What odds on him putting up more offense? He's never been much of a scorer.
 

WarriorofTime

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Jul 3, 2010
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Chicago being a fun town helps make retraining/attracting talent a lot easier even on a rebuild.
Hometown team as well, having grown up in Chicago Suburbs. He was eager to sign for as long as he could. If he wanted to maximize career earnings above all, and was willing to make a +EV gamble, he'd likely have asked for a short deal and with more follow up seasons to this one received a much bigger value going forward.
I know analytics is not everything but his prjected war on Jfresh is 88%. at 6-6 and 22 years old. he could be become a top Def d man in the league. he is just really good for being that big and that tall and can really skate.
Ate all the tough matchups and really held his own. Hawks really had one pair most of the season, so he and Jones were stress-tested a lot. I doubt he ever becomes a powerplay guy to become a huge money, Franchise DMan type but he has a good pass and was really good in the defensive zone this season. Big guy that skates really well too. I look at the Vegas team last year and this, he really fits that profile for the guys they've been winning with great defense while throwing any random guy behind in net.
 
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ChiHawks10

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Jul 7, 2009
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What odds on him putting up more offense? He's never been much of a scorer.
His offense should increase proportionately to the Hawks actually having legitimate NHL forwards.

He has great vision and a great stretch pass, and also knows when to rush/join the rush. His skating is fantastic for a big body. He's also pretty damn good at getting his shot through for the forwards to tip and/or bang in rebounds. Once those, and his stretch passes and such start getting buried by legitimate top 6 forwards, his points will go up. I figure he'll be good for 35-40 points most years, with some higher years mixed in. Just my opinion.
 

Esq

in terrorem
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Feb 5, 2009
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Outstanding. He could definitely regress in full year 2, but given his mobility and instincts, that seems unlikely. Even if his play plateaus, it's a good deal for us.
 

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