Confirmed Signing with Link: [DET] F JT Compher signs with the Red Wings (5 years, $5.1M AAV)

[Kranix]

I get wanting to have serviceable forwards but 5+ for compher seems like a reach

 

[theVladiator]

Compher may be a bit bland, but you can't have too many 2-way hard working players IMO. Better than chasing some a 50-60 pt player who can't be bothered to chip in on D. As for the money, the Wings would not give Compher 5M out of the blue. Some other team(s) were clearly willing to give him close to that. The Wings have the space and the need. Not going to sweat the money - it's not mine, and there is plenty of cap space.

 

[bossram]

There's no unique advantage but:

- Detroit has and will have more ELCs and RFA players than most teams, simply because they're young and coming out of a rebuild
- For better or for worse, Detroit has no superstar players commanding 10+ mil in salary, so they can afford to spend a little more on depth
- Detroit's got only 3 players signed beyond 2025-26, that's if not unique at least rare. Talking about it as if they've locked themselves into a box with their cap situation couldn't be further from the truth.

These are all okay risk mitigation strategies (or more cynically, excuses) to mask the fact it's not a good deal.

If Compher signed this anywhere else, Wings fans would be lambasting it like anyone else.

Let’s see…..

Fischer replaces Erne
Compher replaces Suter
Ghost replaces Oesterle
Holl replaces Hagg
Reimer replaces Neds
Lyon replaces Hellberg
Sprong replaces Chiasson

Those are significant upgrades. Who cares if they overpaid on a couple of guys. That’s what happens when you have to go the UFA route. That’s no secret. They gave up no assets for these players and will likely gain assets for a couple at the deadline. Young players will now have to earn their spots. The way it’s supposed to be.

Just because they didn’t do it the way you would have, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. I wouldn’t have given Killorn or O’Reilly those crazy deals. Compher will absolutely outperform O’Reilly contractually. That stint in TO wasn’t worth 4 years. He was not the same player most of the season. The Killorn contract was just nuts.

The summer isn’t over either. They clearly have significantly upgraded that roster. This is what you have to do when the cupboard was completely empty and you don’t win lotteries. The system is now loaded but their sub 22 players. As those players start integrating in, they’ll have a supporting cast.

I'm not talking about Killorn or ROR. We don't need whataboutism here. Those are bad deals too. I can call a spade a spade with Compher though.

The list of players above are marginal upgrades at UFA market prices. That's not exactly how you build a contender. The one-year deals (Sprong, Ghost, etc.) are fine. No risk. They'll contribute then you can liquidate them. Compher's deal is the worst of the bunch.

 

[Pavels Dog]

If Compher signed this anywhere else, Wings fans would be lambasting it like anyone else.

On the contrary I think it would be a good add for pretty much any young rebuilding team with tons of cap space. It would be a terrible deal for a contender though.

 

[Rodge]

Avs fan here. Like others have mentioned, I loved having JT on the team. He's a solid 3C who isn't a complete liability when asked to play on the second pairing. At his previous cap ($3.5m), he felt slightly overpaid but that little extra wasn't a huge deal while we had the MacKinnon discount. Had he accepted that much again, I'd have, probably, felt OK about keeping him.

A big positive for him is that we did depend on him for faceoffs and had done for many years. Nate is good at many things, but face offs is not something he excels at. Even with a sub-50% FOW, Compher was who we'd put in for a critical draw... He is defensively sound and doesn't take stupid penalties. He's everything you'd look for in a 3C.

Last year, we didn't have a 2C - so Compher got the opportunity to get significantly more playing time and got to play on PP1, while also avoiding injury for an entire season (1st time ever). This was perfect timing, for his contract year, as he got to put up his best ever season numbers. He's just got paid as a 2C, but I don't believe that's what he is. When cap space is tight, it's hard to justify JT getting that bit extra.


By the time the Wings are ready to contend again, the cap will have risen and this deal might not look so bad. I guess this is what Yzerman is thinking....

 

[DuklaNation]

Major overpayment

 

[tucker3434]

JTC is a solid player, definitely a good guy to have around. He's an ideal 3C who can play up in a pinch. He's not going to carry a second line. It wouldn't surprise me if he slid back into a 30-40 point player now that he's separated from MacKinnon/Rantanen/Makar. $5.1 is a little rich for that, but if you're not a cap ceiling team in the near term, that might not matter.

 

[StewieP19]

A lot of money for a 3rd line players on a contender team.
Last year he was invisible in playoff.
Not the best move for Yzerman.

 

[Rodge]

BTW if there are still some passionate Avs fans around this useless topic, care to explain to the kid all the differences between the players Compher and Rodrigues ? It would be much appreciated.

We had JT for a long time, only a season of E-Rod - so, can only give you a little overview of my thoughts on him.

Both are good 3rd liners, who can be trusted to fill in on the second line when needed - with both being OK at C or W. JT is better defensively and is much better on face-offs (ERod has higher FOW - but we only trusted JT against other team's top players). Going forward, both can complement good players, but neither can drive an offensive line.

At times, we even had JT as our 1C (when Nate got hurt), which wasn't a complete disaster - but, that's probably more to do with Rantanen elevating his play, rather than JT. So, statistically, JT looks like he had an awesome season. However, this is based on him having a great early season (when he got to play more time with our big players), compared to after the trade deadline when he was expected to drive the 2nd line himself, and his numbers went way down again. JT just does not create offense - he needs someone else, on his line, to do this. However, defensively, he is quite solid.

On the flip side, E-Rod had a real up and down regular season. He had injury issues early in the season, where he'd be in and out of the lineup. He got chances on the top line, just like JT, and, at times, he looked pretty decent offensively. And, wow - he likes to shoot! Some shifts, he just looked perfectly in tune with Nate and how he wanted to play - it was great to watch. However, overall - he didn't gel with the top players and he was really inconsistent. He'd go from looking really confident and playing well to, immediately, being invisible on the ice. Can't remember his longest pointless streak, but it had to be around 10 games. The main thing he brought is that he is pretty good defensively and he's a decently fast player. Unlike JT, E-Rod can create more offense - but, he sometimes thinks he's better than he is, which leads to turnovers.

Come playoff time, this season - ERod was able to elevate his game, whereas JT really didn't. In fact, JT was pretty awful, this year. However, JT has played decent playoff hockey for the previous years, when playing 3rd line minutes. Not spectacular, but not the person to blame for losses. Having only seen E-Rod for a single season, his performance could be a statistical outlier, though. Perhaps, just going through one of his hot streaks - so, I'm not sure I'd depend on this happening every year.


We knew what we had in JT, and we got what we expected from him this regular season with him being quite disappointing come playoff time. E-Rod came in with low expectations, I'd say that he exceeded them, not least because he stepped it up in the playoffs.


TLDR - I can summarise by saying that they're both above average 3rd line players, where I'd (slightly) prefer to have JT over E-Rod. You won't be unhappy if either has to take shifts on your first or second line - but, you will be unhappy if they have to stay there for an extended period.

 

[sportsdynasty]

That's overpayment for a third line center.

 

[Avsboy]

Soon I won't be able to afford bread, except Wonderbread

 

[GirardSpinorama]

We had JT for a long time, only a season of E-Rod - so, can only give you a little overview of my thoughts on him.

Both are good 3rd liners, who can be trusted to fill in on the second line when needed - with both being OK at C or W. JT is better defensively and is much better on face-offs (ERod has higher FOW - but we only trusted JT against other team's top players). Going forward, both can complement good players, but neither can drive an offensive line.

At times, we even had JT as our 1C (when Nate got hurt), which wasn't a complete disaster - but, that's probably more to do with Rantanen elevating his play, rather than JT. So, statistically, JT looks like he had an awesome season. However, this is based on him having a great early season (when he got to play more time with our big players), compared to after the trade deadline when he was expected to drive the 2nd line himself, and his numbers went way down again. JT just does not create offense - he needs someone else, on his line, to do this. However, defensively, he is quite solid.

On the flip side, E-Rod had a real up and down regular season. He had injury issues early in the season, where he'd be in and out of the lineup. He got chances on the top line, just like JT, and, at times, he looked pretty decent offensively. And, wow - he likes to shoot! Some shifts, he just looked perfectly in tune with Nate and how he wanted to play - it was great to watch. However, overall - he didn't gel with the top players and he was really inconsistent. He'd go from looking really confident and playing well to, immediately, being invisible on the ice. Can't remember his longest pointless streak, but it had to be around 10 games. The main thing he brought is that he is pretty good defensively and he's a decently fast player. Unlike JT, E-Rod can create more offense - but, he sometimes thinks he's better than he is, which leads to turnovers.

Come playoff time, this season - ERod was able to elevate his game, whereas JT really didn't. In fact, JT was pretty awful, this year. However, JT has played decent playoff hockey for the previous years, when playing 3rd line minutes. Not spectacular, but not the person to blame for losses. Having only seen E-Rod for a single season, his performance could be a statistical outlier, though. Perhaps, just going through one of his hot streaks - so, I'm not sure I'd depend on this happening every year.


We knew what we had in JT, and we got what we expected from him this regular season with him being quite disappointing come playoff time. E-Rod came in with low expectations, I'd say that he exceeded them, not least because he stepped it up in the playoffs.


TLDR - I can summarise by saying that they're both above average 3rd line players, where I'd (slightly) prefer to have JT over E-Rod. You won't be unhappy if either has to take shifts on your first or second line - but, you will be unhappy if they have to stay there for an extended period.

ERod is a more talented but also way more frustrating player. Compher is more versatile, more clutch, more coachable. I think if you had two legit offensive wingers, you can still make a 2nd line, if you had two legit defensive winger, you can make a shutdown line. If Compher is the best player on either of those lines, you're in trouble.

 

[theVladiator]

TLDR - I can summarise by saying that they're both above average 3rd line players, where I'd (slightly) prefer to have JT over E-Rod. You won't be unhappy if either has to take shifts on your first or second line - but, you will be unhappy if they have to stay there for an extended period.

Thank you for sharing your observations of the two players. I would say that the requirements/expectations from a 2C (or 3C) of a non-playoff team are somewhat different from those of a Cup contender. On the Wings, Compher will just needs to be adequate partner to his young linemates in the offensive zone, be a bit of safety harness defensively, and be a leader in terms of attitude and work ethics. Based on your description of him, I think Compher will do just fine as that kind of support guy who lets others flourish.

A side note, on this site I think Newhook was pegged as a Kadri replacement before the last season started. I have no idea what Sakic's plan actually was. Needless to say that it did not work out that way at all, and in hindsight neither player (Newhook/Compher/Rodriguies) seems like a good plan A as Kadri replacement.

 

[Bender]

Name all the 3Cs in the league that scored 50+ points last season and are making much less than 5 million?
Name all 3Cs in the league that played 20+ minutes per game last season and took 1500+ faceoffs?


There's no unique advantage but:

- Detroit has and will have more ELCs and RFA players than most teams, simply because they're young and coming out of a rebuild
- For better or for worse, Detroit has no superstar players commanding 10+ mil in salary, so they can afford to spend a little more on depth
- Detroit's got only 3 players signed beyond 2025-26, that's if not unique at least rare. Talking about it as if they've locked themselves into a box with their cap situation couldn't be further from the truth.


What role did Compher play for Colorado last season?

The entire point here is that comparable guys (middle 6 centers) make that type of money. The stubborn idea that there's a huge divide between "top 6" and "bottom 6" is what makes the discussion impossible. Middle-6 exists as a label to describe these types of players - who may fill a 2C role at times, a 3C role at times, guys that aren't legit top 6 players but are good enough to handle it from time to time. Guys that make around 5 mil a year.

Name the #3C who scored a total of T-W-E-L-V-E points in his final 30 games with the Colorado Avalanche (including playing playoffs) playing exclusively as a Top-6 forward.

If you wings fans are happy with this deal, the more power to you but I can tell you there is a LARGE percentage of Avalanche fans that are thrilled that the Son of Bednar signed elsewhere.

Compher may be a bit bland, but you can't have too many 2-way hard working players IMO. Better than chasing some a 50-60 pt player who can't be bothered to chip in on D. As for the money, the Wings would not give Compher 5M out of the blue. Some other team(s) were clearly willing to give him close to that. The Wings have the space and the need. Not going to sweat the money - it's not mine, and there is plenty of cap space.

He has the ability to be a really solid player when he's engaged and decides that he's going to give it his all. Unfortunately with JTC it only happens about 40% of the time. I hope your coach falls in love with him as much as Bednar did for his sake or else wings fans will be calling for a buyout after Year 2.

 

[sxvnert]

Wings still have 10m in cap space to spend.

 

[summer tooth]

meh, would've thought more like $4.25 for a half-point per game guy

 

[smitty10]

If the wings wanted a 3C with some skill and a 2 way game, why didn't they just grab Kerfoot for cheaper and less term?

- similar age
- similar stature
- similar style of game
- similar career highs
- Kerfoot better overall avg point production
- Compher got 5x5, Kerfoot got 2x3.5

 

[Mister Ed]

People seem to not think that Detroit might have to slightly over players to come here because it's Detroit and its' not exactly a premium spot geographically (not talking about crime or anything like that, any metro place has, to some degree, crime). Florida sun, Arizona golf, NY + Boston scene, etc feels a lot more appealing.

Kerfoot chose Arizona for the weather, less limelight, etc.

 

[deca guard]

“I think he’s a very good athlete, first of all,” Yzerman said. “He’s 28 years old and has remained relatively healthy and he’s been in the league for a long time. He’s a good skater. At a five-year term, I’m comfortable with that.”

“He’s a natural centerman, he’s a right-shot centerman, which we don’t have. He has played all three forward positions, he has played on the power play, he’s killed penalties. I think he’s a very versatile player for us. That ability to move around makes him very valuable.”

“I think he’ll be a real help for Dylan,” Yzerman said. “Dylan, he’s lived through some challenging years here. He’s been patient and he wants to win and I think a guy like J.T.’s experience can help Dylan get through this and persevere through it.”

*dont discount the u of m captain aspect . jt comp now joins larkin n copp at the leadership core leading a bunch of prospects coming up over the next few seasons , ecspecially centerman in kasper n danielson . the 3 u of m centers leading the way for kasper n danielson to create a brand of hockey featuring grinding centers that make redwings a pita , backed up by big dmen that make detroits zone a difficult place to function in . yzerman lived it for 20 years , hes building a system that he KNOWS is hell on opponant scoring talent . and jt comp is a rock solid building block in that system . sure to toronto jt isnt worth the cap hit , to detroit in rebuilding stage with no cap pressure hes well worth it as a new leader to help mentor kids . not to mention if not signing jt comp who could yzerman have signed for ZERO ASSETS ???????????

 

[Avelanche]

It’s a little overpayment but comphers a good player whose spent his career playing all the shitty minutes for mackinnon.

 

[Wats]

If the wings wanted a 3C with some skill and a 2 way game, why didn't they just grab Kerfoot for cheaper and less term?

- similar age
- similar stature
- similar style of game
- similar career highs
- Kerfoot better overall avg point production
- Compher got 5x5, Kerfoot got 2x3.5

Compher is better defensively and has cup experience

 

[abo9]

A lot easier to GM when you have a top notch scouting and drafting team behind you like Tampa did.

That and ppssibly pro scouting and past assets. Yzerman looked a lot more shrewd in tampa


Got Bishop for nothing, flipped him for Cernak - Bishop would play 3 more seasons before retiring due to injury

Got Marchessault for nothing (did let him walk after though)

The sergachev trade

Acquired Verhaegue for nothing (he wasnt the one to let him walk)

The McDonagh and JT Miller acquisitions


Its like, you go through the list of moves, and theres 0 losses. All wins, and some of them like Marchessault, Verhaegue, Miller, Tampa didnt grt to enjoy fully, but the way they exploded after, wtf was going on down in Tampa? How did they target them so early ?

Why is he not having any luck doing that in Detroit? Worst people around him? Or did other teams catch up to some things Tampa pioneered?

 

[thrillermiller89]

Remember when 3C’s like Hayes were getting $7 million?

JTC for $5 million is perfectly reasonable. Solid signing by Stevie Y. And a guy who can play C or RW anywhere in your lineup. PP and PK. Love the deal.

 

[smitty10]

Compher is better defensively and has cup experience

Is he that much better defensively? All that's worth $1.5m/year over a comparable player? Hmm.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Name the #3C who scored a total of T-W-E-L-V-E points in his final 30 games with the Colorado Avalanche (including playing playoffs) playing exclusively as a Top-6 forward.

If you wings fans are happy with this deal, the more power to you but I can tell you there is a LARGE percentage of Avalanche fans that are thrilled that the Son of Bednar signed elsewhere.

Avs and Wings are in pretty different stages of their competitive window. If cap space was not an issue at all, would you rather have say, Logan O'Connor or Jt Compher?