First off, I like the deal a lot. I like this player. Yeah, it's possible that we may look back on this as a bad move based on too small of a sample size, but the AAV is just so low in an $80M cap world that the contract will never be too much of a burden to bury, ditch, or buy-out.
But I am kind of shocked Kempny wanted this deal. A lot of us were assuming a 3 year sweet spot, but if anything, I would have guessed Kempny would have wanted LESS term, not more. If, in year 1, he validates the play we saw from him this spring and confirms his status as a solid #4 defenseman, he is immediately very underpaid in the present-day NHL. While I think we all understand why he would be interested in the short-term at grabbing the opportunity to stick with the team where he found an NHL home and enjoyed success within a system that complimented him, a cynic might wonder why he was so eager to forego the opportunity to be a UFA in 2 seasons given that he was passing up the likely potential of bigger short-term offers. In 2020, he'd be 29 years old and potentially in line for a big 5-yr type contract (be it from us or on the open market) if he proved himself to be a solid top-4 performer. Under this deal, he won't be a UFA until age 31, loses the chance to get a big pay day for those Age 29 and 30 seasons, and he is less likely to ever get another long-term contract.
I dunno, maybe I'm looking at this wrong. But, in any event, I'm happy.
