Confirmed Signing with Link: [NSH] Nashville Extends Ryan Ellis, (8 Years, $6.25M AAV)

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Why would you expect to get a defenseman that would carry a d-core for $6.25 million a season?
My point was, it’s a weird term and hit for a player who has averaged 66 games a year over the last 5 years.
 

Michoulicious

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Dec 9, 2014
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NHL.com had him at #19 last year:

#NHLTopPlayers: Top 20 Defensemen

For me, I agree he's in the 25-35 range, but there's some guys on your own top 20 list which I don't agree with either, so to each their own.

This list is not great, even if we account for the fact it is a year old.

Cam Fowler? Really? He is not even the best defenseman on his own team.

But then you say you agree with me about the 25-35 range, which is fair.

Just out of curiosity, which defenseman you don't agree with?
 

Gurglesons

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They don't realize that Subban will be moved when Josi's new deal kicks in, and the Preds will have a 6.25M top pairing defenseman. The deal will look great once it's normal for top pairing dman to be making 10+M.

They don’t even need to move Subban..

The only person that likely gets moved is Ekholm, but they can easily lose forward cap to afford him.

In the next three years the only essential pieces of their roster coming up are Fiala and Josi and Rinne’s money likely goes to Josi.
 

Michoulicious

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Dec 9, 2014
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You seem to think the measuring stick for a defensemen's value is point production, which is odd, considering the role a top defenseman plays.

I get that McDonagh had a not so great season, but is body of work alone makes me want him on my team more than Ellis.

The fact you say that Ellis is superior to Aaron Ekblad or Morgan Rielly, both #1, minute eating defensemen at 22 (!!!) and 24 y old on their respective teams just baffles me.

As for Krug, he has the same age and is the same kind of offensively gifted, smallish defenseman than Ellis but produced almost 1,5 times as much in the last 3 seasons. Same can be said for Tyson Barrie.

I mean, just tell me how Ellis is superior to those guys.
 

RickP

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Mar 14, 2017
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You expect the Preds to have ~25M locked up in 3 defensemen?

Yeah that's expensive for 3 Dmen but their other Dmen are really cheap so they can afford it. Take Ekholm, Hamhuis and Fabbro next year, they won't even make 6M combined. If somehow Fabbro isn't ready, their other options are cheap too anyways.

It is going to be tricky when Subban, Ekholm and Forsberg need to be re-signed in 2022. But until then, the Preds are fine, no need to trade any player for cap relief.
 

FerrisRox

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I get that McDonagh had a not so great season, but is body of work alone makes me want him on my team more than Ellis.

The fact you say that Ellis is superior to Aaron Ekblad or Morgan Rielly, both #1, minute eating defensemen at 22 (!!!) and 24 y old on their respective teams just baffles me.

As for Krug, he has the same age and is the same kind of offensively gifted, smallish defenseman than Ellis but produced almost 1,5 times as much in the last 3 seasons. Same can be said for Tyson Barrie.

I mean, just tell me how Ellis is superior to those guys.

Defensively. Defensively he is better than all of those guys.

Consistency. Ellis is very steady and consistent and delivers the goods game in and game out. Some on your list, Ekblad in particular, struggle mightily in this regard.

Skating. He is a better skater than any of the players you have listed and in some cases, by a fair margin. (Morgan Reilly, however, is also an excellent skater.)

Ellis is an excellent two-way defenseman. Torey Krug is fantastic at moving the puck and can quarterback a power play. But he is nowhere close to as good as Ryan Ellis is in his own zone. Tyson Barrie is also excellent offensively, but is quite soft and, again, is not even in the same league as Ryan Ellis without the puck. How you could even compare those two to Ryan Ellis baffles me. It's no wonder your argument for their superiority was based on point production, but David Poile isn't drafting a hockey pool he's building a hockey team.

You seem to put a lot of stock in "being a #1 defenseman." So if Ellis was on the Maple Leafs, he'd be the #1 defenseman and Reilly would be the #2.... See how that works?
 
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Soundgarden

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I get that McDonagh had a not so great season, but is body of work alone makes me want him on my team more than Ellis.

The fact you say that Ellis is superior to Aaron Ekblad or Morgan Rielly, both #1, minute eating defensemen at 22 (!!!) and 24 y old on their respective teams just baffles me.

As for Krug, he has the same age and is the same kind of offensively gifted, smallish defenseman than Ellis but produced almost 1,5 times as much in the last 3 seasons. Same can be said for Tyson Barrie.

I mean, just tell me how Ellis is superior to those guys.

So Reilly and Ekblad are minute munchers, but Ellis, who plays on the top pairing for a president winning team isn't?

Ellis averaged almost two whole minutes more than Rielly and plays the same amount as Ekblad.

I personally wouldn't have Ellis above either, but the point stands.
 

Michoulicious

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Defensively. Defensively he is better than all of those guys.

Consistency. Ellis is very steady and consistent and delivers the good game in and game out. Some on your list, Ekblad in particular, struggle mightily in this regard.

Skating. He is a better skater than any of the players you have listed and in some cases, by a fair margin. (Morgan Reilly, however, is also an excellent skater.)

Ellis is an excellent two-way defenseman. Torey Krug is fantastic at moving the puck and can quarterback a power play. But he is nowhere close to as good as Ryan Ellis is in his own zone. Tyson Barrie is also excellent offensively, but is quite soft and, again, is not even in the same league as Ryan Ellis without the puck. How you could even compare those two to Ryan Ellis baffles me. It's no wonder your argument for their superiority was based on point production, but David Poile isn't drafting a hockey pool he's building a hockey team.

You seem to put a lot of stock in "being a #1 defenseman." So if Ellis was on the Maple Leafs, he'd be the #1 defenseman and Reilly would be the #2.... See how that works?

Morgan Rielly would definitely be the #1 defenseman on his team even with Ellis in it. Same thing could be said with Aaron Ekblad. While I agree Ryan Ellis might have the edge on Krug or Barrie defensively, it is not enough to make for the difference in what they bring to the table on the PP/offensively. I'm quite confident most people would take Ekblad, Rielly, Krug and Barrie on their team before Ryan Ellis. Maybe we should do a poll about it?
 

Price is Wright

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Ellis is great. I used to be worried Nashville would move him for a forward. Glad they kept him.

You gotta be broken in the brain to think Ellis wouldn't get $7.5M+ next summer on the open market. Every GM in the league except maybe Montreal sees him as a 1D behind Subban (since they likely see him in front of Subban like idiots who count TOI)

Ellis will still be a very good D on the 8th year. I think he will be like Gonchar on the Penguins by then.
 

FerrisRox

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Morgan Rielly would definitely be the #1 defenseman on his team even with Ellis in it. Same thing could be said with Aaron Ekblad. While I agree Ryan Ellis might have the edge on Krug or Barrie defensively, it is not enough to make for the difference in what they bring to the table on the PP/offensively. I'm quite confident most people would take Ekblad, Rielly, Krug and Barrie on their team before Ryan Ellis. Maybe we should do a poll about it?

Knock yourself out.
 
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connormcmuffin

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Ellis is worth more to Nashville than other teams, right play in the right position with the right support. Nashville signed a near perfect contract for a perfect fit.
 

Osprey

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The length is a little worrisome, but the AAV is very reasonable and will seem even less near the end of the contract. Also, by the end of the contract, the team's window will be closed and it'll be in rebuild mode, with plenty of cap room to easily swallow an anchor contract. Besides, by then, he might be Captain and having such a veteran player leading the team through a rebuild would be valuable. There's really not much downside to this contract, IMO.
 

seabass45

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Jan 12, 2007
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They have Subban and Josi. Trade one of them for said player.

You can find a serviceable #4D to pair with Ellis or Ekholm.

4 high end D is overkill at a less important position than center or G.
I don't think they need to do that... yet. They just won the Presidents Trophy, got to the finals a year earlier. They're a Cup contender as is. If they falter this year then sure they can look at upgrading the offense. They can even sign Duchene, who honestly belongs there.
 

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