The San Jose Sharks just gave Tomas Hertl 8.1 mill a year for 8 years and he is not a HOF player or even close. He is a B grade starter but a legit NHL scout should be able to find a player around as good with a 2nd round pick or lower and if he was not able to do it that means the scout needs to be fired and replaced.
If you can guarantee your player is gonna be as good as Hertl , you take him in the first half of first round 10/10, maybe not top 5, but lottery for sure. It's pretty far our to say scouts should be expected to pick a player like him in the 2nd round or lower, it doesn't even happen every season...
He's an above average top 6 center who's scored around a 30g pace and averaged a .85ppg since the 2018 season; with some grit and alright 2 way game. Besides that he's one of the biggest fan favorites, so even if he's
slightly overpaid, a)who else are the Sharks gonna pay for that role, who will sell more tickets? b)wouldn't he be getting that contract on open market? I don't see him getting much less as UFA if he would have gone into it instead of signing an extension
And ther Stutzle contract is fine, there's a risk tolerance to everything, and it's how teams are starting to structure young, potential all star contracts...that's pretty much it