Confirmed with Link: Wheeler's extension: 5 years, $8.25M AAV

[bennylundholm]

In my humble opinion...
Blake Wheeler...
is one of the hardest working Jets.
takes too long of shifts.
is a solid 1st line complementary player.
has a contract that pays him the right amount the next 2 years.
has a contract that will cripple the Jets in years 3,4,5.
would score 60 points max if he didn't have his PP position.
kills the Jets in OT by taking ridiculously long shifts.
has tunnel vision on the PP which other teams exploited in the second half and in the playoffs.
is deserving of a 3 year, 8.25 million contract.
or is deserving of a 5 year, 6 million contract.

 

[10Ducky10]

In my humble opinion...
Blake Wheeler...
is one of the hardest working Jets.
takes too long of shifts.
is a solid 1st line complementary player.
has a contract that pays him the right amount the next 2 years.
has a contract that will cripple the Jets in years 3,4,5.
would score 60 points max if he didn't have his PP position.
kills the Jets in OT by taking ridiculously long shifts.
has tunnel vision on the PP which other teams exploited in the second half and in the playoffs.
is deserving of a 3 year, 8.25 million contract.
or is deserving of a 5 year, 6 million contract.

He'd have got 9m+ x 7 years as a free agent this summer.

 

[Bob E]

He'd have got 9m+ x 7 years as a free agent this summer.

Which would be a terrible contract for whoever offered it.

 

[rymr66]

He'd have got 9m+ x 7 years as a free agent this summer.

good. then he would be someone else's problem now. wheeler has become my least favourite player in the nhl. i disliked the contract when it was signed and i dislike it even more now. wheeler is a replaceable asset. we have lots of top 6 wingers on cheaper contracts which could play in the top 6 next year and not put us in a bad place in terms of the salary cap. i thought scheifele/laine/ehlers was a great line and would be a solid number one line but dont think we will see it again as long as wheeler is on the team. with all the young talent we have on the wings his salary is a terrible waste against the cap and will only get worse as he ages. we should have invested that money in the younger wingers who will now be held back because they will not get the same opportunities in the top 6 and on the pp because wheeler is on the team.

 

[Adam da bomb]

Wheeler's contract while bad is not as big an overpay as Purro as Wheeler is at least a top 6 player.

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

In my humble opinion...
Blake Wheeler...
is one of the hardest working Jets.
takes too long of shifts.
is a solid 1st line complementary player.
kills the Jets in OT by taking ridiculously long shifts.

Blake's average shift length is 4th amongst forwards on the team.

has a contract that pays him the right amount the next 2 years.
has a contract that will cripple the Jets in years 3,4,5.
is deserving of a 3 year, 8.25 million contract.
or is deserving of a 5 year, 6 million contract

He just had the best season of his career, Maurice is quoted as saying he sees him playing until he's 40. He'll be fine for the duration of his contract & with the rising cap his contract will be far from crippling.

Right now his $8.25 million AAV contract is the 27th highest contract in the NHL. In all likelihood by the time his contract expires it'll be barely among the top 100 contracts in the league. In all likelihood on the Jets alone, all of Laine, Connor & Morrissey will be higher paid.

would score 60 points max if he didn't have his PP position.

You're arguing against yourself with that claim. 60 points is elite level at even strength. Regardless, Blake had 55 even strength points, good for 28th in the NHL.

has tunnel vision on the PP which other teams exploited in the second half and in the playoffs.

Jets regular season PP ran at 24.8, good enough for 4th in the league. Things dipped slightly in the playoffs to 21.4%. I'd attribute the Jets PP woes more on Laine's bad back & playoff groin injury and Scheifele's undisclosed wrist injury that would have been noticed by anyone who paid close attention to the bench than on Wheelers playmaking ability. The Blues won the Cup with a 16.3% PP. Carolina went to the semis with a 9.6% PP. Nashville didn't score a PP goal in their entire series.

 

[bennylundholm]

He'd have got 9m+ x 7 years as a free agent this summer.

Said no General Manager, lol!

 

[Board Bard]

He'd have got 9m+ x 7 years as a free agent this summer.

Not much relevance in that -- he signed last summer, this year's trend means nothing to his contract. Might as well add that Scheifele would get a lot more if he signed now. Most players would.

 

[Board Bard]

Blake's average shift length is 4th amongst forwards on the team.

Ah, yes, this sad, shallow sophism again. Take a look at Wheeler's individual shift lengths from game sheets and you'll see that he is indeed a primary shift-length abuser, even if his average paints a pretty picture.

 

[ps241]

I get your point, but I think that is a bad trade.

How much might we have got for Wheeler though, if we had traded him with a year to go instead of extending him? I think that is the alternative that 'should've' been considered. So it would be 8.25 mil of cap space, minus the cost of any player we got in return, or minus the cost of a replacement winger, plus any return. Would that have made us any better today? Anybody's guess IMO. Would it have made us better 2 years from now? Probably, IMO.

Wheeler’s contract was constructed to work fine for a few seasons but carry risk after that. That is the price most “contending” teams are willing to pay. The optics look worse on July 9th because Chevy got beat on the Trouba trade (short term). If you would have put 30 GM’s in Chevy’s shoes in the Winnipeg Market the vast majority would have signed off on the 5 year Wheeler deal at that time IMO.

I don’t agree with everything Chevy does but I am at piece with this move. He has to operate in the real world with the Winnipeg factor wind in the Face. He managed to built a contender but now he is faced with some real challenges to maintain that status after the Trouba set back. I am expecting less this season but I am expecting us to be contending again as soon as next season if our young talent grows.

 

[Vekke]

I still believe Wheel’s contract was a mistake considering how winger stacked Jets is. At the same time Wheeler is the only W with some serious play making ability.

If and when Connor and Laine are signed around 7-8 M Wheeler and Scheif must be broken up. There is no point to spend around 30 M on four wingers with only one capable C. It might work with Wheeler on 2nd line but everything else have been seen already and it is not worth 30 M$, there are cheaper wingers for Little with same outcome.

 

[DannyGallivan]

I still believe Wheel’s contract was a mistake considering how winger stacked Jets is. At the same time Wheeler is the only W with some serious play making ability.

If and when Connor and Laine are signed around 7-8 M Wheeler and Scheif must be broken up. There is no point to spend around 30 M on four wingers with only one capable C. It might work with Wheeler on 2nd line but everything else have been seen already and it is not worth 30 M$, there are cheaper wingers for Little with same outcome.

Wheeler's contract was a the going price and made total sense for a team that was supposed to be on the brink of contending for the Stanley Cup. By not signing Wheeler when we did, what message would that send to the team and the fans??? Oh, we'll get close to contending, but we refuse to do what it takes to "win now".

Yeah, we didn't win (for reasons other than Wheeler), and we'll be stuck with a contract we may not like. Welcome to the upper echelon of the NHL. Show me a contending team that hasn't been faced with the same issue. Also, we're still talking about someone who is extremely productive, regardless of whether you think he should be on the first line.

For the record, it's clear to me that some changes need to happen in line-up next year. In other words, I also believe that Scheifele and Wheeler need to be broken up, especially in the absense of a high-impact second line centre. Wheeler is still very effective at what he does and can really be a boost for the second line. Scheifele is our best player, and he can play with anybody.

 

[JetsWillFly4Ever]

Wheels contract will hurt towards the end but is fair value. Price you pay for having good players.

He, Scheif and the coach need to get the entire team to commit harder to defense though. Our team defense was a joke last year and the Captain and Assistant were a big part of that. I'd sacrifice some of his points for an improvement in possession and defense.

 

[DRW204]

Blake's average shift length is 4th amongst forwards on the team.

View attachment 243619



He just had the best season of his career, Maurice is quoted as saying he sees him playing until he's 40. He'll be fine for the duration of his contract & with the rising cap his contract will be far from crippling.

Right now his $8.25 million AAV contract is the 27th highest contract in the NHL. In all likelihood by the time his contract expires it'll be barely among the top 100 contracts in the league. In all likelihood on the Jets alone, all of Laine, Connor & Morrissey will be higher paid.



View attachment 243623

You're arguing against yourself with that claim. 60 points is elite level at even strength. Regardless, Blake had 55 even strength points, good for 28th in the NHL.



Jets regular season PP ran at 24.8, good enough for 4th in the league. Things dipped slightly in the playoffs to 21.4%. I'd attribute the Jets PP woes more on Laine's bad back & playoff groin injury and Scheifele's undisclosed wrist injury that would have been noticed by anyone who paid close attention to the bench than on Wheelers playmaking ability. The Blues won the Cup with a 16.3% PP. Carolina went to the semis with a 9.6% PP. Nashville didn't score a PP goal in their entire series.

nice post, filled with the facts. imo Wheeler's AAV corresponds to his production. I don't love the term on his deal though.

 

[Howard Chuck]

I'm torn on many things regarding Wheeler and his contract. Most has been pointed out above somewhere.....

• At the time of the signing, the team was a contender and it was absolutely the right signing. What happened last year is another thread.
• Wheeler will be a very capable player (barring anything horrible happening to him) for a long time. Even if moving down the lineup as he ages.
• The first few years are going to be fair value, the last few are probably going to hurt some. He's already not the speedy power forward that he was.
• We have such a glut of younger, cheaper (so far) wingers who all have more upside in them. Wheeler is definitely blocking their development in the lineup. It's a good situation to have lots of talent, but the coach has to decide how to nurture the team with some forward thinking.
• Wheeler's shift lengths overall last year looked shorter to me, with the exception of late in the game and overtime, when he was most gassed. This has to be addressed going forward.
• As we all have suggested, something is going on that Scheif, Wheeler and Maurice do not see fit to at least give a different lineup an honest try. This also has to be addressed before the season starts.

Overall, I love Wheeler as a person and a player. After last season I have to wonder about his leadership or where he places the team in relation to his own career. I'm not saying there is anything there, but where there's smoke... I hope chevy/maurice take up firefighting.

 

[tbcwpg]

good. then he would be someone else's problem now. wheeler has become my least favourite player in the nhl. i disliked the contract when it was signed and i dislike it even more now. wheeler is a replaceable asset. we have lots of top 6 wingers on cheaper contracts which could play in the top 6 next year and not put us in a bad place in terms of the salary cap. i thought scheifele/laine/ehlers was a great line and would be a solid number one line but dont think we will see it again as long as wheeler is on the team. with all the young talent we have on the wings his salary is a terrible waste against the cap and will only get worse as he ages. we should have invested that money in the younger wingers who will now be held back because they will not get the same opportunities in the top 6 and on the pp because wheeler is on the team.

Imagine hating the two season in a row 91 point captain of your favourite team so much that he's the least favourite player in the league.

 

[Whileee]

Ah, yes, this sad, shallow sophism again. Take a look at Wheeler's individual shift lengths from game sheets and you'll see that he is indeed a primary shift-length abuser, even if his average paints a pretty picture.

Wheeler takes some extra long shifts, but I think Scheifele does it considerably more often. They both seem to feel that they just need one more rush to turn things around, and often get caught.

But Buff is the king of shift-length stealing. He always stole an extra 5-6 seconds every shift (on average), leaving Trouba with about 1.5-2 minutes less ice-time every game. But he was sneaky at it, and didn't so often take those super long shifts.

 

[Board Bard]

Wheeler takes some extra long shifts, but I think Scheifele does it considerably more often. They both seem to feel that they just need one more rush to turn things around, and often get caught.

But Buff is the king of shift-length stealing. He always stole an extra 5-6 seconds every shift (on average), leaving Trouba with about 1.5-2 minutes less ice-time every game. But he was sneaky at it, and didn't so often take those super long shifts.

Definitely multiple culprits. I've mentioned this before but you could probably check just about any game log and find Scheifele with a minute of ice time with Tanev simply because he lingered on the ice too long and buggered up the next line's change. All three of them are egocentric ice hogs.

 

[CaptainChef]

Wheeler takes some extra long shifts, but I think Scheifele does it considerably more often. They both seem to feel that they just need one more rush to turn things around, and often get caught.

But Buff is the king of shift-length stealing. He always stole an extra 5-6 seconds every shift (on average), leaving Trouba with about 1.5-2 minutes less ice-time every game. But he was sneaky at it, and didn't so often take those super long shifts.

Agree, agree & agree. And when you have your C & 2As all taking liberties and doing rather selfish moves like that, and coach does nothing to change it, you have the divide in the room that there currently is. I'm placing 95% of the blame on Maurice here

 

[PhilJets]

Ah, yes, this sad, shallow sophism again. Take a look at Wheeler's individual shift lengths from game sheets and you'll see that he is indeed a primary shift-length abuser, even if his average paints a pretty picture.

I always feel sorry for the next guy out the board when he does that patented long shift.
Cant barely get back to the bench.
As soon as he steps out few seconds later the other team scores.

 

[10Ducky10]

Not much relevance in that -- he signed last summer, this year's trend means nothing to his contract. Might as well add that Scheifele would get a lot more if he signed now. Most players would.

I said that because his contract would have expired this summer

 

[Gm0ney]

In general, paying players in their 30s a lot of money doesn't work out well. There may be mitigating factors with Wheeler, but while his powerplay scoring has shot up the last few years, his ability to drive the play at 5v5 seems to have fallen off. He was underpaid on his last deal, he's going to be overpaid on this one.

 

[GumbyCan2]

In my humble opinion...
Blake Wheeler...
is one of the hardest working Jets.
takes too long of shifts.
is a solid 1st line complementary player.
has a contract that pays him the right amount the next 2 years.
has a contract that will cripple the Jets in years 3,4,5.
would score 60 points max if he didn't have his PP position.
kills the Jets in OT by taking ridiculously long shifts.
has tunnel vision on the PP which other teams exploited in the second half and in the playoffs.
is deserving of a 3 year, 8.25 million contract.
or is deserving of a 5 year, 6 million contract.

Very well put, good observations/ points made! Yes, Jets overpaid him as per term to age ratio, imo.
$$ amounts being given out are on the GM's and agents/ player Reps? Players are exploiting this "dumb-foolery aspect" going on.

 

[GumbyCan2]

In general, paying players in their 30s a lot of money doesn't work out well. There may be mitigating factors with Wheeler, but while his powerplay scoring has shot up the last few years, his ability to drive the play at 5v5 seems to have fallen off. He was underpaid on his last deal, he's going to be overpaid on this one.

You got it, "Park Pontiac"!

 

[GumbyCan2]

You got it, "Park Pontiac"!

further to "aging players $ contracts, and Blake Wheeler, and the Wpg Jets... On the other end of the scale, how ridiculous is the "proposed" proposal that a young, unproven player in Neal Pionk, with apprxly 1+1/2 years NHL experience as D-man, in a less-than-stellar team/ organization at the time, showed the Worst statistical numbers of any D-man league wide w=playing over 15 minutes ice-time per game, should be offered over $3 million dollars per season?!! That would be the other-side of ludicrous, to those saying paying a 33-yr old BWheels over $8 million per for the next 5 years.
Just adding that side to the equation, of how ridiculous some contracts and $$ paid out are getting! this is likely because of his minutes played (forced to) in NYR land and that he was traded to Wpg for Jacob Trouba. JT is still haunting Wpg!!