Wheeler's Next contract

[10Ducky10]

What will it take for him to re-sign?
4 years? 5? 6? more?
How much will it take in $$$?
5m per year? 6m? 7m? more?
He will be 33 when he starts playing for that contract.

I think Chevy bends way over to re-sign him up to a certain point. He has proven with Ladd that he won't overpay older players, captain or not.
I'd give him 7.5m x 4 years if he signed this summer but I doubt he takes that.

How much is too much? How much would his ask be before you say trade him?
When do you trade him? We could be in a similar spot next year. Do you trade a Blake Wheeler from a cup contending team?

Chevy will earn his money in the next two off seasons, that's for sure.

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[Arthur Fonzarelli]

I love Blake Wheeler with all my heart. "O Captain! My Captain!"

Anything over 3 years at $7 million & I still say bye. Should some cap space free up, your suggestion of 4 at $7.5 is certainly doable. This team is on the rise & the free market will find us a UFA to fill the void.

Hopefully it doesn't come to that. There's little worse than parting ways with a personal hero.

Although losing Wheeler wouldn't be Hawerchuk level bad, it would certainly be Babych level bad. I'd cry for days & trust we don't get hosed on the deal.

Babych went on to play another 13 seasons after that trade & retired at 39.

Maurice recently stated Wheeler could play until 40. Perhaps 3 years at $7 million is a good thing?

With all that said, Ehlers junior season has been remarkable. Despite the lack of serious ice time he finds himself in the mix as one of the top point producers in the NHL. Further he's becoming a complete player. Perhaps ELL wasn't the worst idea? He's a noticeably better defensive player.

Yes this is supposed to be about Wheels, but Ehlers/Laine are the heir apparents...so much so a UFA to replace a lost Wheeler may not even be needed.

The reality is the team needs a long term solution at 2C

 

[10Ducky10]

I agree with almost everything you said.
On top of that, I also think we won't be able to afford Wheeler. He drives the bus but how are we going to be able to afford him?

Laine will become the 1RW and maybe Ehlers can become the 2RW with Connor and Vaseline on the LWs?
Talking about Laine and Ehlers is definitely in this convo. Laine's deal (or non deal) will have a direct influence on Wheeler's deal and vice versa.
2C is the sore spot in the upcoming years. I like Little but where is his game going to be in 3 or 4 years when we should be dominating most opponents?
He'd probably be great as a 3rd RWer as he ages but his salary is too steep for that.
Beginning 20-21, he has a 14 team no trade clause.

 

[oooooooooohCanada]

I saw this in an article about Toronto and JVR but it could apply here:

Sign Wheeler to a 3-4 year deal at whatever he wants, give him the NTC, and then expose him in the Seattle expansion draft. They'd prob take him but if not you can add something ala Fleury. This gives you him for an extra year as a rental basically before losing him to Seattle.

 

[Stej]

I saw this in an article about Toronto and JVR but it could apply here:

Sign Wheeler to a 3-4 year deal at whatever he wants, give him the NTC, and then expose him in the Seattle expansion draft. They'd prob take him but if not you can add something ala Fleury. This gives you him for an extra year as a rental basically before losing him to Seattle.

I’d rather trade him for a haul this summer than use him for one more year and then lose him to the expansion draft for nothing. Or is the expansion draft in two years?

As for contract, that will be Chevy’s biggest test yet. Sadly he could really shrink the Jets window if the dollars and term are too high and Wheeler starts his decline sooner rather than later.

Highest I would go is something like 4yrs at $6.5m AAV (structured something like 8, 7, 6, 5). Maybe some wiggle room, but not much.

 

[DeepFrickinValue]

Stastny trade showed that Chevy is serious about winning. Wheeler will be resigned. 4 x $7 or something.

 

[Jets 31]

Stastny trade showed that Chevy is serious about winning. Wheeler will be resigned. 4 x $7 or something.

I agree , Chevy tried to resign Ladd he will definitely try to resign Wheeler .

 

[Jets 31]

I think to make more cap room , you trade Myers and move Poolman up the depth chart .

 

[Keystone]

I want to see him resigned, but not this summer. Will be paying him too much based on this past years performance. With the depth we have on wing, we shouldn’t feel forced to get a deal done.
Personally I’d like to see Laine extended this summer and playing with Scheifele next year. Blake goes back to playing with Little where his production likely takes a bit of a hit, but the team doesnt suffer at all.
Blake may play til 40, but not on the first line.

 

[Briscodog]

I too would wait until the following summer. Chevy goofed when he signed Little this summer only to watch his production drop off this year. This Little contract should serve as a reminder about overpaying for 30+ players and the cap doesn't allow for more than one poor contract. Plus lets look at Wheelers production this season. I'd argue that over the last 15-20 games he's looked slow and tired. He's struggled to be the line driver that he was earlier in the season. It's possible that he's fighting an injury.

 

[bennysflyers16]

4 or 5 yrs,,, 8 mill per.

 

[PhilJets]

He'll take 4x4
To keep the core.

He will be a captain and by the end of his term he'll be solid 3rd line contributor PK /PP captain.

Jets will win 4 cups in 7 years
Then he retires as one of the greatest captain.

 

[Gil Fisher]

I too would wait until the following summer. Chevy goofed when he signed Little this summer only to watch his production drop off this year. This Little contract should serve as a reminder about overpaying for 30+ players and the cap doesn't allow for more than one poor contract. Plus lets look at Wheelers production this season. I'd argue that over the last 15-20 games he's looked slow and tired. He's struggled to be the line driver that he was earlier in the season. It's possible that he's fighting an injury.

Signing him was a no brainer. We didn't have a 2C replacement. He is an asset and can be traded now. If we didn't sign him, he'd be walking.

 

[KingBogo]

Signing him was a no brainer. We didn't have a 2C replacement. He is an asset and can be traded now. If we didn't sign him, he'd be walking.

Agreed we needed to re-sign Little and there was just about universal happiness around here when he signed. His play does seemed to have slipped a bit, but his demise is grossly overstated IMO. Signing Wheeler will bring the same risks. He is very likely at his peak right now and every future year will be a gradual and hopefully very slow decline. That is not saying he still won't be a good player for a few years yet. There will no doubt be some tough decisions coming up for Chevy. I think we re-sign Wheeler, just hope the hit isn't too painful

 

[Inflict]

If Wheeler is resigned, I see it as a long term deal with a cap friendly(ish) hit. Something like 6-7 years for 6.5 million. Any less term will add anywhere from 1-2 million per season, which I don't see Chevy doing unless he doesn't want to resign Laine. I honestly wouldn't mind a long term deal if it was ≤ 6.5 million. I think Wheeler will be an effective player late into his career. I'm not talking about Selanne or Jagr levels, but I wouldn't rule out Patrick Marleau or Hossa like production.

 

[LowLefty]

With our winger depth, I wouldn't want him to be part of our future beyond 3 - 4 yrs and then at a rate that doesn't disrupt our ability to pay the youth.

He's the captain but so was Ladd - I don't think mgment is going to pay him what he might be worth on the open market.

The Jets will likely always be a draft and develop team that will need to part ways with seniors - and looking at our depth today, with wingers everywhere, I see this being particularly relevant now

 

[10Ducky10]

If we trade him we would have to be getting back at kings ransom

 

[bumblebeeman]

The reality is the team needs a long term solution at 2C

I think Little is still the guy, even having a down year he's 61st in points for centers (and that's considering nhl.com lists a bunch of wingers as centers too). He's only just turned 30 and he's got a NMC. He's still a great guy to have as a 2C for at least the next few years imo.

 

[bumblebeeman]

I think Little is still the guy, even having a down year he's 61st in points for centers (and that's considering nhl.com lists a bunch of wingers as centers too). He's only just turned 30 and he's got a NMC. He's still a great guy to have as a 2C for at least the next few years imo. Edit sorry this is a Wheeler thread, my bad!

Sign Wheeler for 3-4 years please and thank you. Or more years for less money might be good for the Jets too idk

 

[Adam da bomb]

It depends. It really blocks Ehlers from getting first line minutes. You don't pay Wheeler 7.5 mil to play on the second line. I'd be interested if you could get a great deal in trading him. Can you play LSw? Is LSE better? So depends on Ehlers development and how much Wheeler wants.

 

[Bob E]

Paying a high salary for a longer term to an older player is how teams get into cap hell.

I don’t think we’ll see a deal over 5 years for a player Wheeler’s age. It will be a Ladd-type nightmare in no time.

 

[kylbaz]

He'll take 4x4
To keep the core.

He will be a captain and by the end of his term he'll be solid 3rd line contributor PK /PP captain.

Jets will win 4 cups in 7 years
Then he retires as one of the greatest captain.

Even if he wanted tot ake that the players association wouldn't let him.

 

[Bob E]

I would think Chevy has a plan by now. Specifically a cap plan. He will know who wants to be a Jet and at what cost. We just don’t know what he wants to do yet.

I think we see some moves this summer at the draft that tell us how they plan to manage the cap.

 

[Georgetown Al]

That's if we resign him???

 

[bumblebeeman]

I would think Chevy has a plan by now. Specifically a cap plan. He will know who wants to be a Jet and at what cost. We just don’t know what he wants to do yet.

I think we see some moves this summer at the draft that tell us how they plan to manage the cap.

Ya Chevy always has a plan