Zibanejad won't make 5M a season on his next deal. He's an RFA, not a UFA. He has very little negotiating power. If he has another 40-50 point season in 2016/17 he'll get a 4-6 year deal for around 4M per season, just like other comparable young centers like Kadri, Bjugstad, Henrique.
Sens would have given him a back-loaded contract like they have given every young RFA in the organization. While the average would be around 4M, the salary paid in 2017/18 and 2018/19 would be much less. Probably about the same or less than Brassard makes (3.5M) in those years.
Also why you think we'd sign Zibanejad to a 2 year deal and why we'd ever put ourselves in a situation to lose him to UFA without getting many years out of him, is beyond me. If we had kept Zibanejad we could have signed him for 5+ years, which is a lot more valuable than 3 years of Brassard.
Look, I think we clearly lost the asset management game in this trade. I would have slammed it if it was offered on the trade board. This trade is more in the vein of a trade deadline deal that a team will make to push forward. But this team is making a push. I'm still pretty euphoric after the Phaneuf deal. I want to see where this ride takes me.
Ottawa is clearly making a push forward. Are they going to be good enough to win a Cup? Nope, the budget restrictions/ lack of tank rebuild will ensure that never happens. Is it possible that we'll be better in the next 3 seasons than at any time in the next 10 years with Zibanejad. I'd say that's pretty likely. EK is peaking now. The depth around him is good and cheap. IMO, while we gave up a lot, this move puts us a lot closer to making some noise in the playoffs (2nd or 3rd round). That's our Cup until the financial situation changes and I accept that.
Zibanejad instead of Brassard the next 3 seasons. We need to acknowledge the fact that while Zibby is young and talented, he's not a very a good center. If we didn't have $7M locked into Ryan, we would have moved him over by now and gotten another top-6 center. Brassard is a center and a pretty good one. Even if he doesn't produce any more than Zibanejad does, he could help us more by making Ryan better, improving our PP and helping our defense by being more patient in the offensive zone. Plus, once we get to the playoffs; he has a history of coming up big in the postseason that Zibanejad does not yet have.
I'm on the fence about the deal. We gave up a lot. But it's a signal that the team doesn't just expect to barely make the playoffs and be out in the first round. This management team expects us to start winning rounds and will do whatever it takes to achieve within the strict confines of the budget imposed on them.
Basically, spin our wheels with guys like Zibanejad for the next half dozen years or try to make something happen for the next 3 years.
Contracts... Zibanejad is a UFA in the same 3 years as Brassard, nothing will change that. Maybe we re-sign Brassard and let Zibanejad go. Maybe we sign Zibanejad and they sign Brassard. Maybe Brassard and Zibanejad retire, get married, move to Vermont and open a bed and breakfast. Who knows.
Zibby's RFA deal? Zibby will have 3 seasons around 50 points. He will want to get paid. Bridge deals typically go to players with a 1 year track record. He'll cost closer to $5M.
