Zajac signed long-term

[gfhyde]

I wouldn't have paid him nearly that much either. Or I wouldn't have wanted to pay him that much.

I read a few good points on this somewhere I think the Devils were in a tight spot. Zajac is certainly capable at the position, smart player and he knows the team and guys well.

You can't leave Kovy without a center. Not after giving him that much money.

Who do you replace him with if he refuses to sign for almost half of what you want him to sign for?


The signing was still a bit much but let's give him a chance to earn it! ....and when he doesn't let's all belittle him and the Devils brass lol

[Instant Karma]

Can we please fold the Devils now? Or fire their owners and management group? What the hell was the point of the lockout when it didn't even take two weeks for another back breaking contract to get signed? I don't get it. The Devils gave Zajac long term stability AND overpaid on a year by year basis! How does that happen? Granted Zajac's cap hit is probably only $1.5 million more than what it should be but still. I could see this sort of cap hit for like a three-year deal or give him a longer deal with less of a cap hit.

Zajac is getting his cake and eating it too. New Jersey is awful.

Yeah. What he said.

[deantime419]

Yes he is valuable but it's still an overpayment. And if his offense slows down this could easily turn into a Horcoff-esque contract.

[ericdaoust]

From my Capped article, this is a list of players within the same general range:

Nicklas Backstrom ($6.7 million), Jonathan Toews ($6.3 million), Henrik Sedin ($6.1 million), Henrik Zetterberg ($6.1 million), Mike Richards ($5.75 million) and John Tavares ($5.5 million)

All of which have had a better career than Zajac. And the cap is about to go down too.

[Instant Karma]

This contract is an excellent case-study of the fundamental disconnect on the owner's side.

At the end of the day each team views itself as an individual business entity and is going to make decisions with that viewpoint foremost, not the overall financial stability of the league.

The Devils see this signing as an imperative to their organization. They frankly don't care what this does to salaries league-wide. As others have pointed out, they see Zajac as vital to their team. Sure, Zajac is not nearly as valuable as Malkin, or even Bergeron, but those guys aren't available.

The Stars are about to do the exact same thing with Benn, who is just as vital to that organization.

[MXHockey]

This contract makes no sense..............................