Around noon on Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens announced they had signed Swiss forward Sven Andrighetto to a one-year extension worth $650,000 for the 2016-17 season. The extension gave Andrighetto a one-way contract, meaning that if he is sent down to the St. John’s Ice Caps he will still be paid his NHL salary. TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie was the first insider to break down the details of the deal.
#canadiens Sven Andrighetto: 16-17, 650 000$ (one way) #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) June 11, 2016
Andrighetto proved in the 2015-16 season that he is ready to be a full-time NHLer. He put up 7 goals and 17 points in 44 games while playing a big role in the team’s top-six. With the injuries that hit the Canadiens forward group, it allowed Andrighetto to show his worth in the NHL for just over half the season. In the 26 games he appeared in for the St. John’s IceCaps he put up 10 goals and 23 points.
The Positives of the Deal
The positives of the deal seem to balance out well both for sides between the Canadiens and Sven Andrighetto’s party; both will benefit from this one-year deal.
For the Canadiens organization, they pay him less for the 2016-17 season on a one-way deal than they did in the 2015-16 season on his two-way deal when he made $660,000. This allows the Canadiens a little more room to sign an impact player this summer if they choose to. The qualified offer which the Canadiens offered Andrighetto just over a week ago was most definitely more money for a two-way contract. The NHL CBA has a ruling in which a player must be offered a certain percentage of what they made or better for their qualifying offer. Andrighetto must have received an offer of $726,000 or better on a two-way contract.
It also allows the club to analyze Andrighetto’s performance over a full season. If last season’s success proves to be a fluke, the Canadiens could then choose to give Andrighetto another two-way deal if he fails to produce. However, his low-budget contract gives the Habs some cheap depth at the right wing position. The contract is cheap enough that if Andrighetto is sent to the minors it would be cleared off the salary cap. The only negative is the actual cash paid to him is higher in the minors than if he were on a two-way deal.
On the other side of things, this contract is a “show me the money” contract for Andrighetto, as he can prove that it wasn’t a fluky season and score 15-20 goals, which he showed signs he was capable of doing during his stint with the Canadiens. If he impresses the team enough next season, it’s possible he can find himself making over $1 million, or maybe even $2 million, for the 2017-18 season.
The benefits in Andrighetto accepting the cheaper $650,000 contract is that it guarantees him this amount regardless of whether he is playing on the Canadiens or the Ice Caps next season. This most likely played a part in why he accepted a slight pay-cut. With a two way deal he could be taking an 80% pay cut for any time he spends playing in St. John’s instead of Montreal.
The Negative Side of the Deal
For the Canadiens, it’s hard to imagine a clear negative here as they signed a player who had a decent rookie campaign for the injury-plagued Habs, but there is the fact that the 1-year deal could backfire if he does very well in the 2016-17 season. Andrighetto could command a much bigger salary next year if his success continues.
It’s clear that the Canadiens have gotten Andrighetto for a bargain, as they have most of their young players entering their second professional contracts, but more often than not a bridge deal backfires on the Habs and they are forced to pay big for the player the next time around.
This is also a possibility with Andrighetto, however, it’s unlikely that he achieves the successes that players like Alex Galchenyuk and P.K. Subban had during their first “show me the money contracts,” but anything can happen. If Andrighetto ends up scoring 50 points he could end up commanding $3 million next summer. However, Habs fans should not worry about that because for the Canadiens organization this is a great deal, and having talented depth like that is key to success.
As for Andrighetto, the one negative is that he took less money than he made last year. It’s great to see that he cares more about playing in the NHL than having loads of money but had he waited it out longer, he maybe could have gotten more than $650,000 for next season and possibly could have signed a multi-year deal.
Overall Breakdown
Having Andrighetto at $650,000 for next season is most likely the best case scenario for the Canadiens. Andrighetto is a very skilled player who could play a big role if given the chance.
With the Canadiens having four legitimate top-six forwards on their current roster they will likely try to bring an experienced top-six forward and likely leave a spot for a rookie/prospect like Andrighetto, Daniel Carr, Charles Hudon or even Finnish forward Arturri Lehkonen.
Andrighetto could become one of the league’s best bargains in a top-six role. He has the tools to be a top-six forward if he gets everything together this summer don’t be surprised to see him in the top-six on opening night.
The Canadiens made the right move for this upcoming season by signing Andrighetto.
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