Talented forward Mikkel Boedker signed a contract with the San Jose Sharks today, seeing his name taken off the list of forwards available in this summers’ free agent market. Boedker is a forward that has had much discussion around him over his career with the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche on whether or not he is worth the big money he has been making, and there’s surely no shortage of opinions on both ends of the spectrum. One thing is for sure about Boedker though;.he has the potential to be a very solid top six forward for just about anyone, if he can live up to his potential.
Mikkel Boedker Signs With San Jose
Boedker has signed a four-year, $16 million dollar contract with the Sharks, seeing him make some very solid money, something he’s grown accustomed to over the course of his nine year NHL career with Colorado and Arizona.
San Jose Sharks have signed Mikkel Boedker to a four-year, $16-million contract
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) July 1, 2016
Boedker is coming off a one-year, $3.75 million contract signed with the Coyotes before the 2015-16 season. The contract saw his career earnings rise to a total of just under $13.2 million. The contract carried a cap hit of the same number; a decent cap hit for a player of inconsistent production. It might not seem quite as bad when you consider he had 39 points in 62 games for Arizona. He added 12 points in 18 games for Colorado last season.
Over the last nine seasons Boedker has accumulated 84 goals and 225 points in 463 games, respectable numbers for someone who wasn’t taken with the eighth overall pick. Unfortunately for those who think he is a great player, the numbers only speak to his level of inconsistency. Boedker can be seen as a borderline underachiever in his career thus far. However, he hasn’t had much of a supporting cast on either NHL team he played for. Regardless of what perspective you choose to take, it is an undeniable point that much more will be expected from him over the remainder of his career to not consider him as overrated.
Durability and Consistency Concerns
Another point that can be said about Boedker is that he has only played a full season, excluding the shortened season in 2012-13, twice in his career. Those came in 2011-12 and 2013-14. In those two seasons he was able to play the full 82, he had 24 and 51 points respectively. This is another point underlining his inconsistency. If one wants to see the hot and cold via a possession chart, here you go.
And yet, despite nor really ever knowing what you’re going to get, he continues to make very good money. There are some good reasons for this. For one, after nine seasons in the league, he is still only 26 years old. Boedker has quite a few years left ahead of him to produce at a high level. Another reason is that he is 6’0″ and 211 pounds. He is a very strong player as well, an invaluable component to add to a winger.
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