Simon Nemec is settling in with the Calgary Flames, and the term he just signed says plenty about where he sees his career heading.
The Flames landed Nemec in a major trade from the New Jersey Devils, then signed him to a five-year deal worth $36,250,000, or $7,250,000 per season.
Nemec put up 26 points in 68 games this season and closed at a minus-11 rating before the move to Calgary.
Calgary finished the year 34-39-9 for 77 points, ranked 30th overall, so locking up a young right-shot defenseman for five years is a real building block.
Pavel Mintyukov, still with the Anaheim Ducks, signed the same five-year term last week, tying his future to a rebuild that's using term as leverage.
Over 73 games this season, Mintyukov posted 22 points, still developing into the two-way piece Anaheim drafted him to be.
Jeff Paterson's report lays the pattern out in black and white, both blueliners betting on term now to cash in bigger the next time around.
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Why Zeev Buium's next deal has Canucks fans on edge
Zeev Buium is next in line for that same decision, and the timing lines up with a cap that keeps climbing year over year.
The 20-year-old put up 26 points in 76 games this season, finishing at a rough minus-33.
Vancouver fans have been here before, and the anxiety around Quinn Hughes still lingers whenever term and leverage come up in the same breath.
Signing five years now instead of waiting is a bet on tomorrow's cap ceiling, and not every fan base trusts that math.
New Jersey closed the season 42-37-3 for 87 points, the club Nemec now leaves behind as he starts fresh in Calgary.
Buium hasn't signed anything yet. But if Nemec and Mintyukov just set the market, his next contract might not wait long to follow.
Should the Canucks be worried Zeev Buium follows the same five-year path?
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