Central Division Centers Of Attention: Scheifele, MacKinnon Get Paid

On Friday, two of the Blackhawks’ central division rivals locked up significant parts of their futures.

  • Winnipeg announced an eight-year, $49 million deal ($6.125M AAV) with center Mark Scheifele.

Scheifele, 23, was the seventh overall selection in the 2011 NHL Draft. He has scored 58 goals with 87 assists over 227 regular season games with the Jets. The 2015-16 season was a break-out year for Scheifele; he recorded career highs in goals (29) and points (61) despite being limited to 71 games.

  • Colorado announced a seven-year, $44.1 million deal ($6.3M AAV) with center Nathan MacKinnon.

MacKinnon, who will turn 21 on Sept. 1, was the number one overall selection in the 2013 NHL Draft. He has scored 59 goals with 94 assists over 218 regular season games with the Avalanche. In 72 games during the 2015-16 season, MacKinnon posted 21 goals and 31 assists.

28 thoughts on “Central Division Centers Of Attention: Scheifele, MacKinnon Get Paid

  • July 9, 2016 at 9:32 am
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    Wow, If the Cap does not go up significantly over the next 3 or 4 years, the NHL is going to have trouble paying and keeping upper second tier players. The league will be relegated to superstars, declining veterans and ELC players.

  • July 9, 2016 at 10:39 am
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    Like the Hawks are now.

  • July 9, 2016 at 11:03 am
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    If Scheifele is worth 6.125 million what the heck is Panarin worth?

  • July 9, 2016 at 12:04 pm
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    MM-Scheifele is very talented, and respected by teammates and the organization-he’s earned this (relatively speaking-the money is outrageous)
    And he’s a 6′ 3 200+lb center–

  • July 9, 2016 at 2:26 pm
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    “The league will be relegated to superstars, declining veterans and ELC players.”

    So where are those other players gonna go? Are they gonna go to Russia,Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria,Germany?? No. A market correction will be inevitable if the cap doesn’t go up. Right now teams are still buying what the players are selling so the demand apparently is there. I agree that those deals are rich for my taste. But I’m not paying them.

  • July 9, 2016 at 6:21 pm
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    Its also going to make the core players moar important. Which is good for us.

  • July 9, 2016 at 11:47 pm
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    Well so much for Anderson going to Dallas. That’s leaves the very bad possibility that Bishop goes to Dallas instead. Was hoping Tampa does the Blackhawks a solid but Uncle Dale ain’t in charge any more. Aren’t Rocky and the owner of Tampa, what’s his name, buddies? I dunno.

  • July 9, 2016 at 11:58 pm
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    Correction…Bernier, !

  • July 10, 2016 at 1:12 pm
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    Mining Man, Dale is in Miami, not Tampa.

  • July 10, 2016 at 1:13 pm
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    The point being, really don’t want to see Bishop going to Dallas.

  • July 10, 2016 at 5:09 pm
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    Drank too much last night …lost my way..so sorry! Yzerman in Tampa…yeesh. Scrap everything I said…. Onward and upward!

  • July 10, 2016 at 5:16 pm
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    Mining Man must have reread a lot of Rufus’s comments last night. “It’s a new …. “

  • July 10, 2016 at 7:35 pm
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    At first I thought the headline read: Scheifele and Mackinnon get laid.

    Too much time on the beach today looking at girls in bikinis! Let’s get his season started!

    Carry on!

  • July 10, 2016 at 7:42 pm
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    Mudturtle & Dave – some wise advice .. Don’t drink Absinthe when you’re also on heart medication!
    Talk about the green fairy! Won’t happen again.

  • July 10, 2016 at 8:25 pm
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    re: the money here – both young players on the upswing in their careers. Remember – 19 & 88 got this kind of money BEFORE winning a Cup. 2 teams that need to cement an identity and these are 2 players they clearly believe in.

  • July 10, 2016 at 8:35 pm
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    I’m not one knocking the dollars on these guys.. Merely asking what the heck is Panarin worth then? You would think higher than that assuming no drop off. We have to keep this guy!

  • July 10, 2016 at 9:33 pm
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    19 and 88 got this money when the cap was 59 million.

    MacKinnon and Scheifle are both younger than Panarin and haven’t hit their peak. Panarin while he probably hasn’t hit his peak yet is closer to doing so. The Jets and Avs are paying for future performance. The Hawks will do the same so the deals will probably be pretty similar

  • July 10, 2016 at 9:34 pm
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    Correction, cap was 56.8 million in 09/10.

  • July 11, 2016 at 8:51 am
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    Mining- Pararin’s value today (if the hawks could offer an extension this minute), would probably be about 5.5M per. That is with only 1 year of stats to hold up and say look what I did, and what the Hawks could reasonably afford going forward (obviously with other cap tweaking for future years to make 5.5 work). After year two, he will likely fall somewhere between Forsberg and Tarensenko (6M/7.5M).

    The 2 in these article are guys who were drafted by these teams and these teams gave them good length on contract. 6.1/6.3 per for 6+ Years is good for these two. On the open market each gets the same dollars, Panarin could probably grab 7+M with 4 or so years if he has another good year.

    If the hawks win a cup and Panarin sees reason to stay with 19/88/etc MAYBE we get a 2-3 year bridge at 5.5-6M and catch a break. But to me, thats ONLY if we get a cup and he really seems to say i want to do it again with THESE guys. No Cup, Panarin walks to the highest bidder as an RFA and the Hawks get picks back.

    The Stars have Sharp and Hemsky coming off the books after next year and will likely be able to give Someone a nice contract and they have all their own picks to make a move at an RFA and pay the compensation.

  • July 11, 2016 at 9:19 am
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    Tim G. -Great write up .. Those are the paths for sure. I like our chances at winning and catching a break .. At least it’s possible. It’s going to be a special year.

  • July 11, 2016 at 1:59 pm
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    I think that along the way the cap rules are going to change. Maybe the best way is to try and reward a team for signing, developing and keeping a player. If a team signs a player to his first pro contract, when they resign him to his first extension, they only get hit with half the cap money.

    If you sign a free agent you have to pay the full cap hit.

    The teams that scout well will get rewarded for their work and they can keep their young players from getting lost to the highest bidder.

  • July 11, 2016 at 9:18 pm
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    Reg, it’s not gonna happen. The league is all about parody. It’s the most fair and simplistic system in all of sports. Contracts are guaranteed when they’re signed. No re structuring. No luxury tax. Despite trying to get parody, the good teams have been able to continue being good despite losing players. Why? Good teams are good for a reason. And the Hawks are good.

  • July 11, 2016 at 9:41 pm
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    The league is going to let teams that are good have an elevated payroll so they can keep being good. Or so they can hide contracts that were foolishly handed out. Eventually if everything stays the same a market correction will occur and players will be forced to take less. Think of it like the housing market. The bubble will burst if the cap doesn’t increase. The bubble being players bargaining power. You’ll see more players like Kris Russell, Cody Franson, jiri hudler waiting for money that’s not coming and be forced to take less. The winners will be teams that have just enough money to get a bargain contract. Sorta like how I got 5 acres of property in the NW suburbs that has 2 houses and a detached garage on it for 176k. Itd be great if the Hawks could have Saad,Toews,Hossa
    Panarin,Anisimov, Kane
    Ladd,Shaw, Brouwer
    Sharp,Kruger,Frolik

    Keith-seabrook
    Hjalmarsson-Byfuglien
    Leddy-Johns

    Buy it’s not happening. Ever again.

  • July 11, 2016 at 10:33 pm
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    Good points Ernie. But you’re right………someday, something’s got to give.

  • July 12, 2016 at 1:07 am
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    Ernie. Wow. You bought that really cheap, but I’m not seeing the analogy to the cap. Are you saying there is going to be a salary cap crash or just the economics of supply and demand? I’m guessing your in Barrington Hills because they have minimum 5 acre lots. Any further out you would be about Elgin and no longer a Chicago Suburb.
    Re: Panarin. I’d love to see them sign him, but how many core players can each team have? It seems like the Hawks have a lot of them now.

  • July 12, 2016 at 7:37 am
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    Wauconda. Not really a suburb of Chicago I guess. The housing market crashed for a number of reasons. But when you saturate the market with homes and the number of prospeective homeowners with the necessary funds dwindles a market correction occurs because it has to.

  • July 12, 2016 at 8:43 am
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    It would nice for each team to have one franchise player tag that didn’t count towards the cap and it would be a player that was originally drafted by the team (kind of like Reg mentioned)

  • July 12, 2016 at 7:58 pm
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    @Reg & @Golden, what would the limit be for that player? An arbitrary number or a percentage increase from their previous contract?

    It’s an intriguing concept but what happens when you sign a Crosby, Pavelski, Toews for $18 million.

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