ukcanuck wrote:
I agree that a burrows comparison for contract purposes is no good. What I meant about ROR being a highly regarded pick was that ROR came through the front door, whereas Burrows took low road through the minors.
The bottom line is, it don't matter how ya got there (Big League) it's how ya do when you are there. Let's try this, Benn and O'Reilly were not 1st round picks (O'Reilly a 2nd round pick, Benn a 4th round pick), both started in the league the same year 09-10 although Benn is two years older. Both players are considered excellent two way players. Both are centers although Benn is considered a Centre/Winger. Benn is a little bigger 6'-2" 205 lbs than O'Reilly - 6'-0" 200 lbs. Benn has padded better stats in his 3 years than O'Reilly, even though O'Reilly's numbers grow each year. This could be the fact that O'Reilly started as an 18 year old in the NHL whereas Benn started as a 20 year old.
Benn
09-10 - 22 goals, 19 assists - 41 points
10-11 - 22 goals, 34 assists - 56 points
11-12 - 26 goals, 37 assists - 63 points
O'Reilly
09-10 - 8 goals, 18 assists - 26 points
10-11 - 13 goals, 13 assists - 26 points
11-12 - 18 goals, 37 assists - 55 points
There was a huge spike in points for O'Reilly last season (over double), putting him only 8 points behind Benn.
Benn just received a 5 year contract that pays him $5,250,000 per year
INMYHUMBLEOPINION - O'Reilly is a hair clip behind Benn in overall value and I do believe that the kid will get better each year as his stats indicate that. I see no problem in awarding O'Reilly a million less than Jamie Benn with similar term - 4,250,000 for 5 years. But I wouldn't do anything more than that which is probably how the Avalanche feel. I would assume that the O'Reilly party is using Benn's contract as a comparable.
Anyhow uk I look forward to you're insults regarding this post. Cheerio.