TSN: Martin Biron on the Jay Onrait show on what pending UFA Brad Marchand could see coming his way this offseason.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Jay Onrait: “Marty, Brad Marchand having a terrific playoff again. It’s almost unbelievable what this guy is doing for the Panthers. Our hockey insider, Chris Johnston, has mentioned that Marchand could see offers in the $8 million per year range and length of three to four years on the deal.
Now, Brad Marchand just turned 37 years old. What are your thoughts on a contract of that length and that much on the AAV?”
Biron: “Let’s start with the term. I think that Brad Marchant still has three very good years in him. So if you want to stretch it to four, maybe to bring the AAV down, I could see that happening. But $8 million, I think that’s much. Like, he had two seasons of 67 points before getting 51 this year.
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Now, I get he had three surgeries last year at age 36 in the offseason, and he seems to have recovered really well from that, and he’s got a perfect fit in Florida. So, look, if it is the Florida Panthers, that they want to re-sign Brad Marchand, I can see him between $5 and $6 million on a three or four-year deal. Maybe that’s closer to $5 million a year on the four-year deal, because you’re saying, ‘Hey, you know what? We’ll give you an extra year. We’ll lower the AAV.’
Here’s the thing, if Brad Marchand gets to July one, and we’re talking about him on this station on free agent frenzy, there’s going to be a dozen, maybe 15 teams that are going to line up and call Marchand. Why am I seeing just a dozen to 15? Because who has the 7, 8, 9 millions to give? Like, there’s a lot of teams that have cap problems.
So I’m saying maybe that’s going to bring the price up, but if it is Florida, I think it’s going to be closer to five, five and a half over that three or four-year term. But if there’s somebody that steps up, and now there’s a bidding war, I think we can see it getting to seven, seven and a half, maybe closer to eight.”
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