Elliotte Friedman: The Nashville Predators and Colton Sissons have avoided salary arbitration and reached a seven-year, $20 million agreement.
Brooks Bratten: Predators GM David Poile on Colton Sissons: “He’s a heart and soul player who is versatile and can fill many important roles on our team, including on the penalty kill and power play…Colton is also an up-and-coming leader in our organization, which is something we value strongly.”
PuckPedia: Sisson’s deal carries a $2.857 million salary cap hit. Salary breakdown.
2019-20: $3.45M
2020-21: $2.5M
2021-22: $3.65M
2022-23: $2.775M
2023-24: $3.5M
2024-25: $2.3M
2025-26: $1.825M
With Sissons signed, we now show the #Preds with $2,334,524 in projected cap space, based on a full 23-man roster (13F/8D/2G)
Rocco Grimaldi, who is scheduled to go before an arbitrator on August 4th, is the only RFA still unsigned by the club.https://t.co/8Pw7BXV0OV pic.twitter.com/6jfyepmpqZ
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) July 23, 2019
Thoughts from the media
Adam Vingan: “I had Sissons pegged for a cap hit between $2.5 million and $3 million, so his ~$2.85 million cap hit is reasonable. This is what I wrote about Sissons recently as part of my mock arbitration hearing.”
Adam Vingan: “Via @CapFriendly, there are only two NHL players whose contracts are at least six years in length with a cap hit of $3 million or less: 1. Calle Jarnkrok (6 years x $2 million) 2. Colton Sissons (7 years x $2.85 million)”
Jonathan Willis: “David Poile’s love of term for role-playing RFAs appears again. Usually it works out for him but this is a particularly entertaining bet.”
Steve Goldstein: “Interesting from player standpoint too. After 15 goal season, & great playoff 2 years ago, cap expected to rise, player takes less than 3 mill for his prime of career. 20 mill guaranteed though, hard to say no!”
Stephen Burtch: “Why are people bothered by the term on the Sissons deal? His cap hit is so low, it is a very team friendly contract through a guy’s age 31 season. He exchanged job security for higher AAV. He has been a positive impact player for all 4 of his NHL seasons.”
Murray Pam: “This contract is similar to the Jarnkrok deal, albeit one extra year and a fistfull of dollars more. Poile likes his role players.”
Ryan Wagman: “Because it guaranteed him $20+M. No guarantee he doesn’t hurt himself seriously considering his style of play. Not worth the risk to get an extra $1-2 M spread over a 5-7 year period. Take the cash now. Smart move.”
Adam Gretz: “Don’t sign depth players to long-term contracts.”
James O’Brien: “I understand the arguments for Sissons, but I’m a big believer in giving yourself flexibility, rather than boxing yourself in with depth guys. Do you really want to be the Red Wings of the last few years with Abdelkader and his ilk?”
Prashanth Iyer: “While the AAV isn’t high I don’t really care for this deal. Maximizing roster flexibility is key for teams to stay competitive and locking up players whose production could be matched (or bettered) by a player on ELC inhibits that”
Will Scouch: “It’s weird and a gamble but he’s a guy you’ve drafted, developed, been patient with and turned into a contributor. If this is a 3 year deal and he’s a UFA at 28, does he get $3mm in 2022? You’ve locked him into a deal that could be a discount relative to the market.”
Jeff Veillette: “Drag on possession every year he’s played. Career-high of 15 goals and 30 points at Age 25. This seems like a very, very weird player to commit near-max term to.”
Colton Sissons signed by #Preds for $2.85M x 7 years. I have a fairly neutral opinion on this one. Big term for bottom 6 but mitigating factors: only 25, the $2.85M is effectively $2.34M in year 7 $, eats expensive UFA yrs, can play center, F defensive strengths often overlooked. pic.twitter.com/A7RF7hlRHb
— Billius27 (@Billius27) July 23, 2019