Will Shane Pinto have to sign another one-year deal to ‘prove it’ before a long-term deal?
TSN: Mike Johnson when asked what he thinks what Shane Pinto’s next contract from the Ottawa Senators could get.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Host: “That was Shane Pinto’s 30th game night. He had four points. He’s got 25 points in games. His points per game is .781 that’s .
What’s Shane Pinto’s next contract looks like? He needs one after this season.”
Johnson: “Oh, boy, and given all that happened with last contract, you’re like, ‘Well, what are we gonna do with the next one?’ I think probably, they make them do it again. I guess. I don’t know, given how crazy this year was for him.
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Like, would he get contentious in a contract negotiation? Would he get really bullish? Like listen, he’s playing on a level, a rate, so let’s just say take away the gambling, the suspension, all that other stuff, right? Okay. So if a player his age put up 25 goals and 40 , 65 points, that guy would be considered a cornerstone piece of a franchise.
That guy would get a contract for seven years and $42 million, right? Maybe a little bit less than Dylan Cousins (muffled) in Buffalo, right? $6 million, $6.5, something like that. I don’t know if they give him that given the history.
I wonder if they’re like, listen, we’ll give you a one-year deal for $3.5 (million). Do it again, full season, let’s get our team in order and then you’ll get the longer-term contract.
I just wonder but then, you know, will Shane Pinto given what’s happened, will he say no, no, I deserve now or will he be like sort of culminating to a short-term deal? I’m not sure. I would, if I was running the team, I would think short-term would be preferable for me. If I’m saying Pinto long term, obviously, preferable for the player.”
Host: “Yeah. Yeah, I agree with you. The, the entire, what happened for the first half of the season, what makes this very unique, I think it’s much more cut and dried as to how this might, the team might approach it? How he might approach it had this been quote air quotes a regular season?
But this is very unique, and I think he was and when he came back, I, he was very appreciative that the team had his back. Both obviously, behind the scenes, but even publicly as well. And, and look, you’re not going to leave a bunch of dollars on the table. I understand all that part of it. But I do think that maybe that comes into the equation a little bit in the next negotiation.”
Johnson: “100%. Exactly what I’m talking about. Like where did his, you know, he would feel very grateful for the support that he had publicly, privately, all the rest of it. He would feel a sense of loyalty.
Now I would always, not to be the cold bitter ex-player, but like, loyalty is a very simple thing as you guys know, in pro sports, right? Like you may feel it and they may feel it to you but as soon as you know you’re not valuable, there’s another better option, that loyalty doesn’t really extend very much further than your utility to the team. So you have to do what’s best for you.
But I just, I yeah, I would think that they would, the Ottawa would sort of play that card. Like listen, you know, let’s make you do it. Let’s, let’s have you do a full year. Let’s have a normal prep. Let’s have, with our roster, lineup together for a year and see what happens. You know, it’s been a great, I guess it’ll be 40 games you’ll, 41 games, potentially play. But let’s let you do it for a full season.
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Yeah, but every, every other player with that kind of points per game. It’s not like he was injured for 41 games, right? Like he had some sort of injury history. It was an entirely unique and not repeatable situation that had him missing half the year. So it wouldn’t be like, well, you have to do a full, full year. Like I wasn’t hurt. I wasn’t you know, I wasn’t inconsistent. I just was not allowed to play. But I still think, yeah, one-year, one-year $4 million. One-year $3.5 million and then do it again and then you get your long-term deal.”