Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray crossed one item off his to-do list today by signing team captain Ryan Getzlaf to an eight-year extension worth $66 million.
That’s a significant commitment from the Ducks. The eight-year term is the max allowable under the new CBA and the annual cap of $8.25 million ties him for the fourth highest in the league, trailing just Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. That’s pretty thin air for a player that put up career-low numbers last season and ranked among the year’s biggest underachievers.
But Getzlaf has been among the most impactful players so far in 2013. His 27 points puts him among the league’s top-10 scorers and he’s been a consistent force for a Ducks team that has to be recognized among the few legitimate contenders for the Cup.
There’ll still be plenty of voices suggesting this is an overpayment, but this feels like a case of a team paying to hold onto one of the best players in franchise history, and fearing the alternatives if they don’t....
interesting to see what this means for corey perry, and like the article mentions, even bobby ryan.
