|
|
Post by PTH on Feb 10, 2023 11:15:40 GMT -5
So, Jordan Harris has been re-signed for 2 years at 1.4M AAV.
Gotta say, I find this a bit steep given that he hasn't shown anything special, and salaries just about always go up, never down... So if he doesn't progress into a regular, he'll soon be overpaid.
Then again, I always find contracts too steep, and this isn't much above the amount we can bury in the AHL, at worst.
|
|
|
|
Post by folatre on Feb 10, 2023 11:50:52 GMT -5
I know this has been a strange season with Matheson almost always being injured and Edmundson missing some time too, so Harris was given a chance to show he is an NHL d-man.
On the whole, I am more confident that he will consolidate as a regular NHLer than I was when he was playing NCAA for all those seasons. Harris does have good mobility and confidence with the puck on his stick. But he has not yet shown that he really drives offense from the back. And the most glaring issue is obviously how opponents work him over physically. In particular, he often gets caught on the wrong side of forwards fishing for rebounds in the lower slot.
Experience via game reps will likely help the kid mitigate some of the disadvantages he faces from a physical standpoint. But I do not see a top four ceiling when I watch Harris play.
Yeah, management could have probably squeezed the player a little more on this contract, but I suppose they are judging based on the body of work this season that Harris will be more than a marginal 6-7 type guy.
|
|
|
|
Post by drkcloud on Feb 10, 2023 15:18:52 GMT -5
Seems a little high. Not a huge overpayment but I figured more in the range of 900k. Maybe it's about expressing confidence in the player and keeping him happy
|
|
|
|
Post by seventeen on Feb 10, 2023 15:28:55 GMT -5
I'm higher on Harris than you guys. My guess is he'll end up a 5-4 guy. He's not noticeable and that is usually a good thing. Lately, I have seen him taking more chances offensively and getting a few more points. He improved steadily at the NCAA level and seems to be following the same trajectory in the NHL.
You are correct, folatre, he does seem to lose puck battles, so getting stronger or working on techniques with Nicolas could help
|
|
|
|
Post by folatre on Feb 10, 2023 18:10:35 GMT -5
To be fair to Harris, just like a lot of guys on the roster, he has been playing one rung too high in the lineup. Basically Harris and Kovacevic have been the second pair most of the season. That is a tough spot because neither guy is capable of carrying the other.
|
|
|
|
Post by PTH on Feb 10, 2023 18:12:45 GMT -5
I'm higher on Harris than you guys. My guess is he'll end up a 5-4 guy. He's not noticeable and that is usually a good thing. Lately, I have seen him taking more chances offensively and getting a few more points. He improved steadily at the NCAA level and seems to be following the same trajectory in the NHL. You are correct, folatre, he does seem to lose puck battles, so getting stronger or working on techniques with Nicolas could help As a 4-5 type of guy, salary has to be kept nice and low... so giving him a big raise just seems like a bad idea. Many players making 300K too much means not being able to keep a 3M player down the line. His middling-level offense likely won't mean much if Hutson and Barron take over the main offensive roles... I guess I see a lot of JJ Daigneault in him - a guy without much offense, who also isn't physical, can eat minutes and be a complementary player, but not someone you want to be overpaying. |
|
|
|
Post by PTH on Feb 10, 2023 18:53:08 GMT -5
To be fair to Harris, just like a lot of guys on the roster, he has been playing one rung too high in the lineup. Basically Harris and Kovacevic have been the second pair most of the season. That is a tough spot because neither guy is capable of carrying the other. I just hope we don't end up in what I'll call the Houle loop. In the Houle era, we had some players playing higher in the lineup than they should've, who then put up tolerable numbers for their apparent roles, and then got paid based on that... which meant our first-line wingers Savage and Rucinsky got paid like 1st liners, which they really weren't. If Harris gets 2nd pairing money while still giving us 3d pairing performance, we'll have an issue soon enough with his contract. Not that he'll be a massive problem, just that a lot of small problems mean not having room for one or two additions down the road... |
|
|
|
Post by folatre on Feb 12, 2023 11:10:10 GMT -5
For sure, that is a real concern and taking the path of least resistance across half a dozen similar contract situations can get management into trouble.
Luckily, I think Harris will have to prove he is more than a third pair guy over the next two seasons in order to break through the $2 million AAV ceiling on his next contract.
One thing to consider is that, to the best of my knowledge, Marty St. Louis has never had Edmundson, Matheson, Guhle, and Savard suited up simultaneously. So in 2022-23 Harris sort of got a promotion without actually getting a promotion. As for next season, time will say. Maybe Edmundson is still here, maybe the d-corps stays healthy, maybe Xhekaj keeps growing by leaps and bounds as a hockey player and edges in front of Harris in the pecking order.
NW and others would know better which blueline prospects if any could realistically push into the picture in 2023-24 and 2024-25. But I would believe, unless Harris gets traded, he is almost a lock to be a regular in the Habs lineup. For me the question probably comes down to whether his positive attributes can be accentuated a little more because opponents will continue trying to pick on the soft spots in his game.
|
|
