Kris Letang's four-year contract extension is more than just a pay day for an exciting young shutdown defenseman. According to Mike Chen at SBN's From The Rink, Letang's deal is just further proof that the philosophy has changed with regards to how and when hockey players get their big pay day.
[This contract is] a hefty raise from the $800k that Letang was making on his rookie contract. I think this is a payday based on projection, not past achievement. So it goes with the current cap-driven CBA; in the late 1990s and early 2000s, we saw players past their prime get paid for their past and today we see players before their prime get paid for their future.
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The biggest comparables here are Tobias Enstrom, Brent Seabrook, and Ryan Suter. Of the bunch, Enstrom's grown the fastest while Suter's also on the path to be one of the elite two-way defensemen in the league. Seabrook's numbers aren't as gaudy as Enstrom or Suter but they're still good, with upside for his age.
Based on these players, it's clear to see who the Letang camp pegged as comparable in negotiations. Of course, the trick is for Letang to live up to expectations and be a reliable blueliner that runs the power play while regularly breaking the 40-point barrier.
You can bet guys like Suter and Enstrom will get hefty increases in their next contract, and you know that Pittsburgh is looking big-picture with this. Four years gets Letang to 26, which means that he'll be reaching his prime as a defenseman. By that time, they'll have a good sense as to whether or not Letang is following the path that Suter and Enstrom are currently on (and if so, they'll have to budget accordingly to keep him), or if he's a woulda-coulda-shoulda guy like Brad Stuart.