With the news out of Vancouver today that forward Mason Raymond has re-signed with the Canucks before his arbitration hearing, the ongoing Patric Hornqvist negotiations are once again pushed to the forefront of Preds fans' minds. To date, Raymond becomes the most interesting comparable for David Poile and Hornqvist's next contract. The Canucks signed Raymond for two years, $5.1 million. Let's take a look at how Raymond and Hornqvist compare.

Due to a technical problem, those handy statistical widgets are unavailable to us. Bear with me:

Patric Hornqvist, 2009-10: 80gp, 30 goals, 25 assists, 51 points, +18

Mason Raymond, 2009-10: 82gp, 25 goals, 28 assists, 53 points, even

Now, Mason Raymond has played for one more year in the league than Hornqvist, so Vancouver GM Mike Gillis had more of a track record to draw on when making the deal. Both players are alumni of the 2005 entry draft, and both received 2nd line minutes on their respective teams, though Raymond received better linemates with players like Ryan Kesler and Mikael Samuelsson. While its true Raymond has had a longer career, Patric Hornqvist scored five more goals in two less games, and did that with worse linemates and over two minutes less time on ice than the Canuck forward.

Conclusion

Taking all these things into consideration, I'd offer Hornqvist two years, $5.6 million. It allows him to be paid a bit more than his contemporaries, and gives Barry Trotz two years to see if he's the real deal before locking him up to a true long term contract. How much would you offer Horn Dog? Vote in the poll, let us know in the comments.