Firstly, Jason and Jon are with me at the Flying Saucer. Neither are able to type right now.
Five years is is a big commitment to a guy playing the third pairing, but we’re happy this is done. The absolute worst case scenario is this is a bargaining chip for a trade. But it’s an asset in the fold. AAV is 2.5 million US Dollars per year, via Uncle Bob.
Ryan Ellis’s new contract with NSH is for five years with an AAV of $2.5M.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 25, 2014
Thoughts on this? I feel bad for Victor Bartley.
More on this later. The HUMAN ROCKET SHIP is signed.
UPDATE:
So much like Ryan Ellis is a travel size version of Roman Josi, he gets the portable version of Josi’s contract. Per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Ellis is getting $1.5 million his first season, and getting a $500,000 raise every season after. He’ll be paid $3.5 million in his final season of this deal.
There’s plenty to like about this deal. Nashville gets five years of a useful defenseman for cheap (given his upside) and should they choose to trade him his cap hit isn’t immovable. Nashville now has Shea Weber, Roman Josi, and Ellis locked up until the summer of 2019 or later, and Mattias Ekholm, Seth Jones, and Bartley all signed until the 2016 summer. The talent and the depth on the blue line is most definitely there.