Surprised GMGM didn’t throw in an NTC while he was at it.

Excellent.

Consistent with GMGMs strategy to have as few balls flying in the year come the FA period.

Well, I’m done.

This is absolutely absurd. Erskine shouldn’t even be getting the 1.25 he is now, much less 1.5.

GM obviously figured he wouldn’t score good facetime on 24/7 and he wanted to get the cameras away from all the compelling tension and drama in the losing locker room.

Who else clicked on this hoping to see that it was an accidental repost from the last time Erskine got extended?

Also not to like – handing out a contract extension in the midst of a long losing streak.

I guess my bottom line here is why now? What are the odds that he plays well enough for the rest of the season that a team out there would offer him enough more than $1.5m/year this summer that he’d take it? Very, very slim, I’d think. Much more likely is the chance that he regresses and that looks like a bad deal long before it even takes effect.

Not sure I love this deal…Erskine’s grown on me this year but as others have said, he was already a little overpaid at $1.25 mil.

I just wonder if this isn’t some kind of panic move – it took us this long to get Hannan (a guy or at least a type we’ve targeted for a few years), we’ve got no real D prospects in the pipeline, etc.

I don’t know. Weird. Weird signing, GMGM.

It seems GMGM has little faith in his own ability to draft D-men if we are extending Sloan, Poti, Oisk etc,

I am guessing this means Patrick McNeill will be a career AHL-er or else if he does make the NHL it will be in another jersey.

/obligatory “Why now and why this term?” and “Relax, people” comments.

Silver lining: at least the Caps weren’t allowed to re-sign Semin during his hot streak.

Heard this on the radio driving home from practice. All I could do was channel my inner Boudreau as I yelled at the empty space in my car. What the *!$?

Why extend him now? If you’re waiting to see how players will perform in the playoffs, why extend John Erskine in the midst of a 7 game losing streak before even the midway point of the season.

I’m kind of OK with this. I mean, it’s too much, but I don’t think it’s an “obscene overpayment.” Just a regular, garden-variety overpayment.

“Why now” is the biggest question in my mind. But looking ahead at revenues and the way both the salary cap and salaries are likely to go up, I certainly don’t think this is crippling. As long as McPhee keeps his overpayments to guys making 1.1 and 1.5 Million, this team will be fine.

Erskine is to GMGM as Flash is to BB. How else can you explain the same GM nicely wrapping up Backstrom but unexplainably handing Erskine consecutive mid-season extensions that no one else can begin to justify?

I see this ground has been well tilled before me, so I’ll limit myself to noting that I don’t understand the timing (just like with the Poti extension), really hate the term (ditto) and think the dollar figure is absurdly high relative to the position Erskine occupies (just like with Steckel, Sloan, and Poti).

This is a bad signing.

Is it only a 1-way contract?

Did not entirely see Erksine sticking around after this season

Getting to this a bit late, as work is preventing me from focusing on hockey.

It seems as though above that there is no disagreement that Erksine is a 3rd pair D, although some may say he’s not even that. I’m willing to stipulate that, even though he’s improving, he’s no better than a 5/6.

The basic question above is whether we needed to a) sign him now and b) pay him $1.5M per for two years and commit ourselves to that much.

Here’s the logic from GMGM perspective:

1. He’s a legit 5/6D and is getting better. He’s a tougher, more stay-at-home guy. We need him.
2. He’s only going to get better.
3. $1.5M is a good price to pay taking the length of the deal into consideration, as I think the market will make him more expensive if we wait.
4. A bird in the hand is worth something. I know how he plays.

5. And most importantly — I am trying to build a team that stays together. I don’t believe you can win the cup through free agency year-after-year (see Rangers, New York or Maple Leafs, Toronto). We need a group of folks and coaches that stay long term. There is value to that.

So – GMGM must value the certainly, the upswing in ability, and the team aspect at about $500K per.

Putting on my corporate America hat again, I don’t think this board is considering long term team aspect alongside a presumed (by GMGM) long term coaching aspect. You try to find 21 guys that like each other, where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. We’re not inside BB or GMGM’s head or inside the locker room, but I think you need to give credence to that concept. Teams that turn over regularly whether in work or sports (see Redskins, Washington or Nets, New Jersey) just aren’t successful. You can’t build around 8 and 19 alone. You have to have a greater core locked in for a longer period of time.

(Just posting what GMGM might be thinking. Certainly arguable whether Erskine is part of the core.)

You could have signed Brett Lebda to the same contract.

Here’s another thing I was thinking. Last year, the Penguins signed Jay McKee. He was hurt a lot, played decently when he wasn’t banged up, blocked some shots. He had around 15 minutes of ice time per game and ended up a plus player after appearing in 62 games.

He was, at the time, 31, and he signed for $800k.

That’s a veteran 6th/7th defenseman. That’s what you do. One-year deal. Under $1M.

What is it about GMGM that makes him think “gee, if I don’t extend Erskine and Poti now, they’re going to be gone. Then what will we do???”

His infatuation with shitty D that he’s familiar with is fucking annoying and might end up costing the team next season’s Willie Mitchell. Don’t tell me an extra $1 million isn’t important.

Shouldn’t the players be taking a hometown discount, plus a discount to play for a perennial contender?

I’m not a huge Laich fan, but I’d rather overpay him by $.5 million than Erskine.

I sure hope these negotiations were caught on camera for HBO.

Erskine’s Agent – “George, John’s been getting some interest from other teams for next year.”

GMGM – “Really? Does John speak Russian?” winks to camera

EA – “Funny George, but John does like it there and has been playing well this year so lets talk about what we can do to keep him Rockin the Red”

GMGM – “MMKay, but we’ve got a bunch of guys to sign next year so I don’t have much room to work with.” gives the up and down hand motion to the camera

EA- “Ok, lets start with…”

GMGM – “Two years, $1.5M per and thats my final offer” gives a thumbs up to the camera

EA- “I was going to say a one year, two way deal $500K/$850K, but we’’ll hit that bid”

GMGM – “CUT!”

I guess the question is, would you rather pay $4.5 million for one defenseman or $4.5 million each for two?

Because I bet he could find a really good free agent this summer that would sign for $4.5 instead of having Erskine and Poti for the next two seasons.

After reading all the comments, I think we at least all agree in wondering why on earth this couldn’t wait until the offseason.

I really don’t have much of an opinion on this deal since I was so totally wrong on Erskine going into this season. I had him pegged as nothing more than an injury fill-in, but he’s been a hell of a lot better than that so far. Is he more of a 6/7 defenseman than a 5/6? Probably. And if that’s the case, is he overpaid? Probably yes again, but not by a ridiculous amount. What I do find amazing is how virtually every person commenting believes this is a terrible deal, yet the guy who’s being paid to do this, and by all accounts is a fairly cautious guy, thinks exactly the opposite. Can it be as black and white as the two points of view are making it out to be? I doubt it. More than likely there will be stretches of games where Erskine will look like a good deal at $1.5 mil and other stretches where he’ll look he should have been paid half that amount. Still the difference of opinion is startling but fun to read.

Does anyone else get the feeling that this signing won’t be the lead story in on the local DC sports channels?

Perhaps this explains the timing…

Let’s not forget that the front office wanted to spend 3 (3.5?) on a third line center this year. The only thing that saved us from that cap disaster was a foolish loudmouth agent.

I thought it was more like $1.8 mil, but yeah.

Sure, we think of Erskine as a #7 defenseman, but on a bunch of teams in this league, he’s playing every night in the 5-6 pair. The Caps, when healthy, are blessed with 5 defensemen who are top 4 on any team in the league, maybe even 6 if you count Hannan. On a team like Ottawa, Erskine is a regular defenseman. The 7th D-man is going to get plenty of games as no team in the league is going to get 82 games out of 6 defensmen. He has an edge in that he knows the system. He is clearly having his best season this year and there’s no reason to think he might not have 2 good years left.

Plus, there’s no guarantee that Hannan is back in 2011-12….