Colorado landed one of the big fish. While much of the web banter this summer has focused on the Avs (hopefully) landing Ryan Smyth, a lot of speculation has also been focused on defensemen Scott Hannan. Today, Hannan signed with the Avs to the tune of $18,000,000 over 4 years.
I have to admit that I’m still a little on the fence on this one. While I like that we’ve added size, a ton of minutes, and a strong defensive focus to our blueline…I’m not quite sure that Hannan is the defensive messiah that people might think he is. He’s not the big hitter that people might expect (29 hits in 2006-07), and, unfortunately, isn’t going to do much to improve the scoring from the D - a deficiency I think could be harmful next year. But, he’s a solid shot blocker (140 blocked shots) on an already terrific shot blocking team and he should eat up a lot of minutes. Expect our PK to improve significantly - good news there.
Truthfully, $4.5 million is about $1 million lower than I thought Hannan would command. In that light, I think that’s a reasonable amount of money to spend to improve our defense. It probably comes down to who he’s taking minutes away from. Skrastins? $4.5 million is a bargain, brother. But if his addition sends Kurt Sauer or Jeff Finger - both more physical defensive defensemen than Hannan at a fraction of the cost - to the sidelines, then I’m not convinced that this is money well spent. It’s early, and I’m sure JF Giguere has more moves to make. Until I see those, I’ll remain on that fence.
4.5 million is a bargin when you consider that Detroit just got in bed with Rafalski for 6 per. That’s insane frankly. Drury and Briere got huge money, Smyth will command a high price tag at this point because the Avs are now opening competing with LA and probably the likes of Buffalo, Dallas and who knows who else for his services.
4.5 is a great deal compared to the other money. My issue is still more how he fits in than the price tag.
You’ve made the point that Smyth (or any one else) probably isn’t going to get offered more than Sakic. I tend to agree with that, which means if he comes here, he’s probably going to have to turn down more money to do so. Certainly not out of the realm of possibility…but he did negotiate pretty hard with the Oilers.
Yeah, at his age he’s in his wheelhouse to grab this contract of a lifetime. I expect someone to pony up a long term deal at 6.5 or more. It’s totally overpaying, but that’s what he’ll get.
I like Hannan’s attitude. He’s nasty on the ice, he’s got a lot of playoff experience and he’s been playing in the west on an underrated San Jose defensive squad. I think he will make guys like Skrastins, Vannanen and Sauer look pedestrian. He’s not a huge talker but anything is an upgrade when Clark and Skrastins are on the ice together. He’s no Adam Foote in his prime but I think he’s the mold the Avs need to balance Liles, Clark and one day, Cumenksi perhaps.
Personally, I think the $4 millon or so a year the Avs have agreed to give Hannan is too much. He’s not as physically dominant as people say (though he is much tougher than most of what the Avs had last season) and he’s not an offensive powerhouse. He’s just not a superstar, and I think anything over $4 million a year is superstar territory.
But, he’s just what the Avs need and he’s still relatively young, so it’s a top-notch signing overall. I think he’ll fit in quite well, and give Coach Q a lot more pairing options.
I have to agree with DLS about the Hannan pricetag. It may be a tad too high, but if I play devil’s advocate, I’m willing to overpay to perfectly fill a need. The Avs needed size, grit, minutes, and toughness. Hannan is all those. As for his offensive contributions, he’ll get his 20+ points a season, but the bulk of the offensive load from the blueline will be carried by Leopold and Liles. We pay them to score, while I think we’ll be Hannan to bring other ingredients to the table.