On Saturday, Nashville Predators winger Viktor Arvidsson signed a seven-year, $29,750,000 contract. The 24-year-old, who avoided arbitration as a restricted free agent (RFA) by signing, will see his deal expire when he’s 31. The contract will take up three of his unrestricted free agent (UFA) years.
Next summer, the San Jose Sharks are set to have an arbitration-eligible 24-year-old in need of a new contract. Tomas Hertl will be coming off of his fifth NHL season, compared to Arvidsson’s third, but the latter’s contract provides a potential framework for Hertl’s next deal.
Now, the comparison isn’t perfect.