On July 1, 2014, the afternoon Brooks Orpik inked a five-year, $27.5 million deal with the Washington Capitals, a reporter asked why Orpik thought he was worth that much.
“Why am I worth that?” Orpik said, repeating the question. “Uhh … that’s probably a better question for the people who give out the contracts. I think my body of work speaks for itself.”
It was that precise body of work that spawned so much criticism of the deal, which ranged from Orpik’s age (he’ll be almost 40 by the time the deal ends) to his possession metrics to the sheer monetary value contrasted against what many believed he was worth.