When the Philadelphia Flyers signed forward Scott Hartnell to a six-year, $28.5 million contract extension on Monday afternoon, some called into question whether the veteran forward should have accepted the deal.
With one-year remaining on his current contract, Hartnell stood to earn a sizable raise upon hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
Via CSN Philly:
Some agents feel he sold himself well short of pending free agency after the 2012-13 season.
"Everyone is asking what the [bleep] he just did," said one agent.
This sentiment was further substantiated on Tuesday night, when it surfaced that unrestricted free agent Shane Doan was offered a four-year, $30 million contract from the Buffalo Sabres.
While Hartnell potentially could have earned more money on the open-market, the 30-year old made it clear that he was more interested in the security of a longer-term deal with a full no-movement clause. Not to mention that he received an annual average raise of $550,000.
"I don't think my value would have changed that much in a year," Hartnell said when asked about the early signing. "I'd be another year older.
"If you look at this deal, it's basically a seven-year deal. I still have one year left on my [current] contract. I think I got a lot of years left, a lot left in the tank."
So the question remains; did the Flyers get Hartnell on the cheap?
Travis Hughes of Broad Street Hockey took an in-depth look at the situation in order to determine whether the team truly did get Hartnell at a bargain price. You can check out his analysis, here.
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