| Nick Obergan. 20th October, 2010 - 2:29 am
 A little over a week ago, two more 2011 free agents were taken off of the market. The Boston Bruins announced contract extensions between captain Zdeno Chara and alternate captain Patrice Bergeron. Both proved to be wise moves on the part of GM Peter Chiarelli, who didn?t want to risk losing two of his key players, both on the ice and in the dressing room.
Zdeno Chara
Chara?s contract was bigger than expected, though there has been no negative feedback around the league for once. His pact is for $45.5M over seven seasons, and will lock him up until he is 41 in the 16-17 season. As per ESPN?s Pierre LeBrun, Chara?s contract breaks down as follows:
? 11-12: $8.5M
? 12-13: $6M
? 13-14: $8M
? 14-15: $7M
? 15-16: $7M
? 16-17: $5M
? 17-18: $4M
Normally, the above contract would yield a cap hit of $6.5M annually for the entire length of the deal; however in this case, because of the new ?Ilya Kovalchuk rule,? the cap hit for the first six seasons will be $6.917M, while the final season, in which he is over 40-years-old, the cap hit will be his regular salary of $4M. So while he is taking a hit on the $7.5M on his current deal, Chara assures himself long-term security and stability for the remainder of his career.
Also of note, as listed in the linked article, Chara earns his highest salary next season, before the current CBA expires. This guarantees him of that $8.5M ahead of a potential lockout or salary roll back if the next CBA determines either of those situations. This was a shrewd move on the part of Chara?s agent.
There appears to be no question as to whether Chara will actually play until he is 41-years-old; every article involving this extension has listed Chara as one of the most dedicated players in the league when it comes to physical fitness and health, and no one doubts his ability to play as long as Nicklas Lidstrom, for instance.
While Chara is coming off somewhat of a down year, dropping from 19 goals in his Norris Trophy winning 2008-09 season to seven, he still contributed a respectable 44 points. And with double digits in goals scored for six of this past eight seasons, he is a good bet to bounce back into the 12-goal/50-point range.
But it is more than points that has earned Chara the Norris, four All-Star appearances, two First-Team All-Star selections and two Second-Team nods. Chara is a bruising checker at 6?9? and a very intimidating figure for opposing forecheckers to battle with in the corners. His size and reach help him to be responsible defensively and difficult to get around. Meanwhile, Chara?s personality, presence and work ethic are defined by his captaincy.
Committing big money and years to their captain, and paying a premium price to do so, proves the commitment from both Chiarelli and ownership to building a winning franchise, and bringing a Stanley Cup back to the original six franchise for the first time since 1972. Additionally, because Chara?s future cap hit is less than his current one, Chiarelli gains flexibility going forward, and should have more than $12M to spend with only a couple players of importance (Blake Wheeler, Marco Sturm) to retain; the rest he can use to improve in other areas such as defence.
Grade for Chara: B+
Grade for Boston: A
Patrice Bergeron
Bergeron?s camp and Boston evidently wanted to go in a different direction than the Chara situation, opting to sign a modest contract extension worth $15 over three seasons instead of a long-term deal. The caveat for Bergeron is that he will only be 29-years-old when the contract expires, and a couple of strong offensive seasons would put him in line for a longer and higher-salaried deal.
The key there, though, is that Bergeron would have to regain his previous offensive form, which has largely been missing since suffering two concussions ? one in October of 2007, and the other in December 2008. If Bergeron isn?t able to regain that form, or suffers another serious concussion, Boston isn?t locked into a long-term deal for an injured/ineffective player.
As a rookie in 03-04, Bergeron scored 16 goals and had 39 points. Then, as a sophomore in the first post-lockout season, Bergeron exploded for 31 goals and 73 points and followed that up with 22-48-70 in 2006-07. At the 2005 World Junior tournament, he was named MVP after contributing 5-8-13 in just 6 games as Canada won gold. Bergeron had more points than linemate Sidney Crosby in that tournament.
But just as he was establishing himself as a premier two-way center, concussions derailed his progress. Over the next two seasons he only played in 74 games, while registering 11 goals and 46 points. Last season, however, Bergeron looked to be regaining his form as he found the back of the net 19 times and added 33 assists.
Aside from scoring, Bergeron provides a lot of intangibles that are hard to replace, and that is one of the reasons he won gold with Team Canada?s Olympic team this past February. He can play center or wing, is above-average in the faceoff circle, can play the power play and is an excellent penalty killer. He is also a leader by example, and has been an alternative captain the past few seasons even though he is one of the youngest players on the team.
As for the specifics of the extension: Bergeron will earn $4.9M next season with a $1M salary bonus; $3.55M in 2012-13 plus a $1M bonus; $3.55M in 2013-14, also with a $1M bonus. His bonus in the second year of the deal is to be paid during the summer, before the current CBA is set to expire, so that whether there is a lockout or salary rollback, Bergeron will get that bonus. His cap hit will be a manageable $5M, slightly increased from his current $4.75M cap number.
Grade for Bergeron: A-
Grade for Boston: A+
Nick can be reached via email nickobergan@hotmail.com or on twitter @NickObergan
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