More NHL Playoffs: Schedule, TV listings | Expert Picks | Bracket | Scores | Odds
The Philadelphia Flyers had some business to take care of before the playoffs begin; signing defenseman Andrew MacDonald to a contract extension.
MacDonald, 27, was acquired by the Flyers at the trade deadline this season in a deal with the Islanders. He was expendable to the Isles despite being a minutes monster because of his expiring contract at the end of the season. The Flyers, always on the hunt for defense, found a new home for him.
Now it's going to be his home for a while and he'll have a lot of money to be in a new home, as Dave Isaac reported.
MacDonald’s deal is six years $30 million.
— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) April 15, 2014
Sooo ... that's a lot of money there, Paul Holmgren. Like a LOT of money. His cap hit of $5 million is usually reserved for guys with a little more point production to go with their game.
His contract comparables on defense at $5 million? Paul Martin, Alexander Edler, Sergei Gonchar, Dustin Byfuglien, Keith Yandle just to name a few. His new cap hit is $300,000 more than the Rangers are going to pay Ryan McDonagh over the same time frame. Think about that for a second.
MacDonald might be capable of playing a lot of minutes but the question is if those minutes are good, productive minutes. This season between the Islanders and Flyers he had four goals and 24 assists -- four assists in 19 games in Philly -- and a Corsi For percentage of 44.5 percent, which is not good. It means shot attempts are going the Flyers' way only 44.5 percent of the time when MacDonald is on the ice.
In more old-school terms, he was a minus-22 this season, minus-3 in his short time with Philly. What he did do was lead the NHL in blocked shots, but No. 1, that's a good way to get yourself injured and make a long-term deal hurt, and No. 2, you can't block shots if you or your team have the puck.
With MacDonald on the cap now, the Flyers have more than $21 million committed in five defensemen for next season, and that doesn't include Chris Pronger's deal that will continue to reside on LTIR.
