Islanders sign Jean-Gabriel Pageau to six-year contract

New York Islanders sign recent trade acquisition Jean-Gabriel Pageau to a six-year contract with a $5 million AAV. It’s expensive but could be worth it.

Hours after acquiring Jean-Gabriel Pageau from the Ottawa Senators the New York Islanders signed their new centerman to a long-term six-year deal.

The deal carries a $5 million AAV and with a full no-trade clause for the first two years and modified no-trade with a 16 team no-trade list for the next four years of the deal.

It’s a lot for a third-line center, but it could be worth it?

The Deal

Maybe I’m getting carried away in the moment of the trade, but the trade could be worth it in the end. So long as Jean-Gabriel Pageau continues to be a 40 point player.

There’s no question that Pageau is a good penalty killer. Or that he’s good in his own end. Or that he’s good in the faceoff dot, his 53.2 FOW% is ranked 33rd in the NHL just behind Casey Cizikas.

There’s no doubt that Pageau can continue providing the Isles with strong PK work, being effective defensively, and in the faceoff dot for the length of his contract. What might dry up is his production.

Pageau is having a career year for the Senators with 24 goals and 40 points in 60 games played. With the Sens Pageau was averaging 19:18 of ice-time. He’s not going to get that type of ice-time with the Islanders.

With less ice-time comes less production. So expecting Pageau to hit 50+ points for the next six seasons isn’t fair. If he can float around 40 points he’ll be good value for the money.

Earlier today I compared Pageau to Charlie Coyle. Coyle just signed a six-year $31.5 million deal ($5.25 AAV) to anchor the Bruins third line and currently has 34 points through 63 games this season.

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You may not agree with the value of the deal and you may think it’s a bit much, but it seems to be the going rate for good third-line centers in today’s market. If Pageau can produce like a good third-line center, the Isles will have made a smart choice.