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Islanders Ryan Pulock contract better than you thought

By Michel Anderson

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - APRIL 11: Ryan Pulock #6 of the New York Islanders takes a shot during warm-ups prior to the game against the New York Rangers at the Nassau Coliseum on April 11, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - APRIL 11: Ryan Pulock #6 of the New York Islanders takes a shot during warm-ups prior to the game against the New York Rangers at the Nassau Coliseum on April 11, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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While Ryan Pulock‘s contract wasn’t made official by the New York Islanders yet, CapFriendly was confident that sources on the contract were right enough to post the details on the site. And the final deal is actually better than we initially believed.

The original report by Darren Dreger indicated that the new contract would be $50 million over eight years. That would have been a $6.25 million AAV. Turns out that the number was actually $49.2 million over eight years for a $6.15 million AAV.

New York Islanders: Ryan Pulock contract better than you though

I know that an extra $100,000 in savings doesn’t sound like much, but any decrease in the cap hit is a good thing for the Islanders. Remember the Islanders are only $6,600 under the cap ceiling this year. And while Pulock’s contract doesn’t come into effect until 2022-23, any cap savings is a good thing. This year or next.

We all know why it’s important to keep Pulock around long-term so there’s no sense in going back into that story. But I don’t want to re-hash the optics of this deal and another recent deal.

With Pulock coming in at $6.15 million and with Adam Pelech re-signing just weeks ago for a $5.75 million AAV the elite duo will cost less than $12 million. The dup comes in at $11.9 million combined.

That’s just $400,000 more than Erik Karlsson (who is no longer elite) and $500,000 more than Drew Doughty (who also is no longer elite). Even when both Pulock and Pelech are in the advanced years of their deals they shouldn’t hamstring the Isles salary cap like Karlsson and Doughty are to the Sharks and Kings.

There isn’t actually a better duo in the NHL than Pelech and Pulock and they’re being paid well under market value. For the next eight years.

That’s why the fact that the deal got better (with a lower cap hit) is such a big talking point. Usually deals for star players (and they are stars, just maybe not in the classical sense) usually go up and not down.

And look, the deal is straight salary. Ther’s no funny business outside of a no-trade for the first five years and a modified no-trade in the final three years. And if you thought Pulock wasn’t getting trade protection then I can’t help you. He absolutely was. But no signing bonus money (like none), no wild fluctuations in salary. Just $49.2 divided by eight. Done.

Lou Lamoriello is putting on a masterclass in how to keep a contender together. The other 31 GMs are clearly taking notes.

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