Capitals’ Logan Thompson is playing great – but is there a reason to be concerned about new deal?
The Washington Capitals backed up the truck for their No. 1 netminder, but did they pay a little too much?
On Monday, the team signed goaltender Logan Thompson to a six-year contract extension. The deal, set to kick in next season, will have an AAV of $5.85 million.
The right-handed catching backstop has certainly earned a new deal. At just a $766,667 cap hit, Thompson has been playing fantastically this season, and is a reason the Caps are challenging for the Metropolitan Division title.
Through 27 games, the 27-year-old has a record of 22-2-3 with a 2.09 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage and two shutouts. If he continues to play at this rate, Thompson will have a career year in most categories.
However, are the Capitals overreaching? Sure, Thompson has played well, and was a fairly reliable goaltender over his tenure with the Vegas Golden Knights, but what if this season is a flash in the pan?
On Tuesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Matt Larkin discuss if Washington is paying too much money for Thompson.
Matt Larkin: I’ve had so many thoughts over the past 24 hours. He’s such a good story – shoutout to USports – He was traded by the Golden Knights while he was in the building signing autographs…so it’s great to see him performing so well. He’s, at worst, the No. 2 candidate for the Vezina Trophy. He actually leads the NHL in goals saved above expected per 60, so you could argue he’s been the best goalie in the league.
I do ask – why now? His career-high starts is 42. $5.85 million…is that going to be a higher price when you take him to free agency. I don’t know if it’s going to be much higher, given his sample size. I feel like it’s a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to the Mackenzie Blackwood signing…maybe Washington’s trying to jump the market. I just don’t understand why they have to do it now.
It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens to his game now, psychologically, for the rest of the season now that he’s got his big contract.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…