Why Blue Jackets’ $36 million contract for Charlie Coyle might be a massive overpay originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Charlie Coyle is a quality NHL center.
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If he had reached free agency, there would’ve been plenty of teams interested in signing him.
But he never got to that point, because the Columbus Blue Jackets re-signed Coyle on Tuesday to a six-year contract worth $6 million per year, for a total of $36 million.
You can’t blame Coyle for taking the deal. In many ways, it might be a massive overpay.
Why did Blue Jackets sign Charlie Coyle for $36 million?
The Blue Jackets likely knew Coyle would be desirable in a relatively unexciting unrestricted free agent market, and they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse right now.
Coyle is coming off a season in which he had 58 points (20 goals, 38 assists) in 82 games. He has 543 points in his NHL career spanning 1,032 games.
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Clearly, he’s a reliable player.
The question mostly comes down to the years, given Coyle will turn 40 before the deal is done.
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Was it an overpay?
In reality, it probably was.
Maybe Coyle would’ve gotten a free agent deal with a slightly higher annual average value but for fewer years, so this could just be the Jackets spreading things out.
But it probably won’t age particularly well:
The Blue Jackets keep one of their most reliable players, though, and apparently that was worth it to them.
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