How Much is RNH Really Worth?

There is no question that Ryan-Nugent Hopkins is a valuable player for the Edmonton Oilers. However, he is now surrounded by a new cast of players and his role has changed significantly since signing his 7 year / 42 million dollar contract that sustains a 6 million dollar cap hit with the Edmonton Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has proved that he can play a 200 foot game in the NHL and has shown that he has exceptional offensive abilities during the World Hockey Championships with Team North America, and during his promising 70 point pace rookie season. In this article we are going to take a closer look at where Ryan Nugent Hopkins stacks up with Points/GP, TOI/GP, SOG/GP,  +/- , and FOW% and see how his contract compares to NHL centremen in his range. While this exercise is not the most accurate way to determine the worth of a NHL player, it can still give us some insight of how they stack up to similar players on other teams.

Points/GP

Ryan Nugent Hopkins - 0.56 points per game

Comparables:

Jordan Staal - 6,000,000

Sean Couturier- 4.333,333

Kyle Turris - 3,500,000

TOI/GP

Ryan Nugent Hopkins - 18:34 (Rank:34)

Comparables:

Sean Couturier - 4,333,333

Joe Thornton - 6,750,000

Sean Monahan - 6,350,000

Shots On Goal/GP (2016 season only)

Ryan Nugent Hopkins - 2.75 (Rank 58, among all skaters)

Comparables:

Logan Couture - 6,000,000

Claude Giroux - 8,275,000

Eric Staal - 3,500,000

Plus/Minus +/-

Ryan Nugent Hopkins : -18 (Rank 270)

Comparables:

Sean Monahan -  6,350,000

Matt Duchene - 6,000,000

Mathieu Perreault - 3,000,000

Faceoff Winning %

Ryan Nugent Hopkins - 45.4% (Rank 189)

Comparables:

Artem Anisimov - 4,550,000

Adam Henrique - 4,000,000

Charlie Coyle- 3,200,000

Verdict:

From doing this exercise it became clear that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is a valuable player in all aspects of his game. By looking at players he is comparable within the respective categories it is fair to value him at around 4,000,000 dollars on the low end and 6,000,000 dollars on the high end of scale. The player Nuge is most comparable to would probably be Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers. A player who can play in the top six and provide offense, while also being able to be utilized as an effective third line shutdown centre, all depending on where they slot in the lineup. Ryan is a luxury that may soon be hard to fit into the Oilers long-term salary plans, with new deals for McDavid, Draisaitl, and many other young players apart of the team’s core due in the near future.

Adam Girard

Writer/Founder - OILERS INSIDERS

Auston Mathews Calder Watch

Calder Race

Through 36 games Auston Mathews has 32 points with 20 of them being goals. He is on pace for around 35 goals which would be fantastic for him. He has been overlooked recently because of Patrik Laine’s Hot start but beat him to 20 goals. He is shooting at 14.9 % which is kind of high and there’s potential for it to go down, but could stay around that average as there’s only a small sample size on Mathews. He is Tied with Laine for rookie Scoring and is an all around better player on the ice, with a 200-foot game that really goes well with his scoring touch. He is 15^th in rookie Ice time averaging 17:49 minutes on ice a game. He has helped the leafs move into just two points shy of the Boston bruins for 2^nd place in the Atlantic Division.

Writer-Garyn Schmermund

Waiver Options

Waivers can be a great way to acquire depth for a team. Costing only roster space and money, however most players sent on waivers in the NHL clear without getting claimed. That being said, there are two players on waivers today that might raise some GM's eyebrows..

Reid Boucher -New Jersey Devils
Age: 23
Position: LW, Left Shot
Drafted: 4th Round, 99th Overall
Contract: $715K, 1 year remaining
NHL Totals: 85 GP, 30 pts (12 goals, 18 assists)
Comment: This season Boucher was initially put on waivers by the Devils and was claimed by Nashville. Nashville then proceeded to put him on waivers and the Devils claimed him again only to put him back on waivers.

Ty Rattie -St. Louis Blues
Age: 23
Position: RW, Right Shot
Drafted: 2nd Round, 32nd Overall
Contract: $650K, 1 year remaining
NHL Totals: 30 GP, 8 pts (4 goals, 4 assists)
Comment: Rattie has spent most his time with the Blues minor team the Chicago Wolves where he has put up decent numbers (3 40-50 point seasons)


Conclusion: Will the Oilers make a claim?
My thoughts would leave me to believe that the Oiler pass on both these players. Even though both are young, cheap, have 1 year left and could fill depth role, I don't believe these are Chiarelli type players. And the team would rather utilize players already in the system such as Lander (who was just called up) Khaira and Slepyshev. Also the Oilers are at 48 of 50 maximum contracts. However if a goalie was put on waivers that could fill a backup role better than "The Monster" and for cheaper than Halak,  I could see the Oilers putting in a Waiver claim then.



Matt Chartrand 
Writer-OILERS INSIDERS