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