Playoff Payoff

Chris Pudsey

2015-05-28

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Matt Beleskey is among the playoff performers looking for a big payday in the offseason.

Contract years for NHL players normally tend to bring out the best in them, showcasing their talents to pending suitors in hopes of landing their big payday. For some, it's one last chance at the big money. For others, it could be their first big contract coming off their entry-level deal.

The playoffs are no different in regards to guys strutting their stuff for the big crowds on the big stage. Guys like Fernando Pisani, or more recently, Bryan Bickell, have found a way to turn a strong playoff performance into a decent payday in their contract year.

In this weeks Capped, we will take a look at some pending free agent players who may have just turned their recent strong playoff performance into a nice selling feature for their contract discussions this summer.

In no particular order, here are a few that have stood out:

Michael Ferland – CGY

Regular Season stats:

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
FERLAND, MICHAEL	27	2	3	5	0.19	1	21	34	68	0	1	0	10	00:20	8.0	0.8	10:19	17.3

Playoff stats:

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The 23-year old rookie made his NHL debut this year and skated in 27 regular season games for the Flames. His regular season numbers were less than stellar, scoring two goals and three assists and putting up 21 PIMs.

0.83

-1

03:13

56.9

0.3

19:44

27.6

In his sixth season with the Predators, Wilson put up career numbers during the regular season, contributing 42 points in 77 games, and his +19 was in the top 30 in the NHL.

In the playoffs, Wilson took his goal scoring up a notch, scoring five goals in six games for the Preds, four of them coming with the man advantage. Granted, his shooting percentage for those six games was an unrealistic 26.3%. He looked like Nashville's best forward during their short playoff experience.

Heading into next season, this playoff performance should leave Wilson full of confidence and looking to improve on his offensive numbers and role with the Preds. He should see a nice bump in salary considering he's quickly becoming one of the building blocks up front for the Predators.

The 25 year old is coming off a three year, $6M contract that saw him hitting an annual cap hit of $2M.

Torrey Mitchell – MTL

Regular Season stats:

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
MITCHELL, TORREY	65	6	8	14	0.22	-8	34	55	58	0	0	0	61	00:07	2.3	34.5	14:12	23.3

Playoffs Stats:

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
MITCHELL, TORREY	12	1	4	5	0.42	4	6	9	8	0	0	0	3	00:03	1.0	31.9	12:31	19.9

Torrey Mitchell came to Montreal from Buffalo on March 2^nd for prospect Jack Nevins and a 2016 7^th round pick. Basically, they got him for next to nothing. The return on their investment was more than they bargained for and probably expected.

At first, he found himself watching from the press box behind one of the leagues better face off winners in Manny Malholtra. When he did get a chance to play, he was used in a fourth line role and starting 70% of the time in the defensive zone.

Once the playoffs started, it was like a switch went off for him. He scored the Habs first goal of the playoffs and never looked back after that, putting up five points in the Habs 12 playoff games. He was so good, both defensively and on the draws that he forced the Habs hand and had the capable face-off-winning Malholtra watching from the press box.

A pending UFA this summer, both sides have stated they would love to come to an agreement to keep Mitchell in Montreal beyond this year. Malholtra has already been told he won't be back, increasing the odds that Mitchell will be back.

The 30 year old is coming off a three year, $5.7M deal that saw him with an annual cap hit of $1.9M.

Matt Beleskey – ANA

Regular Season stats:

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
BELESKEY, MATT	65	22	10	32	0.49	13	41	145	159	4	4	0	25	01:31	28.6	5.0	14:29	23.7

Playoff stats:

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
BELESKEY, MATT	13	7	1	8	0.62	-1	2	39	58	2	2	0	7	01:37	35.6	0.5	16:21	24.4

The legend of Matt Beleskey continues to grow right through into the playoffs.

Coming off a career season that saw him score 22 goals and 32 points, Beleskey hasn't skipped a beat into the playoffs and has actually seen his ppg rise from 0.49 up to 0.62, along with his on-ice time.

Lets be honest, Beleskey is a blue-collar type of hockey player. He isn't afraid to go into the tough areas and get his hands dirty. He has spent most of the year on the second line with Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg but also gets his fair share of time on the top line making space for Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry too. He has become a more responsible player and has even seen his PIMs drop the past few years.

He is already being compared to Bickell and Pisani for his breakout playoffs and is expected to be well compensated as an unrestricted free agent this summer. You'd think GM's would catch on to this playoff ploy from unexpected players but you can guarantee someone is going to pay big bucks for Beleskey. Don't get me wrong, Beleskey is the types of player teams tend to look for; big, hits, shoots, and can score. The problem is getting him for the right price. The Ducks will make him an offer and try and retain him. As much as they will want to retain him, they likely won't be able to afford to pony up what other GM's are going to throw at him. Rumors are he could be looking at anything upward of $5M per year on the open market.

The 26 year-old is coming off a two-year deal worth $2.7M at an annual cap hit of $1.35M.

A few honourable mentions: Joel Ward, Jeff Petry, Jakob Silfverberg, Braden Holtby. All have had solid playoff performances of their own.

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Thanks for reading and feel free to follow me on twitter @chrispudsey. Also feel free to chip in any players you think I might have missed.

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