Dallas Stars: Alexander Radulov Contract A Steal, Not A Concern
Don’t worry about the Alexander Radulov contract, Dallas Stars fans. He has lived up to his pay with his dazzling on-ice performances.
Concerns over the Alexander Radulov signing spread like wildfire in early to mid-July. The Dallas Stars had inked a relatively unknown forward to a long-term contract, after the Russian had only been back in North America for a year.
On July 3rd, the Stars and Radulov agreed on a five-year deal worth a total of $31,250,000 – or $6,250,000 per season. The transaction is backloaded with no-movement clauses that guarantee Radulov is a Star until he puts anything into motion.
Though Radulov was productive the season prior (18 goals, 36 assists, 54 points) he had spent so much time in the Kontinental Hockey League – hockey’s cloud of unknowing – that nobody really knew what to expect. This led to contract concerns from fans and analysts, which, without hindsight, are valid.
Radulov is an enigma, and perhaps the low, somewhat fair bar set for Radulov is why he’s been as great as he has. Or… maybe it’s his legendary emotion, sensational offensive output, or unequaled effort that puts him over the top. I’m leaning more toward the latter answer.
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Not only has Radulov been a valuable offensive playmaker with the Dallas Stars, he has been the class of the league at the right wing position as of late. As we speed through the Stars’ annual bye week, Radulov has netted nine points in his past five games, with 11 in his last 10 total. Radulov has 16 goals and 22 assists in 2017-18, paces of a career-high 30 goals, 41 assists, and 71 points.
On account of this, contract worries are a thing of the past when it comes to the potential National Hockey League All-Star. To be exact, Alexander Radulov’s contract is more of a steal than a worry at this point.
Using a metric we used to explain the Martin Hanzal deal signed two days prior to to that of Radulov, we will resort to CapFriendly’s cost-per-point tool. The goal of all players using this calculation is to be as low down the rundown as possible, which of course makes you more efficient.
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We’ll compare Radulov’s ranking with the players in the NHL around him in such a table to truly see how valuable #47 has been. Radulov ranks 383rd in this metric, costing the Dallas Stars $204,840 per goal, $148,975 per assist, and a formidable $86,248 per point.
383rd is about league average. It’s where you’ll find a lot of players that are paid a lot of money and have met their expectations in value, and also a lot of players that are paid pennies on the dollar and provide an output that confirms their minimal market value. This, however, is where it can get interesting.
The names around Radulov are elite NHL forwards and top-line guys for their teams. Steven Stamkos (378th), Sean Monahan (381st), Viktor Arvidsson (375th), James Neal (382nd), Mikael Granlund (385th), and Logan Couture (391st) are all All-Star caliber players with constant top-six deployment.
If you told me Alexander Radulov would be nearly as valuable as STEVEN STAMKOS, twice the league-leader in goals, I would sign him to a max contract with as much money as my finances permit.
Next: Assessing The Stars' Biggest Rivals Moving Forward
With the way Rads has rubbed off on Dallas Stars supporters with his infectious energy and brovado, I am not alone in making that statement. So, in the end, Stars fans, don’t worry about the Alexander Radulov contract. Things like this work themselves out when his name ends up on the Stanley Cup.