Dallas Stars: Will Blake Comeau Be an Improvement on Antoine Roussel?

The Dallas Stars let fan favorite Antoine Roussel walk in free agency this summer and instead signed left winger Blake Comeau to a three-year deal.

After leaving the Dallas Stars, Roussel signed a four-year deal in Vancouver, but was it in the Stars’ best interest to let him leave? It depends on how fans look at it.

Contract

Comeau’s contract is for three years at $2.4M AAV. Roussel’s new deal is four years at $4M AAV. At those prices, Comeau’s the better deal to fill the position if they play equally well. It’s possible Roussel would’ve taken less to stay in Dallas, but those discounts don’t happen as often as fans think.

Comeau’s deal is shorter and it’s for less time. Those are both better when it comes to a player like this. If you’re locking down a guy like John Klingberg after his entry-level contract, sign him for 7 years at $4.25M like Jim Nill did and the term on the deal will be a massive benefit. For these two guys, shorter is better, especially with Comeau being older.

Age

Roussel is 28 while Comeau is 32. This round goes to Roussel, but both of these guys are probably playing as well as they ever will. Comeau’s few years on Roussel probably won’t be much of a difference maker, but the fact that he’s been in the league for a lot longer gives him a nice edge of experience.

Age can be a real detriment when it comes to contracts for older players, especially when there’s a lot of term or they’re injury prone. These contracts are short and both players should still be fine by the end from an age standpoint.

Statistics

Comeau’s been around the league almost twice as long, so of course he has higher numbers in most career totals. However, Comeau is higher in both goals per game (0.17 to 0.15) and points per game (0.40 to 0.34). Comeau also has a better relative Corsi percentage over his career than Roussel. Roussel has a better shooting percentage, but Comeau takes more shots per game, and it works out in Comeau’s favor.

Penalty minutes is a different story, which is unsurprising when comparing someone to Roussel. Comeau has just over half of Roussel’s penalty minutes in almost double the games played, working out to about 1:57 per game for Roussel and about 0:38 per game for Comeau. It’s nice to have a tough guy on the team, but there are other guys on the roster who can throw their weight around and it’ll be nice for the Dallas Stars’ struggling penalty kill if they spent less time shorthanded.

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It’s probably not what fans of Roussel want to hear, but Comeau’s likely going to be an improvement. He’s on a better contract that’s too short for age to really catch up to him and he has better underlying numbers.

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