Ah the monetary and overall value of a player to a team. What a topic of discussion, isn’t it? You see, it’s a extremely subjective topic. We’ve all been in discussions with other people about a specific player and we’ve all disagreed with some of them about their take on a players’ worth. You see, while one may feel strongly about their opinion about a certain player, it doesn’t necessarily make them true. Oh it’s certainly true in their own mind and they’ll make sure to tell you so. But like any subjective topic, there’s more grey than there is black or white.

While it’s the same phenomenon across the NHL, we don’t have to look far in Montreal to find examples. People are still talking about a three year old trade of a defenseman who shall remain nameless for the purpose of this topic, but we know who we’re talking about, right? But we can’t blame fans for having a strong opinion about some players’ worth. Think about it… NHL General Managers disagree amongst each other about the value of certain players, killing more trade talks than we can begin to imagine. Further, those GMs are often in disagreement with players’ agents when it comes to contract talks. Here’s the only fact: everyone has a subjective opinion and the worth of a player to one team is, more often than not, not the same for the team next door.

One recent topic of discussion amongst Habs’ fans has been about the value of the team’s most recent Unrestricted Free Agent’s signing: Ben Chiarot. But before we get into this, here are some facts about the rugged Hamilton native:

Back on July 4th, Chiarot signed a 3-year, $10.5 million dollar deal with Montreal as a UFA. So far this season, he has played 14 games at the time of writing this. In those 14 games, he is averaging 20:43 minutes of ice time per game, third on the team behind only Jeff Petry and Shea Weber, who both play on the right side while Chiarot plays left. He has one goal, one assist and has a differential of plus -3. He’s second on the Habs in hits (34), 3rd in blocked shots (18) and he has 27 shots on goal, good for 8th on his team. He’s done all of that while getting accustomed to a new City, a new team, learning a new system and slowly developing chemistry with his defense partner(s) and teammates, getting to know their habits. Those are undeniable facts.

Contract comparables

You have people saying that Chiarot is overpaid, that he doesn’t always make the right decision with the puck, overcommits at times, gets caught out of position other times. While you certainly won’t find a topic of debate with yours truly when it comes to those assessments, I will certainly argue about his salary and his worth. You see, after some good discussions with other Habs’ fans on Twitter during the game in Dallas, I decided to do some research… because that’s what I do. I typically don’t just argue for the sake of arguing. I like to, as much as possible, back up my statements, my beliefs and my opinions. If I’m wrong after doing my research, I will certainly admit it too.

Let’s take a look at similar contracts around the NHL, contracts that Chiarot’s agent likely used to compare his client to, if he was doing his job (which I’m sure he was). I have added a couple of notes below the table to help you put some of those numbers into context.

NAME	AGE	SIGNED AS	CAP HIT	LENGHT	CAP HIT %	YEAR SIGNED	2018-19 GP	2018-19 PTS
Marc Staal	28	UFA	5.7	6	8.26	2015	79	13
Niklas Hjalmarsson	27	UFA	4.1	5	6.38	2013	82	10
Karl Alzner	28	UFA	4.63	5	6.17	2017	9	1
Calvin De Haan	27	UFA	4.55	4	5.72	2018	74	14
Brendan Smith	28	UFA	4.35	4	5.8	2017	63	13
Dmitry Kulikov	26	UFA	4.33	3	5.78	2017	57	6
Ian Cole	29	UFA	4.25	3	5.35	2018	71	15
Kris Russell	30	UFA	4	4	5.33	2017	72	16
Erik Gudbranson	26	UFA	4	3	5.33	2018	76	10
Jason Demers	28	UFA	4.5	5	6.16	2016	35	8
Justin Braun	27	UFA	3.8	5	5.51	2014	78	16
Michael Stone	27	UFA	3.5	3	4.67	2017	14	5
Ben Chiarot	28	UFA	3.5	3	4.29	2019	78	20
Patrik Nemeth	27	UFA	3.0	2	3.68	2019	74	10
Carl Gunnarsson	29	UFA	2.9	3	3.97	2016	25	7
John Moore	27	UFA	2.75	5	3.46	2018	61	13
Thomas Hickey	29	UFA	2.5	4	3.14	2018	40	4
Jordie Benn	31	UFA	2.0	2	2.45	2019	81	22

* Stats from CapFriendly.com

NOTES:

1. Whether we agree with it or not, UFA’s players’ agents definitely use comparables when negotiating a client’s contract, which is why I’ve included last year’s stats and contract info.
2. There is a premium to pay to get most UFA’s to sign in Canada, Montreal included. Keep that in mind as well, again whether we agree with it or not.

Some will argue that the team would have been better off re-signing 31 year old Jordie Benn. That’s a very defendable point but the team decided to go with a younger, more physical Chiarot who is at the very least, a slight improvement over Benn. Three years is a very good term as well, all things considered.

So what’s the issue here? The most logical answer is that some people’s expectations are unrealistic. You pay a player $3.5M and they’re expecting near perfection. You know what? He is what he is: a fairly solid veteran who will play physical, be okay (no more) at moving the puck, will block shots and will, more often than not, be reliable in his own zone. But he will make mistakes, more so than a defenseman who’s amongst the tops in the league.

While he’s a very good player, Petry is known across the NHL for his brain cramps. He reminds me a lot of Alex Edler in Vancouver. Those players will be playing a great game but will make a couple of very bad decisions which ultimately, will result in a scoring chance or a goal. But Chiarot is making $2 million less than Petry, and that gap will be much bigger when he signs his new contract this upcoming summer, and we all know that.

All in all, the issue is not so much with Chiarot and his play, but rather with the somewhat unrealistic expectations some people have on him… at least in my opinion. The opinions will also vary depending on when the comments are made. This discussion took place during a game where the Canadiens were getting outplayed and outscored, bringing a ton of negativity in the fan base. Regardless, Chiarot is a $3.5M player and he’s worth every penny when comparing league-wide. Now let’s go back at enjoying the games and cheer on our favourite team, shall we? Go Habs Go!