FRANS NIELSEN - Center - 35 - $5.25MM Cap Hit - UFA in 2022-2023
LAST UPDATED 8/5/19
Desperate to keep Detroit's quarter-century long playoff streak active, former GM Ken Holland signed UFA Center Frans Nielsen to a $5.25MM AAV contract that took him deep into his thirties. While Nielsen can certainly still play, that contract was a major mistake. Signing someone in his early thirties to a long-term deal is typically only a permissible idea for a contender who believes that the first year or two of that contract will bring in enough surplus value to not only win the team a championship but also be worth the four or five other years of the contract where it's an absolute albatross. Nielsen was a decent second or third line center going to an aging, mediocre team that had no business competing for a Stanley Cup. The timelines didn't fit, and now as Detroit is getting towards the end of the "tank" phase of its rebuild, it surely wishes it could use the extra payroll space Nielsen is taking up to make shrewd deals to jump-start the end of its rebuild, as the New York Rangers did with Jacob Trouba and Artemi Panarin. Still, though, this scouting report is not a judgement of the merits of giving Nielsen the contract he got, but instead a judgement of his value as a player. As he's gotten older, the game has gotten faster, causing Nielsen to fall behind a bit. His foot speed has regressed, as has his puck skills and abilities as an offensive center. At 5v5 play he's no longer the decent play driver for a third or second line he once was. That being said, he's still a good enough playmaker to make the most out of 5v4 opportunities where his lack of speed is less of an issue, as the steady calmness of a power play allows him to make the most out of his hockey IQ and mask his lack of foot speed. So, given his power play value, Nielsen could still score 40 points with a full season of power play usage. Defensively, Nielsen is still a strong player, capable of intelligently reading the defensive zone and shutting down opposing forwards. He's not at a Selke level of defensive value, but he's a strong defender and can be trusted to kill penalties. Overall, Nielsen's age may cause him to lose the power play value that is holding up his offense, and if that happens he'll regress to the point where he's more of a defense-only 4C, but at this moment his offense from the power play allows him to be a decent middle-6 two-way center.
Desperate to keep Detroit's quarter-century long playoff streak active, former GM Ken Holland signed UFA Center Frans Nielsen to a $5.25MM AAV contract that took him deep into his thirties. While Nielsen can certainly still play, that contract was a major mistake. Signing someone in his early thirties to a long-term deal is typically only a permissible idea for a contender who believes that the first year or two of that contract will bring in enough surplus value to not only win the team a championship but also be worth the four or five other years of the contract where it's an absolute albatross. Nielsen was a decent second or third line center going to an aging, mediocre team that had no business competing for a Stanley Cup. The timelines didn't fit, and now as Detroit is getting towards the end of the "tank" phase of its rebuild, it surely wishes it could use the extra payroll space Nielsen is taking up to make shrewd deals to jump-start the end of its rebuild, as the New York Rangers did with Jacob Trouba and Artemi Panarin. Still, though, this scouting report is not a judgement of the merits of giving Nielsen the contract he got, but instead a judgement of his value as a player. As he's gotten older, the game has gotten faster, causing Nielsen to fall behind a bit. His foot speed has regressed, as has his puck skills and abilities as an offensive center. At 5v5 play he's no longer the decent play driver for a third or second line he once was. That being said, he's still a good enough playmaker to make the most out of 5v4 opportunities where his lack of speed is less of an issue, as the steady calmness of a power play allows him to make the most out of his hockey IQ and mask his lack of foot speed. So, given his power play value, Nielsen could still score 40 points with a full season of power play usage. Defensively, Nielsen is still a strong player, capable of intelligently reading the defensive zone and shutting down opposing forwards. He's not at a Selke level of defensive value, but he's a strong defender and can be trusted to kill penalties. Overall, Nielsen's age may cause him to lose the power play value that is holding up his offense, and if that happens he'll regress to the point where he's more of a defense-only 4C, but at this moment his offense from the power play allows him to be a decent middle-6 two-way center.
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