When the Washington Capitals locked up Tom Wilson to a six-year contract worth $5.17 million per season it certainly raised some eyebrows around the NHL. After all, it’s not often a player that averages more than 160 penalty minutes per season receives a payday like that one, but Wilson proved his value during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs with both his physicality and ability to chip in on the scoreboard.
Micheal Ferland doesn’t have the same type of reputation as a pugilist that Wilson does, but the Carolina Hurricanes forward plays a similar brand of physical hockey and could be seeking a similar contract to Wilson’s, according to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos.
“The feeling is now that Ferland would be looking for Tom Wilson-type money,” Kypreos reported Saturday during the Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada.
Ferland was acquired from the Calgary Flames along with Dougie Hamilton and Adam Fox in an off-season blockbuster trade for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm. Ferland has adjusted well to his new city as he’s in the midst of a career year with 13 goals and 10 assists in 37 games.
The 26-year-old also happens to be a pending unrestricted free agent with an extremely manageable salary cap hit of $1.75 million. The Hurricanes are five points back of the final wild-card spot in the East and if the Hurricanes fall further out of the playoff race they can expect to receive some calls on the 6-foot-1, 217-pound winger.
“All Wilson’s done between last season and this season is create maybe a mini arms race in terms of teams now sitting there going, ‘the Cup has to come through the East with the Washington Capitals,’ so Ferland, of course, plays a real physical type of role and many teams believe that he could fit the bill in terms of pushing Washington through an Eastern Conference playoff,” Kypreos added.
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