• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • Atlantic Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Metropolitan Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Pacific Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle NHL
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • THW Archives
  • More…
    • Columns
    • NWHL
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • Long Read
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • Atlantic Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Metropolitan Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Pacific Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle NHL
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • THW Archives
  • More…
    • Columns
    • NWHL
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • Long Read
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Ottawa Senators

Projecting Senators’ Colin White’s Next Contract

By Daniel Gagnon July 24th, 2019

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Colin White impressed in his rookie season with the Ottawa Senators. He has always been a promising center prospect, but after his 2017-18 season, there were some doubts about whether or not White would ever reach the ceiling that was given to him after being drafted 21st overall in 2015. Regardless, he has always been a great 200-foot center who is hard on the forecheck and stops at nothing to win one-on-one battles.

Ever since he was drafted, White has been compared to Boston Bruins star center Patrice Bergeron. That’s a high expectation for a young player. While I don’t believe White will ever achieve what Bergeron has, I do believe he could become a very similar player in regards to his defensive play as well as his forecheck. White is the lone restricted free agent (RFA) left to sign for the Senators.

White’s next contract is important not only for the present but for the future of this team. I will be taking a look at both the advantages and disadvantages of short or long-term deals for the centerman.

A Short-Term Contract

This is the type of contract White and his camp should be looking at. At only 22 years old, White has already established himself as a main piece in Ottawa’s top-six, including time on both the powerplay and the penalty kill. It’s safe to assume White’s numbers are only going to improve if he stays within the top-six, so why not bet on himself? If he continues this trajectory, he could be looking at a big raise when he comes off a short-term deal. It’s also no surprise that the Senators have been pushing White as being one of the main pieces of this rebuild. He should be with the team long term.

Colin White #36, Ottawa Senators
Colin White #36, Ottawa Senators – November 27, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

So why not sign a long term deal if you’re White? Well, for starters, he has already established great chemistry with Brady Tkachuk, who we all know, should be assuming first-line duties next year. He is also likely to expand on his 16:12 average ice time, including additional time on the power play with the departures of Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, and Ryan Dzingel. Given these circumstances, It would be in White’s best interest to sign a two or three-year deal on his next contract as he should see an expanded role in the next few seasons.

Here is a look at a few short-term comparables for White’s next deal:

  • Kasperi Kapanen: three years, $3.2 million
  • Alex Kerfoot: four years, $3.5 million
  • JT Compher: four years, $3.5 million
  • Jakub Vrana: two years, $3.35 million
  • Andreas Athanasiou: two years, $3 million

Granted, all these players are older than White, but in their respective contract years, they all had similar statistics. All of them had between 0.46 and 0.57 points per game (PPG). White displayed a 0.57 PPG last year which puts him on par with this list of players.

Given this information, a two-year contract with an AAV of $3.15 million seems like a reasonable bet on a short-term deal for White.

A Long-Term Contract

Here’s where things get a little more interesting. While I highly doubt White signs a long-term contract, I do believe it would be to the Senators’ advantage to do so. As stated above, White is bound to improve over his rookie numbers. He could very well become a 60-plus point center in his prime. If general manager Pierre Dorion is able to lock up White to a long-term contract worth less than $5 million, he should definitely do so.

Colin White
Colin White with Boston College (Photo: Boston College Athletics)

Obviously, at this point, we’ve figured out that a short-term contract favours White and a long-term one benefits the Senators. If Ottawa somehow manages to sign White to a six-to-eight-year deal, they will almost assuredly be saving money in the long run, which, as Senators fans know, has become a big part of the business.

Here are a few comparable contracts in recent memory for a potential long-term Colin White contract.

  • Alex Tuch: seven years, $4.75 million
  • Christian Dvorak: six years, $4.45 million
  • Viktor Arvidsson: seven years, $4.25 million
  • Alex Wennberg: six years, $4.9 million

While White might not be as established as some of these players, a long-term contract is based on potential and value. You could argue White has a higher ceiling than some of these players, but again, it’s not guaranteed a long-term contract works. As was the case with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Alexander Wennberg who signed a six-year deal worth $29.4 million back in 2017. Wennberg has quickly fallen out of favour in Columbus as he only netted two goals to go along with 23 assists last year. But back when he signed his contract, it was deemed as a steal because Wennberg had just put up 59 points through 80 games.

Vegas Golden Knight Alex Tuch would be the best comparable at this point for White. He signed a seven-year deal worth $33.25 million in Oct. 2018. Tuch and White were also the same age when they needed their new deals (22 years old). Both Tuch and White played for Boston College and were even teammates during the 2015-16 season before Tuch turned pro. In his rookie season, he put up 37 points in 78 games (0.47 points per game) and added 10 points through 20 playoff games. While White has better rookie numbers than Tuch, he was given a larger role in the lineup. Tuch just enjoyed a 52-point sophomore season and his contract is already looking like a steal.

Alex Tuch #89 of the Vegas Golden Knights
LAS VEGAS, NV – FEBRUARY 15: Alex Tuch #89 of the Vegas Golden Knights (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)

If the Senators were to lock up White long-term, a contract in the vicinity of six years with an AAV of $4.95 million seems reasonable.

Prediction

Judging by the fact that Dorion has never handed out a contract with more than four years term, we should assume White signs a short-term deal. We should expect a breakout season from the young player in the coming season. My prediction is White signs a two-year deal carrying an AAV of $3.15 million.

  • Tags
  • 2019 NHL Free Agency
  • Colin White
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Facebook Comments

Editor’s Picks
4 NHL Backup Goalies Who Should Be Starters

4 NHL Backup Goalies Who Should Be Starters

10085
7 Biggest NHL Players in Today's Game

7 Biggest NHL Players in Today's Game

64639
Recent Posts
Dec 13th 3:50 PM
Other Leagues

Swiss National League – Goaltending Shuffle

Dec 13th 3:10 PM
Boston Bruins

Bruins: Tim Thomas Breaks Silence About Post-Hockey Life

Dec 13th 1:20 PM
Archives

Why the Vezina Trophy Deserves Its Name

Dec 13th 12:20 PM
Buffalo Sabres

NHL Rumors: Sabres, Canucks, Coaches, More

Dec 13th 11:50 AM
Long Read

2020 WJC Team Switzerland Preview

Dec 13th 11:35 AM
Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning: Schenn Is Not an Answer on the Blue Line

Dec 13th 11:20 AM
Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins’ 2010s All-Decade Team: Defense

Dec 13th 11:05 AM
Vancouver Canucks

Canucks’ 2019 Draft Class Update

Dec 13th 10:50 AM
Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs’ Holl Finding His Niche

Dec 13th 10:15 AM
AA

Oilers History: The Paul Coffey Effect

Stay in Touch
Contact Us

Via our Newsletters
RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Our Partners
HFBoards

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

Join over 18 000 Subscribers of our free bi-weekly Newsletter.

© The Hockey Writers 2018. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • Atlantic Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Metropolitan Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Dallas Stars
    • Minnesota Wild
    • Nashville Predators
    • St Louis Blues
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • Pacific Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle NHL
    • Vegas Golden Knights
    • Vancouver Canucks
  • Store
  • The THW Archives
  • Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • The Goalie Page
  • NHL Salary Cap Information
  • Join Our Team
  • Search THW