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Coyotes give Christian Dvorak big extension

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Is Christian Dvorak the sort of player you want to sign for what’s essentially his prime years? The Arizona Coyotes are gambling on the answer being a big “yes.”

After today, the Coyotes with the longest contracts are two guys who received big extensions: Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($8.25M cap hit begins in 2019-20, runs through 2026-27) and Dvorak.

Arizona announced that Dvorak, 22, agreed to a six-year contract extension today, so he’ll be covered through 2024-25. The Coyotes didn’t disclose the financial details of the contract (because reasons), but AZ Sports’ Craig Morgan reports that the cap hit is $4.45M per season.

“We are very pleased to sign Christian to a long-term contract,” Chayka said. “Christian is a highly skilled, reliable, two-way center who continues to improve each season. He will be a key player for us in the future and we are thrilled to have him with us for the next seven seasons.”

Honestly, Dvorak seems pretty middle-of-the-road?

Dvorak generated 15 goals and 37 points in 78 games in 2017-18, his second season in the NHL. He didn’t enjoy much of a jump from his rookie campaign (15 goals, 33 points), yet he rode some pretty high percentages in his first year (17 shooting percentage), while finishing with the same number of goals once he came down to Earth (9.9 shooting percentage in 2017-18).

So, the good news is that Dvorak seems reasonably dependable as a 15-goal, 35+ point guy. His possession stats, and numbers by many other metrics, kind of depict him as ... “a guy.”

It seems puzzling to give such a lengthy contract to a player who seems just fine, but far from spectacular, especially since it sure doesn’t seem like the Coyotes are enjoying incredible savings. At least based on who Dvorak is right now: a perfectly fine - yet seemingly quite replaceable - forward.

Clearly, the Coyotes believe that superior value will manifest itself as his contract goes along. If nothing else, Dvorak will have plenty of time to prove himself, as 2018-19 merely fulfills his rookie deal.

Arizona remains a team with few lengthy commitments to players, particularly once you throw out Marian Hossa’s dead money deal. The only forwards with considerable term are Derek Stepan and Michael Grabner, who both boast three-year deals.

Between Antti Raanta and the Coyotes’ most prominent defensemen, there are quite a few other three-year contracts. Still, Dvorak and OEL stand out as the guys who are signed for the long haul.

This isn’t really the type of contract that will derail a team, as Dvorak is young and the price isn’t enormous. It still seems like a questionable value, though, and plenty of people are scratching their heads on Twitter.

Again, none of this to say that Dvorak is a bad player. It’s just odd to see a rather nondescript center receive the sort of deal you tend to hoard for the guys who make up your nucleus.

Maybe Coyotes GM John Chayka will look back at our furrowed brows and have a laugh?

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.