Brad Stuart – What’s he worth?
June 13, 2012 Leave a Comment
Brad Stuart was traded from Detroit Red Wings to the San Jose Sharks this past weekend. Given the Sharks need for help on the penalty kill and a reliable, mobile defensemen it seems like he would be a good fit for a second tour with the Sharks. Since Brad Stuart makes his offseason home near San Jose and his family remains in the area during the season, it is nice to see that this could be a good match for both parties (I have seen his kids skating at Sharks Ice with their Stuart Red Wings jerseys on several occasions).
The Sharks have until July 1st to negotiate exclusively with Stuart. So the big question is how much is the 32 year old worth?
Looking at his performance the last five years shows the consitency of his game year in and year out. While he puts up a reasonable number of points he isn’t known for his offensive ability, but he does log over 20 minutes per game.
As you can see from the table below, Brad Stuart consistently rates at about a $3M value each year (when you adjust for injuries) but has been paid at $3.75 per year in this last contract with the Red Wings.
| Brad Stuart | |||||||
| GP | G | A | Pts | TOI | Cap Hit | True Value | |
| 2008 | 72 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 21.2 | $ 3.50 | $ 2.31 |
| 2009 | 67 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 20.2 | $ 3.75 | $ 2.11 |
| 2010 | 82 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 23.2 | $ 3.75 | $ 3.00 |
| 2011 | 67 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 21.5 | $ 3.75 | $ 2.53 |
| 2012 | 81 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 21.1 | $ 3.75 | $ 3.00 |
In our analysis UFAs clearly receive contracts above their true value due to supply and demand issues and restrictions on entry level contracts. Given Brad Stuart’s pending UFA status, his consistency year in and year out and tremendous experience of being in the Red Wings organization it would not be surprising if he once again signs for somewhere between $3.5M and $4M, with the amount varying on the term of the contract. The Sharks probably want to sign Stuart for 2 years, and he would probably be asking for 3 or 4 years. We shall see where the two sides net out.
Next up: Zach Parise