Erik Cole was one of the more sought after forwards in this year's free agency class -- which kind of goes to show you how thin this class was -- and it's clear that there was a bit of a bidding war for his services.
Erik Cole Signs Four Year, $18 Million Contract With Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens won the bidding, and he'll earn $18 million over the next four years, an average annual value of $4.5 million. That's quite the raise from his last contract, in which he earned $3 million from the Carolina Hurricanes this past season.
Cole does have value and is a nice fit in Montreal, though. He can be a 30 goal scorer and he’s a big guy that really should complement the Habs well. We’ll see if it’s worth the dollar amount and the term. He’s going to have to take some strides to make that happen.
But overpayment really should be expected this year. For whatever reason -- perhaps it’s that smaller teams need to reach the cap floor or something else -- the free agent class of 2011 is getting paid and they’re getting paid handsomely. Cole is no different.
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