Some people may have looked upon Paul Holmgren giving a contract extension to Sean Couturier
Saturday as mere offseason office work.
In fact, with one sign-off of the move by Couturier, Holmgren pulled off one of his better moves in
some time.
Couturier, only 20, might have been a little shaken by the sub-par season he had in 2013. He
came back a little toward the end, but his promising rookie season was rendered forgotten by
a labor lockout that bred a textbook sophomore slump over several months.
Entering the final year of his entry level contract that pays him $1.375 million if all performance bonuses are reached, Couturier Saturday signed a two-year extension for a total of $3.5 million that won't kick in against the cap until next year.
He did this instead of playing the season out ahead of being a restricted free agent.
So Holmgren has done the right thing, getting real value out of re-signing a player who played well below expectations last season, and one that still garners real value on the trade market.
For barely any raise, Couturier successfully locked himself in for two more years at a salary which could soon look undervalued.
In so doing, he also has made his trade value soar. Any interested GM would be twice as attracted when a young player like this is tied up for this season and two others at a very reasonable salary.
In retrospect, and given time to gain business wisdom, Couturier might realize he could have waited. A player's salary doesn't go down at a young age. But coming off one so-so half of a sophomore season, Couturier did himself no favors by signing early.