Sabres Sign Christian Ehrhoff to 10-Year, $40 Million Contract

The Buffalo Sabres prevented one of the top free agent defensemen from hitting the market on Friday by signing Christian Ehrhoff to a 10-year contract worth $40 million. The deal will pay him $9 million in 2011-12 and 2012-13, $4 million in 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17, $3 million in 2017-18, and $1 million in 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21. The deal includes a no-movement clause and a modified no-trade clause. He would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The Sabres acquired Ehrhoff's negotiating rights from the New York Islanders on June 29. His rights were acquired by the Islanders just one day prior from the Vancouver Canucks. In 79 games last season with the Canucks, he had 14 goals and 36 assists for 50 points. This is an excellent signing for the Sabres, as Ehrhoff will bring lots of offensive skill to the team's blueline. He is also excellent on the power play and can log lots of minutes. Even though he will likely be a solid addition for Buffalo, a 10-year contract is a bit excessive for just about any player. When the current CBA expires, the NHL needs to look into limiting teams to no more than five years on a contract for any player to prevent any type of salary cap circumvention.