Eyebrows were raised when the Edmonton Oilers signed Zach Hyman to a seven-year, $38-million contract in the summer of 2021.

It wasn’t so much because of Hyman’s individual talent. Hyman had exemplified himself as a scrappy, reliable, and effective two-way forward with the Toronto Maple Leafs for years. That alone gave the Oilers real upside across their top two lines, and most importantly broadened the depth of talent at the forward position of an often top-heavy lineup — one that historically had relied perhaps a bit too much on the powers of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

But those eyebrows did jump at a long-term deal for a then 29-year-old winger who, even in his best stretches with the Maple Leafs, was neither an elite goal scorer nor a high-end playmaker.

Typically, these contracts don’t age well — if not for the inherent injury risk and age-driven performance declines you start to see in this age range, then because we had already possibly surpassed the best of what Hyman would bring to the table at the NHL level.

Fast forward to this........

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