Coming off a strong season with the Avalanche, Rodrigues could finally secure a multi-year deal.

• Player Overview
• What We Know
• Comparables
• Projection

Player Overview

An undrafted free agent, Rodrigues made the jump to the NHL with Buffalo Sabres. It took a while to secure a full-time job, but then over two years between 2017-18 and 2018-19, he produced at an 82-game pace of 36 points per 82. However, he struggled the following year and ended up with a reduced role, before being dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Then in a 2020 offseason which saw him traded from Pittsburgh to the Toronto Maple Leafs, only to sign back with Pittsburgh later on, the winger seemed to really be a fit with the Penguins. He only got into 35 games in the shortended 2021 season, but broke out in 2021-22, scoring 19 goals and 43 points in a full 82 games with the Penguins.

However, that marked the end of Rodrigues’ tenure in Pittsburgh, as the forward ended up taking a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche last offseason. The forward fit in great on his new team, getting more ice time than ever, on route to the most productive season of his career.

As a result, he’s set up well to earn a multi-year deal in free agency.

What We Know

• Rodrigues was reportedly offered a three-year deal at a $3.5M cap hit last summer, but turned it down – and then changed agents afterwards.

Comparables

Below, we take a look at what Rodriges’ deal could look like at different lengths. For more information on the stats/tables used below, including how the payment rate in projections is determined, visit the About the Site page.

With Rodrigues turning 30 years old in July, our comparables will focus recent contracts for wingers with similar production, who were between 28 and 32 years old in the first year of their deal.

3 YEARS

Three years is likely the longest deal we’d see for Rodrigues, based on his age and production.

Comparables would have Rodrigues between $2.9M on the low end and $4.2M on the high end for a three-year deal. It’s more difficult to predict the most likely spot within that range, because there don’t seem to be any trends amongst the players in terms of goals, games played, etc. But considering Rodrigues has taken four-straight one-year deals, we can assume that for whatever reason, his value around the league still isn’t overly high.

As a result, while he may not be below $3M like Hoffman’s deal would project, Craig Smith had very similar production at his time of signing, so the $3.36M projection from Smith’s deal seems realistic.

2 YEARS

If Rodrigues can’t find a three-year deal, two years would be the next most likely term.

Aside from the Tatar contract, we also see a very defined range of $2.2M to $2.9M from the projections. It’s tough to tell exactly where the deal would come in within the range, but somewhere in between, around $2.5M, is possible.

1 YEAR

Rodrigues’ production should have him set for more than a one-year deal. That said, he had very similar numbers last year and was still stuck with a one-year deal. As a result, it’s always possible we do see a fifth-straight one-year contract for the forward.

There aren’t a ton of players around Rodrigues’ age and production for the length, but the best predictor of what it would look like would simply be his current contract:

If Rodrigues did end up on another one-year deal, we could see a slight raise for him. He should be due for more term, but it’s always possible he doesn’t get a longer deal once again.

Projection

Rodrigues is likely to find a three-year deal, but a two-year contract is also possible, with a one-year deal at a slight raise likely being the worst-case scenario.