Hill ended up getting a good chance with Arizona in the shortened 2021 season though, playing 19 of the team’s 56 games and posting a solid .913 save percentage. However, that marked the end of his tenure with the organization, as the goaltender was dealt to the San Jose Sharks in the summer of 2021, with a second-round pick part of the deal going back the other way.

The Sharks were hoping Hill would come in and solve their goaltending issues, which had been a major story for the team since Martin Jones’ steep decline. While Hill got a great opportunity though, he couldn’t take advantage and got into only 25 games with San Jose, posting a .906 save percentage. Behind both James Reimer and Kaapo Kahkonen (who had been acquired at the trade deadline), the Sharks decided Hill was the odd-man out. As a result, Hill was shipped to the Vegas Golden Knights last offseason, with only a fourth-round pick going back the other way.

With Vegas, Hill wasn’t expected to get much of a role. However, massive injury issues in goal changed things, and Hill got into 27 games where he managed a .915 save percentage. Still, he was just anticipated to be a backup to Laurent Brossoit in the playoffs, with Brossoit starting the team’s first eight playoff games. But once again, injuries hit the Golden Knights in net and with Brossoit out, Hill took over in goal.

It was the first NHL playoff action for Hill and he was excellent, posting a .932 save percentage across 16 games. With Golden Knights going on to win the Stanley Cup, Hill was a big part of the run.

Even with Hill’s new two-year extension though, he still finds himself in an interesting situation with the Golden Knights. Logan Thompson will be back, and Robin Lehner could return as well. If so, Hill could once again find himself in a goaltending logjam.

What We Know

• Elliotte Friedman broke the news of the signing several days before it was announced by the team.

Comparables

Below, we’ll take a look at contracts for goaltenders with around the same NHL experience and stats, to analyze Hill’s deal.

Note: The comparables used are goalies who signed their contract at a similar age. All ages listed are related to how old the player was by Dec. 31 in the first year of their contract.

4 YEARS

Four years was probably the maximum term that Hill would’ve received. He started a low percentage of his team’s games in his signing year, but there were some comparables for it.

Despite coming off a Cup win, Hill did have lower stats than every goalie listed above, both in his signing year and in his contract year. That said, he wasn’t significantly lower than the numbers other goalies posted, and was actually quite comparable to Ullmark. So especially after a Cup win, there was a good chance a four-year deal would’ve landed him in the $4.6M to $5.1M range.

However, from Hill’s perspective, he has to think that another couple good years could set him up for a much a larger contract later, rather than taking his big deal now. So while a team probably could’ve been willing to pay this, betting on himself a bit makes some sense.

3 YEARS

Three years would’ve been another possibility for Hill’s deal.

Looking at the comps for a three-year deal, it’s hard to tell where Hill fits in. Obviously, only regular season stats are listed as well, and Hill’s value came from his playoff performance. Based on both singing year and career save percentage, Hill would’ve been above Georgiev and Vanecek. After that though, it does get more complicated, given Hill had better career numbers than Markstrom, but worse than both Jarry and Grubauer.

Perhaps the best comparable would be Ville Husso. The netminder had a very limited sample size of high-end play to go off, and secured a $4.75M deal for three years. If Hill had taken a three-year deal, I think somewhere around that range was probably realistic.

2 YEARS

Two years was likely the shortest deal Hill would take, given he would’ve had a lot of interest if the hit free agency. Even if he wanted to take a short deal to continue building his value before trying to sign a longer and more expensive deal later, there was no reason to take a single year. Hill is only 27 years old, so even after a two-year deal, he’d be re-entering free agency in his prime, at 29 years old.

Of the contracts above, the best comp would be Jordan Binnington.

Binnington emerged as the St. Louis Blues’ starter near the end of the 2018-19 season, leading them through the playoffs to a Stanley Cup. To compare the netminders’ playoff stats: Hill had a .932 save percentage in 16 games, while Binnington had a .914 save percentage across 26 games.

Hill also had significantly more experience at the time of signing and had already solifdiied himself as an NHL goalie. As a result, it’s not overly surprising to see Hill come in a little above Binnington on a two-year deal.

Final Analysis

This is a deal that makes sense for both sides and there are comps to justify both the the price and the term.

Hill gets a bit of security, with an opportunity to re-enter free agency once again in his 20s in 2025. If he can build his value from here, Hill will be set for a long-term deal later, potentially at quite a bit more money.

For Vegas, they limit their risk by only committing for two years to a goalie who has a pretty limited sample size as a high-performing starter, while still retaining Hill short-term.