Betting on The Upside

Having just seen the numbers come in for the R.J. Umberger deal all I can say is "Holy Shit". This guy is 26 years old and has scored 49 goals. Now if there was ever a gamble on "upside", this is it(next to the Finger deal, of course). I've always been a fan of looking at things outside of the stats totals. If you watched Umberger pre- and post-concussion you will see that he brings it every shift. He's physical, likes to hit and get hit and doesn't mind smashing his teeth on the odd crossbar. These are some things that translate into thicker contracts. Not necessarily into $3.75 mil/yr, though. Supply-Demand=Million(squared) is a formula I came up with for budding General Managers. Let's see if it makes a difference if anyone tries using it. Oh, I see they are using it for Owen Nolan in the washed out/injury prone category!!!