Kevin Labanc: “I know I’m a top-six forward.”

RFA Kevin Labanc has re-signed with the San Jose Sharks for four years, $18.9 million dollars. That’s a 4.725 million dollar cap it.

Kevin Labanc Re-signs for 4 Years, $18.9 Million

Both Labanc and San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson held media availability this afternoon. Here are some highlights from their pressers.

Kevin Labanc

Labanc, on his 2019-20 campaign:

It wasn’t my best year. But I know I’m a top-six forward in this league. I know I can produce. I know I can be reliable defensively. I know it didn’t show last season.

But this off-season, I’ve been putting in the time and the effort. I feel more than ready to be putting in the minutes [next year], scoring goals, being good on my own end.

We’ve got a great team. I’ve been skating the past couple weeks with Cooch and Tommy. Just starting that chemistry. And more guys are going to start coming. I’m excited for next year. I’m excited to see what this team can do.

Labanc, on if this contract is more of a reflection of his breakout 56-point 2018-19 season and not this year:

I gambled on myself. It wasn’t the best year as a team and as a whole.

It was tough coming to the rink everyday. But this upcoming year, it’ll be a different year. Everybody’s going to be on the same page. Everyone’s going to be hungry.

It has nothing to do with 2018-19. I know I’m a top-six forward. I know I can produce and be a good player. Help this team out and help this team reach new heights this upcoming year.

Labanc, on how his contract is connected with an increased leadership role on the team:

It comes with some pressure. But I look at pressure as a privilege. You work your whole life to get this point in your career. The best way to handle pressure is by attacking it. That’s what I plan on doing this season. And that’s what the team, as a whole, is going to attack this season. I’m excited for it.

Labanc, on his first big purchase with his first big contract:

I don’t know. (laughs) I’ll probably get a house. Pretty vanilla. Somewhere in San Jose. Having a house out here, you can’t complain. Great weather all year round. That’s probably what the purchase will be.

WATCH: @Str8ToTheBanc speaks to the media following signing a four-year contract with the #SJSharks.https://t.co/vV7DI0Qdh7

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) October 10, 2020

Doug Wilson

Wilson, on what gives him confidence that Labanc will rebound after a tough season:

It’s experiential learning. You learn sometimes more during tough times.

But it’s extremely rare in this league to have a 23-year-old kid score 56 points like he did. So we know the skill-set that he has. We all got to see his playoff performance.

What’s important here is he has ingredients and a skill-set that are so important in today’s game. Not just 5-on-5, but also on the power play.

We had a bunch of players, high-end players in this league, who tried to do too that much. You have to stick to the plan and the program. You learn from [this].

He’s only 24. We made sure to structure this contract so he grows into it.

But there’s no doubt in our mind that he’s a 60-point guy going forward. 60-point plus guy going forward for the next four years.

That’s what makes this deal, to me, very fair.

Wilson, on how Labanc improves his two-way play and how he fits into Bob Boughner’s plans:

You just look around the league — having sat with our coaches — and they’re pretty excited to do some things on the power play, do some things at 5-on-5, that falls right into his wheelhouse.

The fact that he came back early — he’s been training his butt off — shows where he’s at. He wants to be a great player. He’s already shown in this league, full year, 56 points, great playoff moment. Now, when he stumbled a little bit — as a team — you press a little bit, how do you respond? He’s responded the right way.

We’re excited to have he, Timo Meier, Tommy Hertl really step to the next level and help carry this team with the other veteran players.

He’s a good kid. We know him better than anybody. He led the OHL in scoring. He’s a kid who responds when he falls and skins his knees a little bit.

This deal is about going forward. Yes, we’ve seen what he can do. This deal is about the ingredients he has going forward. We’re excited for him.

I talked to Bob and our coaches. They know that he has exactly the ingredients that we’re looking for. Again, last year, we had too many players trying to do too much. What happens when you’re trying to do too much, it comes from a good place, but you get away from the details.

He’s shown [the details though]. He’ll hunt down pucks. His skill-set, seeing the ice, making plays, is incredible. Not just the power play performance in the Vegas game, but you watch the plays that he can see. You tie that into opening up our style of play with the activation of Karlsson and Burns. You’re going to see us play a more attacking style that fits right into his wheelhouse.

If I’m going to try to acquire players like Banker, those are the ingredients I’m looking for.

Wilson, on journey from Labanc’s record-setting low contract last summer to four-year deal today:

His agent Michael Curran and Joe Will spent a lot of time talking about where we’re going as a team. Where Kevin is going.

When you’ve got a 56-point season on your resume as a 23-year-old, that travels with you. There’s players who just signed recently that scored one goal last year, signed long-term contracts.

It’s about where you’re going to. This is forecasting Kevin Labanc to be a 60-point scorer for the next four years. That’s where the market is, that’s what the value is.

We know that he’s not only done it, but we think that he’s going to fit so well with how we want to play, how we want to attack on the power play.

Having long talks with Boogie, he’s a big believer in Banker, as we are.

Wilson, on if this contract is a “thanks” for Labanc doing the team a “big favor” with his below-contract last summer:

It’s not a thanks. We did the same thing with Chris Tierney. You want players to understand how the system works.

You remember [what Kevin signed last summer]? Of course you do.

We’ve done bridge deals over the years with a lot of our young players coming through the system.

But that comes down the point of, you’ve accomplished this. You had that 56-point season. You had that power play and playoff experience. Now, you have to negotiate a contract going forward.

It’s no different than looking for a player from another team. You’re looking for these exact ingredients. You know what the marketplace is. It is what it is. Finding those players is really difficult. Finding right-hand shot guys with those skill-sets is one of the most sought-after things in this game right now.

The fact that we know the player, we know what his work ethic is, and how much he cares…we’ve very comfortable projecting him to be that 60-point guy, potentially giving us the ability to have what we think could be the best power play in hockey. We have the ingredients. We now have to approach it with a structure that both Rocky and Boogie are working on.