They went right up to the border of tier 3 compensation which would be a first, second and third.

Some are saying they should have gone past it, which would cost them another first rounder but incentivize not matching by 1) offering another first and 2) making the deal slightly more expensive.

The second thing seems stupid, I mean another $100K isn't going to do it and of course it would cost them a pretty valuable pick. If they were to push the boundary of tier 2 comp, that'd be over $10M and a heavy cap hit, basically just punishing themselves.

I think the 'Canes have got to match here. The deal is frontloaded like crazy, $21M paid out in the first calendar year (!) but the total payout is very reasonable for a 21-year old who works his ass off, scores a point per game, plays D and is improving.