2023 Worst NHL Contracts
Ranking the top 30 worst NHL contracts with a few dishonorable mentions
My first annual best and worst NHL contract lists were published 11 years ago with Vincent Lecavalier taking the top spot in the badness ranks. Grading and ranking deals has been an obsession of mine for a long time. This is the 4th season that the list has been determined by polling my Twitter followers, who I’ll admit, are not always right. While there was at least one poll that I very seriously considered rebooting, every result in the tournament was sanction with the winners advancing. It was a bit of a challenge this summer as Elon Musk seems to be engaging in an active campaign to destroy Twitter, with participation and user engagement dropping considerably. There were some rough days, especially after free agency died down and #HockeyTwitter went outside to get some sun.
The 2023 winner was Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who also won the inaugural polling tournament in 2020. This might have been his 4th consecutive victory if it weren’t for my followers choosing Erik Karlsson instead in 2021 and 2022. Because I waited until November to post my official list last season (waiting for the release of my betting book), Karlsson was one month into a Norris trophy season when my list was published (despite the polling being done in July). Had my list been posted in September instead, the writing surely would have been far more critical of Karlsson, but because of the delay, it allowed me to issue a public apology in the same post that I decried his contract to be the league’s worst. I was able to blame voters considering that Vlasic had my vote in the championship. It wasn’t my fault…
The polling tournament began during the playoffs and followed a similar methodology to previous seasons. Once I was finished updating my contracts database with 2023 stats, re-grading and forward modelling based on the most recent information, then began the seeding process. I’ll admit that it was done very quickly without too much introspective deliberation. Pretty much any deal that raised a red flag was nominated, and not all of them were contracts that my heart believed were unquestionably bad. Around 80 contract were nominated, then seeded from worst to least worst.
I’m also not shy to admit that a few of my seeding decisions were flawed in retrospect, but it was completed in a few minutes. The objective was not perfect seeding for publication, it was only intended as a guide. The top 16 received a bye to round 3, the next tier received a bye to round 2, and the remainder “bubble contracts” slugged it out in the preliminary round. There was some fan backlash that certain deals were being included in bad contract polls, so I had to repeatedly clarify that I was not necessarily convinced that everyone in that round was even bad.
Some of those deals in the preliminary round were just high risk, and the player was not yet overpaid. The objective in casting such a wide net was to let the turds rise to the top of the toilet bowl. One such turd was Matt Barzal, who barely even qualified for the tournament. I was sitting on the fence, but my Twitter followers voted him champion of his preliminary poll, so he advanced to round two. Not a single Islander fan complained. But once he was in round 2, an irate Islander fan quote Tweeted the poll with a personal attack against me for including him in the poll, then the floodgates opened. Within a few minutes I changed my Twitter settings to only see notifications from my followers.
It got nasty, but I stayed above the fray. I’ll wait a few years to respond to those Tweets. Those New York fans better hope that contract ages well, or I’ll be back. The thing is, this isn’t my first rodeo. Fans have lashed out at me before for having the audacity to be worried about a contract, only to have my concern validated in the future, sometimes the near future. I have waited months, even years to reply to some of those Tweets, and the response is always silence. You might disagree with me now, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be wrong forever. Though the knife can cut both ways, I’ve been worried about deals that worked out great. Father Time might be undefeated, but I’m not.
The problem is, I’ve analyzed so many terrible deals, publishing an entire book on the subject (the contents of which is free on my blog), that I’m jaded with a form of bad contract PTSD. Every time I see a new contract drop, it's like a trigger that unlocks a floodgate of memories. It's like you can't unsee the ghosts of contracts past, haunting your brain with a never-ending slideshow of cap-space disasters. You see a player get a big payday and you're not just looking at the numbers, you're reliving the nightmares of Rostislav Olesz or David Clarkson, those contracts that were like a slow-motion car wreck on the salary cap highway.
It's like being in a perpetual state of contract déjà vu, where every new deal feels like a rehash of the same old mistakes. You want to scream from the mountaintops, "Have we not evolved? Have we not learned?!" It's time to break the cycle. Let's get some damn good contracts out there, ones that make sense and don't send pundits like me spiraling into fits of contract-induced madness. Let's break free from the chains of contract PTSD and actually learn from the past, for crying out loud! I’ve been mapping this rabbit hole for decades, and was obsessively copying and pasting all the contracts from the original Cap Geek back in the day. My database includes hundreds of deals that you can’t even find on Cap Friendly.
To view my Best NHL Contracts list, click here. To hop in a time machine and view my past worst contracts lists, click here:
1) Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose
2022 Rank: 2
Age: 36
Remaining Term: 3 years
Cap Hit: $7M
Signing GM: Doug Wilson, July 1st, 2017
A San Jose Sharks player has won my worst NHL contract Twitter poll tournament for all 4 years since its inception, but Vlasic’s teammate Erik Karlsson was disqualified from this year’s tournament for being too awesome. Vlasic on the other hand did get a boost in ice time during the 2022/23 campaign (up to 17.5 minutes), but only because of the Sharks atrocious lack of depth on the blueline. The team had a 42% expected goal share when Vlasic was on the ice 5v5 and the team finished near the bottom of the standings (they likely would have finished dead last without that magical Karlsson performance).
My expected free agent algorithm priced his 2023 stat line at $1.7M, making him $5.3M overpaid. That ranked him 2nd in the league to Jonathan Toews, while Seth Jones and Darnell Nurse were only approximately $2.5M overpaid. At this point the Sharks are in full rebuilding mode and have no incentive to buy out this contract. If the objective is securing higher draft picks, they’re probably happy giving him plenty of ice time against superior opponents. Now that Karlsson is off the books, their long-term cap prognosis is less severe, they have 4 picks in the first 2 rounds of next year’s draft and $36M of cap space for 2024/25.
2) Seth Jones, Chicago
2022 Rank: 9
Age: 29
Remaining Term: 7 years
Cap Hit: $9.5M
Signing GM: Stan Bowman, July 23 2021
I’m sure if you visit a few of the worst NHL contract posts by industry experts online, probably a few, if not most have either Jones or Nurse in the #1 slot and they might have a case (especially in the later years). What set Vlasic apart from Nurse and Jones is that he’s a substantially worse defenseman right now. If Seth Jones were making $7M, hardly anyone would have a problem with it, other than some risk in his mid 30s. What compounded the problem was Chicago going full tank-mode in the quest to land Connor Bedard, which was successful because the team was extraordinarily terrible.
Once Bedard arrives and Chicago starts to build around him, it’s entirely plausible that power play will be a fertile ground for Jones to put up big numbers and earn his salary. So while there is plenty of risk here, there’s also a world where he’s only slightly over-paid. That’s why I’m reluctant to call this the worst contract in the NHL, but it’s certainly one that raises some giant red flags. It will ultimately be Father Time who determines just how this is regarded when Jones is retired and we get to play judge and jury looking at how his career actually played out.
3) Darnell Nurse, Edmonton
2021 Rank: 6
Age: 28
Remaining Term: 7 years
Cap Hit: $9.25M
Signing GM: Ken Holland, Aug 6, 2021
Darnell Nurse might be overpaid, but as previously mentioned, he’s still a very effective defenseman that all 32 teams would want on their roster at a $7M price tag. If the San Jose Sharks offered Vlasic for Nurse straight up, Ken Holland would hang up the phone, despite a cheaper price tag and fewer years remaining. Vlasic is borderline unplayable, at least if you’re trying to win hockey games. Nurse is a key contributor, earning this extension after a career high 53-point pace in the pandemic shortened 2021 season. The problem was, Edmonton feasted on a defensively weak Canadian division, as Connor McDavid ravaged his Canadian counterparts.
Once the Oilers returned to a full-league schedule, Darnell returned to his former 40-point self, but still eating a significant number of minutes. Granted, logging too many minutes in the regular season empties the tank come playoff time, so the optimal course of action might be reducing his minutes to increase effectiveness when he’s on the ice. If they start playing him in more defensive situations, limiting his power play time and offensive zone starts, then he’s not going to earn his $9.25M. You’re only supposed to pay this type of money to a power play quarterback.
4) Tyler Seguin, Dallas
2022 Rank: 3
Age: 31
Remaining Term: 4 years
Cap Hit: $9.85M
Signing GM: Jim Nill, Sep 13, 2018
This contract is horseshit. I don’t know how else to say it. The fact that Dallas is spending nearly a quarter of their payroll on Benn and Seguin, is preventing them from adding the pieces to make them one of the top contenders in the league. The good news is, there’s 3 of them on my best NHL contract list, striking gold on a trio of young guns, all in the same draft. For the last two seasons, Seguin has been around a 50-point player, which is still effective, but only warrants a salary in the $5M range.
They are paying him nearly twice as much as he’s worth, which ranks him very high on the overpaid list, but behind Vlasic of course. Those young guns carried them to the Conference final, where I was cheering hard for them to lose, so that Seguin and Benn would not require removal from my Dallas worst contract list. This will actually be my first worst contract list in a few years without Jamie Benn, who finished 17th in polling. My guess is Dallas either buys him out or spends a high pick to get a rebuilder to eat the deal with salary retained in the next 2 years. He won’t be a Star in the fourth year.
5) Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary
2022 Rank: Not ranked
Age: 30
Remaining Term: 8 years
Cap Hit: $10.5M
Signing GM: Brad Treliving, Aug 4, 2022
Jonathan Huberdeau was an assassin for the 2021/22 Florida Panthers, driving them to the top goal producing team in the entire NHL. He didn’t even play with Barkov, driving a line entirely on his own remarkably efficiently. That’s why I expected Florida would be a worse team after the trade, which they were in the regular season before an improbable run to the Stanley Cup final. Had Brad Treliving waited until later in the season to sign an extension, it would have been much cheaper, and he might still have the job. Eight years that don’t start counting down until after a 30th birthday almost always turns out bad (Brent Burns might be the only exception, though the jury is still out on Roman Josi).
Huberdeau performed remarkably well in the polling, though I did not vote for him in the last 2 rounds. It’s a contract that raised some giant red flags when it was fed into my modelling, especially if this is the new Jonny. The concern that I raised during the tournament was that it’s entirely plausible last season’s massive production drop was an aberration, and he’ll bounce back strong this season. 2021/22 Huberdeau was comfortably worth $10M. In the event that he fights his way back to relevance, I can at least say “I told you so” having raised objections during the tournament.
6) Brendan Gallagher, Montreal
2022 Rank: 12
Age: 31
Remaining Term: 4 years
Cap Hit: $6.5M
Signing GM: Marc Bergevin, Oct 14, 2020
Marc Bergevin signed Gallagher to a 6-year extension after the 2019/20 season when he scored at a 60-point pace and was worth a shade under the $6.5M price tag, but close enough. The miscalculation on Bergevin’s part was age, as it wasn’t scheduled to begin until 29, and Gallagher is a player with an injury history and some hard miles on his odometer. It was entirely foreseeable that staying healthy/productive might be a problem. In the 2021 season in the final year of his previous deal, Gallagher slipped down to a 54-point pace, and battled another significant injury.
This officially became a full-blown disaster as soon as his extension kicked in, as the gritty winger dropped down to a 35-point pace and battled yet another significant injury. Even prorated for 82 GP, that stat line was only worth $2.5M. He slipped even further in year two and suffered another significant injury. The Canadiens went from Stanley Cup finalist to full rebuild mode as soon as Carey Price was done. There shouldn’t be a rush to dump this contract with the Habs rebuilding, so Gallagher should be back here next season.
7) Jack Campbell, Edmonton
2022 Rank: Not ranked
Age: 31
Remaining Term: 4 years
Cap Hit: $5M
Signing GM: Ken Holland, July 13, 2022
Suffice it to say, of the free agent class of 2022, nobody kicked off their new deal with a worse start than Jack Campbell. Nothing stings more than a hard whiff on a big UFA goalie contract that turns awful immediately. No honeymoon period, no enjoying the new toy, just 100% brutality from day one. That’s what Edmonton received in Campbell, who couldn’t stop a beach ball from the start. Jack dropped from a .911 SV% with Toronto down to .888 with the Oilers. I even drafted Campbell to one of my fantasy teams and felt the pain immediately.
Evidently the defensive system in Toronto had something to do with his success as a Leaf, and his play completely collapsed upon arrival in Edmonton. According to goalie guru Kevin Woodley, the type of shots that give Campbell trouble was not a strength of the Oilers defense, and had the right expert taken a look at the numbers, this disaster could have been avoided. The fact that Stuart Skinner emerged as a reliable starter saved Holland from a full team meltdown. It’s plausible the Oilers coaching staff can make adjustments playing to their goalies’ strengths, and Campbell could bounce back (early reports indicate that may be happening).
8) Jordan Binnington, St. Louis
2022 Rank: Not ranked
Age: 30
Remaining Term: 4 years
Cap Hit: $6M
Signing GM: Doug Armstrong, Mar 11, 2021
Jordan Binnington helped carry the St. Louis Blues to a Stanley Cup championship in his rookie season, and management rightly played it safe, only giving him a 2-year deal after the title to make sure this was sustainable over a larger sample of games. He passed the test with two seasons of above average play, but his playoff magic completely vanished. That’s when they felt comfortable giving him a 6-year extension at the pay grade of a legit #1 starter. But once Binnington had that financial security, his play began to devolve, which might have been at least partially attributable to the team playing in front of him, at least year one.
Year two is when the shit hit the fan, dropping to an .894 SV%. Not only did his play unravel, so too did his mental health, as he became a side show of temper tantrums. I’ll at least give him credit for being entertaining, as we desperately need more unhinged personalities in the sport to play the role of wrestling heel. That’s also part of the reason why this treaty is untradeable, as nobody wants him throwing water bottles at opponents in press conferences while also playing terribly and getting paid a tier one wage. A first round pick might not be enough to dump this. It’ll almost for sure be bought out before it ends.
9) Colton Parayko, St. Louis
2022 Rank: Not ranked
Age: 30
Remaining Term: 7 years
Cap Hit: $6.5M
Signing GM: Doug Armstrong, Sep 1, 2021
Like Binnington, Colton Parayko played an important role in the Blues Stanley Cup championship and earned himself some long-term good will from St. Louis management. For most of his career to date, the defenseman’s stat lines have been valued between $5M to $6M, so it wasn’t completely outrageous to lock him in at $6.5M. The problem once again was age and term. 8-year contracts for 29-year-old players have a high error rate. Since 2006, there have been 6 contracts given to 29-year-old defensemen, and all but one of them are on or nominated for one of my team-by-team worst contract lists. The only exception was Brian Campbell, but that deal eventually turned sour, it was just disqualified from Chicago’s worst list because it produced a Stanley Cup victory.
Year one of this deal produced Parayko’s worst scoring pace of his entire career (28 PTS per 82 GP), granted that’s not very far away from his career best of 36. We haven’t yet seen substantial regression, but he celebrated his 30th birthday in May and will be 37 when this expires. He’s certainly not aging as well as Alex Pietrangelo, who just won another championship in Vegas. This is the type of contract that needs to go extinct, but sometimes it can be very difficult for a GM to let a popular player leave, and they over-reach to convince them to stay.
10) Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida:
2022 Rank: 5
Age: 35
Remaining Term: 3 years
Cap Hit: $10M
Signing GM: Dale Talon, July 1st 2019
Sergei Bobrovsky had yet another subpar regular season far below the demands of his paygrade and opening night of round one was when I set the seeding for the Twitter poll tournament (Bob was top 5). Alex Lyon carried Florida into the playoffs, earning the starter’s net for game one against Boston. Eventually Lyon faltered, Boston took a 3-1 series lead, then something unexpected caught the hockey world by storm, Sergei Bobrovsky caught fire. Florida won 3 straight to beat Boston, then crushed the heavily favored Toronto Maple Leafs almost entirely on Bob’s shoulders.
Bob carried them all the way to the Stanley Cup final, but that’s when the proverbial clock struck midnight, and the mighty Bob turned back into a pumpkin as the Vegas Golden Knights cruised to an easy victory. Had the Panthers won the Stanley Cup, Bob would have been ineligible for this list. I even waited for the playoffs to be over before including him in a worse contract poll. Despite an otherwise miraculous playoff performance, he performed very strong in the polling. His abysmal save percentage in the final wiped many memories.
11) Drew Doughty, Los Angeles:
2021 Rank: 7
Age: 33
Remaining Term: 4 years
Cap Hit: $11M
Signing GM: Rob Blake, July 1st 2018
Drew Doughty will be a first ballot Hall of Famer who is still a very effective defenseman at age 33. If this was at a $7M salary, it’s unlikely he even would have made it out of the preliminary round of my worst contract polling tournament. He received more votes in last year’s tournament when he was recovering from a season ending injury and there was legitimate reason to wonder if he could bounce back to his previous level at his age (returning to score 52 PTS in 81 GP). When Drew originally signed this treaty, he was pushing the defense wage ceiling substantially higher, procuring $2M more than P.K Subban.
How exactly did Drew convince management to give him 20% more than the highest paid defenseman? I’m not sure there was a lot of choice in the matter, at least if the team wanted to retain their Hall of Famer. Doughty was woefully under-paid on his previous deal (that produced 2 Stanley Cups) and his desire to recoup the money left on the table, whether in LA or elsewhere, forced management’s hand. At least that’s my theory. If he never intended to leave Los Angeles, then this was an unforced error on management’s part. There were reports that the previous contract negotiation was contentious, possibly adding incentive to be made whole.
12) Nazem Kadri, Calgary
2022 Rank: Not ranked
Age: 32
Remaining Term: 6 years
Cap Hit: $7M
Signing GM: Brad Treliving, Aug 18, 2022
Nazem Kadri was significantly underpaid on his previous contract, and in past I was critical of the advice he received from his agent locking into that price for a 6-year term that would not expire until after his 30th birthday, missing the prime window to hit a big home run on the open market. I was wrong, but if we’re talking about the ideal circumstances to hit the open market, immediately after winning the Stanley Cup is about as optimal as it gets. Not only that, but he also had a tremendous regular season on that loaded Colorado team, crushing his previous career best with 87 PTS in 71 GP (his previous best was 61 PTS in 82 GP).
If you’re Calgary, that’s not the optimal time to sign a player, but it certainly feels special when you’re looking at the numbers. Still, it begged the question, how replicable would that 87 PTS be on a new team? The answer was not at all. Kadri returned to right around his career average, scoring 56 PTS in 82 GP. It’s worth noting, players who take major steps backwards in their 30s seldom return to the high. It might be worth it if he can just stay in the 50s for the next 6 years while also providing strong 2-way play, with the cap going up. But age 32 and 6 years left (for a physical player) raises too many red flags to ignore.
13) Bo Horvat, New York Islanders:
2022 Rank: Not ranked
Age: 28
Remaining Term: 8 years
Cap Hit: $8.5M
Signing GM: Lou Lamoriello, Feb 5, 2023
It's arguably premature to declare the Bo Horvat contract a failure before a single game has been played, but we just finished discussing the perils of paying a player for a career best season, especially when most of the stats were accumulated with another team. Bo had 54 PTS in 49 GP when Vancouver traded him to the Island. Including playoffs, Horvat scored 18 PTS in 36 GP with his new team. Bo was on pace for 90 PTS when the trade was made, but his previous career high PTS per 82 GP was 63 in 2020.
Note to all the prospective NHL General Managers out there, be cautious when paying for a career year. Lou should know better, except that he has no concept of Father Time. As mentioned in the intro, I incurred the wrath of Islander fans for having the gall to include Matt Barzal in a bad contract poll, but not one of them complained about the Horvat pact. Whether that means they are genuinely concerned or just haven’t had the time to develop the loving relationship with Bo that they have with Matthew, hard to say. In all likelihood, those two treaties will age badly together, but perhaps not right away.
14) Cal Petersen, Philadelphia
2022 Rank: Not ranked
Age: 28
Remaining Term: 2 years
Cap Hit: $5M
Signing GM: Rob Blake, Sep 22, 2021
Memo to NHL General Managers: Signing goalies to expensive contracts (relatively speaking) with limited NHL experience is very high risk. The reason is that if shooters collectively figure out a goalie’s fatal flaw (if he even has one), his value can suddenly collapse and never recover (unless he’s able to compensate for the deficiency). Petersen’s 54 games of NHL experience when this deal was signed was insufficient for the size of LA’s investment. To make matters worse, they signed him to this extension a year early, and his play collapsed before his previous deal expired.
All they had to do was wait, and this catastrophe could have been avoided. Reality degraded from bad to worse was the treaty kicked in, as Petersen was arguably the worst goalie in the entire NHL before getting sent to the minors. They had to send a first round pick to Philadelphia to get this albatross off their books. The Flyers appear to be tanking and are probably hoping Petersen doesn’t suddenly catch fire. This contract is among the best examples of why you need to be cautious giving too much money or term to a goalie with such a small sample of NHL experience. It’s why I’m nervous to declare the Stuart Skinner contract awesome.
15) Philipp Grubauer, Seattle:
2022 Rank: 13
Age: 31
Remaining Term: 4 years
Cap Hit: $5.9M
Signing GM: Ron Francis, July 28, 2021
Ron Francis thought he was buying elite goaltending when he acquired Philipp Grubauer, who posted a .919 SV% with the mighty Colorado Avalanche. The variable that he did not give sufficient consideration was a 6-year term for a 31-year-old, and it did not take long for Father Time to strike his first blow. Year one was a disaster, as the German goalie was immediately bad, posting an .886 SV% in 55 games (a whopping 26 goals saved below average). He did manage a slight improvement in year two as the team in front of him also took a step forward, qualifying for the playoffs despite the .894 SV% in Grubauer’s 39 games.
It was a Martin Jones mid-season hot streak that really propelled them into the post-season. However, once in the playoffs, Grubauer was up to the task of dethroning the defending Cup champions, defeating his former team in Colorado. Had it not been for that playoff performance, Phil would have undoubtedly received more votes in the Twitter poll tournament. We’ll have to see which Grubauer shows up this season, but it’s entirely plausible that he’ll be good for the remaining 4 years. You just never know with goalies, who do typically follow a slower aging curve than skaters.
The Next 15:
(by Twitter poll vote share order)
Nicklas Backstrom, Washington, 2 more yrs @ $9.2M:
Jamie Benn, Dallas, 2 more yrs @ $9.5M:
Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota, 4 more yrs @ $7.6M:
Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia, 8 more yrs @ $6.25M:
John Tavares, Toronto, 2 more yrs @ $11M:
Rasmus Ristolainen, Philadelphia, 4 more yrs @ $5M:
Ben Chiarot, Detroit, 3 more yrs @ $4.75M:
Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus, 4 more yrs @ $5.4M:
Jacob Markstrom, Calgary, 3 more yrs @ $6M:
Ryan Johansen, Colorado, 2 more yrs @ $8M:
Logan Couture, San Jose, 4 more yrs @ $8M:
Torey Krug, St. Louis, 4 more yrs @ $6.5M:
Kevin Hayes, St. Louis, 3 more yrs @ $7.1M:
Anders Lee, Islanders, 3 more yrs @ $7M:
Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh, 5 more yrs @ $5.1M:
Dishonorable Mentions:
(in no particular order)
T.J Oshie, Washington, 2 more yrs @ $5.75M:
Joel Armia, Montreal, 2 more yrs @ $3.4M:
Erik Gudbranson, Columbus, 3 more yrs @ $4M:
Charlie Coyle, Boston, 3 more yrs @ $5.25M:
Josh Anderson, Montreal, 4 more yrs @ $5.5M:
Ryan Suter, Dallas, 2 more yrs @ $3.7M:
Nate Schmidt, Winnipeg, 3 more yrs @ $6M:
Jacob Trouba, Rangers, 3 more yrs @ $8M:
Blake Coleman, Calgary, 4 more yrs @ $4.9M:
Ondrej Palat, New Jersey, 4 more yrs @ $6M:
Ryan Strome, Dallas, 4 more yrs @ $5M:
Jeff Skinner, Buffalo, 4 more yrs @ $9M:
Mikael Granlund, San Jose, 2 more yrs @ $5M:
Barclay Goodrow, Rangers, 4 more yrs @ $3.6M:
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington, 2 more yrs @ $3.7M:
I’ve Got My Eye On You:
A few of these guys have already begun to decline, others are entering the crosshairs of Father Time. It may not happen this year, but everyone below is a future contender for a worst contracts list. (in no particular order)
Brayden Schenn, St, Louis, 5 more yrs @ $6.5M:
J.T Miller, Vancouver, 7 more yrs @ $8M:
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh, 5 more yrs @ $6.1M:
Mika Zibanejad, Rangers, 7 more yrs @ $8.5M:
Zach Werenski, Columbus, 5 more yrs @ $9.5M:
Tomas Hertl, San Jose, 7 more yrs @ $8.1M:
Filip Forsberg, Nashville, 7 more yrs @ $8.5M:
Mathew Barzal, Islanders, 8 more yrs @ $9.15M:
Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus, 6 more yrs @ $9.75M:
MacKenzie Weegar, Calgary, 8 more yrs @ $6.25M:
Darcy Kuemper, Washington, 4 more yrs @ $5.25M:
John Gibson, Anaheim, 4 more yrs @ $6.4M:
Trevor Moore, Los Angeles, 5 more yrs @ $4.2M:
Damon Severson, Columbus, 8 more yrs @ $6.25M:
Tom Wilson, Washington, 7 yrs @ $6.5M:
Dylan Larkin, Detroit, 8 more yrs @ $8.7M:
Valeri Nichushkin, Colorado, 7 more yrs @ $6.1M:
It Will All be Over Soon:
Nikita Zaitsev, Chicago, $4.5M:
Tyler Myers, Vancouver, $6M:
Tyler Johnson, Chicago, $5M:
Anthony Mantha, Washington, $5.7M:
Jason Dickinson, Chicago, $2.7M:
Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim, $5.25M:
Adam Henrique, Anaheim, $4.8M: