The Vegas Golden Knights have not been in existence long enough to amass 20 contracts worthy of a “worst” contract designation. Not only that, but my rule excluding Stanley Cup winning deals from these lists (unless they only play a fraction of the playoff games) forced me to delete a few from the previous version and issue public apologies. Between their short existence and the Stanley Cup victory, I have very little to work with here. Only 2 from my original list survived their championship. At the next update Ivan Barbashev might be added. Hanifin goes on the watchlist, but it’s too early to call that one bad. This is going to be a work in progress…
Their rankings report card is a little wonky because there’s only 5 contracts, but I’ll include it anyway.
This was originally published in my 2020 book The Definitive Guide to Salary Mismanagement, and has now been updated with new contracts. I will continue to update each team’s list every summer going forward. The rule is that only active contracts can move up or down. Expired deals cannot pass each other (with a few exceptions). The book is still available on Amazon, though some of the stats on active contracts are now out of date. You may yet find it interesting because there were detailed stat graphics that you won't find here. One thing you won't find here are entry level contracts because they all come from the same cookie cutter and require less skill at the negotiating table.
1. Nate Schmidt
Adjusted Cap Hit: $36.2M, $6.0M (avg)
Value Returned: $19.0M, $3.2M (avg)
% Earned: 52%
Nate Schmidt’s first two years in Vegas were on a cheap 2-year deal where he produced at more than double his pay grade (at a $6M level when prorated per 82 GP). They locked the 27-year-old into a 6-year deal, and year one was a success. But he fell victim to the cap crunch in Vegas and was shipped out to Vancouver for a 3rd round pick.
Once in Vancouver, his usage and offense dropped considerably and suddenly became overpaid. After just one season in Van City, he was shipped off to Winnipeg in another cap crunch, once again for a 3rd round pick. There was a small rebound in his offensive output, but the bottom fell out in year four after his 31st birthday. Though it was Winnipeg that would be forced to eat the remainder, not Vegas. From their perspective, they got a draft pick instead of being forced to give one up for someone else to bear the burden.
2. Paul Stastny
Adjusted Cap Hit: $20.1M, $6.7M (avg)
Value Returned: $14.1M, $4.7M (avg)
% Earned: 70%
Paul Stastny played for the Winnipeg Jets as a rental when they were eliminated from the playoffs by Vegas, scoring 15 PTS in 17 playoff games. He produced like a $5M player that season, and Vegas paid a premium to pluck him from a rival. Add this to the category of overpriced but not terrible. On a per game basis, Stastny produced at a similar as level as the campaign that earned him the contract, albeit with a slightly smaller average time on ice.
An injury cost him 22 games in year one, where otherwise he scored at nearly a 70-point pace. Paul stayed healthy in year two, but his PTS per 82 GP dropped from 69 to 44. After the season he was traded back to the Winnipeg Jets for a 4th round draft pick. Honestly, the Jets probably should have asked for a pick to eat the last year. He signed a 1-year deal to stay in Winnipeg when this ended.
3. Colin Miller
Adjusted Cap Hit: $16.0M, $4.0M (avg)
Value Returned: $9.1M, $2.3M (avg)
% Earned: 57%
Colin Miller breached the 40-point threshold in the Knights inaugural season, though the ice time was low for that level of production historically. While some of that power play deployment would carry over into year one of this deal, Miller would also find himself as a regular healthy scratch down the stretch and in the playoffs. In February 2019 my father and I attended a Vegas game and went to watch the “Black Aces” skate on game day at their practice facility. My remark upon seeing him on the ice was “Miller must be injured. They wouldn’t scratch him.”
I was wrong.
4. Ryan Reaves
Adjusted Cap Hit: $5.8M, $2.9M (avg)
Value Returned: $1.7M, $.86M (avg)
% Earned: 29%
The traditional enforcer has become somewhat of an endangered species in the NHL, and Ryan Reaves fits that role. He came to Vegas in a trade with Pittsburgh, and the Golden Knights increased his deployment and used him as more of a 4th line antagonist where his functionality exceeded expectations. That being said, they still paid him far too much than you should be paying a 4th liner. Reevo had to take a slight pay cut on his next deal (more on that one below). He averaged more than 10 minutes per game for the first time in his career, scoring 20 PTS in his first Vegas season (also a career high).
5. Ryan Reaves
Adjusted Cap Hit: $3.6M, $1.8M (avg)
Value Returned: $1.6M, $.78M (avg)
% Earned: 43%
This Reevo contract was slightly less bad because of the aforementioned pay cut, but they also got a less offensively productive asset. The hitting and fighting didn’t diminish, but year one he only scored 5 PTS in 37 GP, averaging under 10 minutes per game. That’s the point where Vegas decided to cut him loose, and luckily the New York Rangers were desperate for toughness after Tom Wilson rag-dolled Artemi Panarin. The Rangers did play him 10.7 minutes per game, scoring 13 PTS. He left for Minnesota when this expired.