Vote For 2025 Best NHL Contract Round 2

Welcome to round two of my 2025 best NHL contract polling tournament, with 30 deals competing for entry into the semi-finals, which will be held on Twitter. Nobody gets a bye to the next round, so you’ll get the opportunity to vote for whom you feel has the best value contract in the NHL under $10M aav. Had that been set to <=10M, then Aleksander Barkov might have won the whole tournament, but rules are rules. My annual best contract list has always excluded the highest wage earners, though my artificial cap hasn’t changed in the last 4 years as the real salary cap is leaping skyward. $10M with an $82M cap is equivalent to $13.7M with a $113M cap. At some point in the future it will become prudent to raise my own cap reflecting this inflation, just not today.

First order of business here is issuing an apology to Dylan Strome voters from round one, as he initially qualified but was bounced after a rule change permitting me to change my vote after polling closed. After watching Anton Lundell in the Stanley Cup final, he flipped my vote from Kaiden Guhle. Maybe that’s recency bias and maybe the same conclusion should have been reached watching earlier playoff rounds, but it felt like an error not having Lundell in the top 30. As King of this little castle, such royal decrees are entirely legal. That pulled Lundell into a tie with Keller, so Clayton still earned his round two slot. Strome was the lowest seed getting 2^nd place in my Twitter runoff vote.

If this is your first visit to my Thought Factory, you do need to subscribe if you’d like to vote, but you are not required to pay. The paid tier is mostly for gambling, but if you love betting on hockey, you can’t afford not to join the paid tier. I’m having a summer sale on annual memberships where you get nearly 40% the monthly price by paying up front for $69 Canadian. That also guarantees entry into my subscriber fantasy league(s) in September. You have a week to log your vote, so if you’re undecided on any of these ballots, take your time and reflect. There is a chat thread where I’m posting thoughts on the tournament, also open to free subscribers, which can help inform any undecided opinions. You are more than welcome to post your own thoughts in that thread.

If you’re looking for free agency and NHL draft content, my blog has plenty to prime your preparation for the frenzy!

Poll 1

Jack Hughes and Cale Makar have gone head-to-head in the championships of my previous best contract polling tournaments, and really the only thing holding Cale back in this bracket is only 2 years remaining. Jack is the defending champion. Makar is a unicorn and Faber is not, but 8 more years of Brock at $8.5M feels like he’ll be contending here for the next 5-6 years. I’m a little more concerned about Hughes durability than last summer, missing 20+ games in 3 of the last 4 years. Feels like he would get steamrolled by Florida if they ever met in the playoffs (I recently said the same thing about his brother). Bratt continuing strong production in the absence of Hughes would almost make the extra year, cheaper price, a more appealing contract.

Poll 2

My seeding process ranked Stutzle above fellow German Seider, but full disclosure as a Red Wings fan I’m voting for Mo here. 4 extra years notwithstanding, I’d much rather have him on my team in the playoffs than Quinn Hughes. Lower offensive ceiling but Detroit’s best blueliner in both ends of the ice and a punishing physical presence. I’m biased. It’s possible Stutzle has already reached his offensive peak at 90 PTS and is now in the point per game zone, which is still elite. There’s compelling evidence that offensive prime is younger than previously thought. Still, that’s an incredible bargain for a first line center. Marchenko is the best dollar per point value on the board, but only 2 years left.

Poll 3

This year was a big coming out party for Nick Suzuki, especially as Montreal pushed towards playoffs. His PTS per 82 GP has increased each year he’s been in the NHL, but at age 26, unlikely that trend continues much longer. Yet there are impressive weapons around him with upward growth left in the tank that could push him higher. Seth Jarvis solidified himself as the real deal for Team Canada on the highest stage of competition. Gustav Forsling was seeded too low in my initial pass but pulled off an upset win against teammate Matthew Tkachuk to gain entry into round 2 while Matty had to win a runoff vote on Twitter. Off-year for Heiskanen but he might be the best overall player on the board.

Poll 4

We have some heavy hitters in this poll, though Wyatt Johnston’s stock may have dropped since the playoffs. He may have set a new post-season record for minuses, but also drew some impossible assignments. He’s still young and I’m a believer. Kucherov is a massive bargain but only 2 years remaining. I’m voting for Jake Sanderson because 57 PTS at age 23 implies a bright future, not necessarily that his ceiling is climbing much higher, just that it feels like a lock he’ll be at least in the 60-point range for most of the next 7 years. I might rank the whole Tkachuk contract ahead of the whole Sanderson deal, but Jake has 4 extra years on the counter.

Poll 5

This is a competitive bracket, but Brandon Hagel is going to get my vote as the highest seed, but Guenther is tempting, 5 years younger with an extra year. Not sure if he’ll ever breach 90 PTS, but that might also be true of Hagel without access to Tampa talent. Peak Tage Thompson might already be in the rearview, but if he was UFA this summer there would be multiple teams offering him north of $10M aav. Keller might be the best play driver in the bracket, but a Selke-level center in Eriksson Ek might be the most valuable commodity on this list if you want a Stanley Cup (which has not yet translated into Minnesota playoff wins).

Poll 6

If Sam Reinhart was 24 he would have been seeded #1 in this bracket, though he doesn’t appear to be slowing down as the 30^th birthday approaches in November. Lucas Raymond will be getting my vote as a biased Red Wings fan, but I seeded Boldy higher, possibly to avoid looking too biased. Boldy is cheaper but less time remaining. Raymond also produced more points at a younger age so theoretically has a higher ceiling (but no access to a Kaprizov-level talent). Did you know over the last 4 seasons, Robby Thomas is averaging 85 PTS per 82 GP? Probably not enough people know that…

Thanks for voting! Check back in the chat for more thoughts!