Best NHL Contracts 2007

What players had the best bargain contracts in the NHL in the summer of 2007? This list was compiled in 2017 based on their performance during the 2006/07 season. Free agents signed that summer are eligible for next year’s list, so everyone nominated here has played at least 1 full season under the contract.These are only contracts signed under the restrictions of a salary cap. Contracts from before the lost season that got rolled back don't count.

We are looking for the best bargains, preferably under 10% of the cap (which in 2007 is $44M, so under $4.4M Average Annual Value). This is not about listing the 15 best players in the game and then saying those are the 15 best contracts. It’s the 15 best bargains. Entry level contracts don’t count, since they all come from a cookie cutter and require no specific bargaining skill. There is a preference for contracts with more than 1 year remaining, except in the case of extreme bargains.

1) Miikka Kiprusoff, CGY, 1 more yr @ $3.3M AAV: Last year’s Vezina trophy winner followed up that fantastic performance with another 40-win season on a bargain contract.

2) Dany Heatley, OTT, 1 more yr @ $4.5M AAV: The Ottawa Senators are coming off a trip to the Stanley Cup finals with Heatley scoring back to back 50 goal seasons at a bargain price.

3) Jason Spezza, OTT, 1 more yr @ $4.5M AAV: He helped take Ottawa to the Stanley Cup final, and his regular season + playoff results were 87 GP 109 PTS. That much production for $4.5M is an incredible bargain.

4) Henrik Zetterberg, DET, 2 more yrs @ $2.6M AAV: He missed 19 games, but was still among the best players in the league.

5) Andy McDonald, ANA, 2 more yrs @ $3.3M AAV: In the first year of this contract he scored 78 PTS and was a major contributor to Anaheim’s Stanley Cup Championship, scoring 10 goals in the playoffs.

6) Dan Boyle, TB, 1 more yr @ $3.3M AAV: 20 goals and 63 PTS on the blueline for that price is as good as it gets for team friendly contracts. Finished 4^th in Norris Trophy voting.

7) The Sedin Twins, VAN, 2 more yrs @ $3.6M AAV each: That is a bargain price to pay for a pair of 80-point players whose thoughts are telepathically linked.

8) Eric Staal, CAR, 2 more yrs @ $4.5M AAV: He fell from 100 PTS in his Stanley Cup year, to 70 PTS the next season. Must be one of those fabled “Stanley Cup hangovers” I keep hearing about.

9) Alex Semin, WSH, 1 more yr @ $1.3M AAV: Semin scored 38 Goals at age 22 and has another year remaining at a bargain price.

10) Kevin Bieksa, VAN, 1 more yr @ $525K AAV: In year one of this contract at age 25 he emerged as a 40-point scorer averaging over 24 minutes per night of ice time.

11) Tomas Kaberle, TOR, 4 more yrs @ $4.3M AAV: The first two years of this contract has seen Kaberle hovering around the 60-point mark. That kind of offensive production from a defenseman for that price tag is a steal.

12) Jason Pominville, BUF, 2 more yrs @ $1M AAV: He scored 34 goals at age 23 with 2 years remaining at a low cap hit.

13) Daymond Langkow, CGY, 1 more yr @ $2.4M AAV: He played over 20m per game with the Flames, scoring 33 Goals and 77 PTS.

14) Patrick Marleau, SJ, 1 more yr @ $4.2M AAV: Marleau is the Sharks captain and was over a point per game for the 2^nd consecutive season. I’m not sure what Jeremy Roenick would have to say about this.

15) Philippe Boucher, DAL, 2 more yrs @ $2.5M AAV: Boucher may be 33 years old, but he was still able to exceed 50 PTS while playing 23m per game.

Honorable Mentions: Jonathan Cheechoo, Justin Williams, Kristian Huselius, Milan Hedjuk, Sergei Zubov, Erik Cole, Alex Frolov