10 Biggest Contracts Given to NHL Undrafted Players (2005-2017)

What have been the 10 biggest contracts given out to undrafted players since the NHL had a salary cap? It should be noted that not all these contracts are good, half of them having appeared at some point on my annual Worst NHL Contracts list. Just for the record, none of the contracts below are entry level.  I am describing how they were signed after going undrafted, but all their big pay days happened later.

1- Mark Giordano, CGY, 6 years $40.5M: Giordano was a late arrival in the OHL and went undrafted. The Flames signed him after his over-age season and he was in the NHL 2 years later. He bloomed late, but bloomed fast once he did.

2- Dan Boyle, SJ, 6 years $40M: He was originally signed as an undrafted college free agent defenseman. He cracked the NHL line-up in under a year. Hit his big pay day at age 32. When teams give that much term to a player of that age, it can be a huge risk. In Boyle's case it worked out alright.

3- David Clarkson, TOR, 7 years $36.8M: CHL tough guy with a scoring touch, signed after his over-age season. He hit the jackpot at age 29, but this contract turned bad fast. 

4- Dan Girardi, NYR, 6 years $33M: He played a full junior career going undrafted, then was signed by the Rangers after playing a season for their minor league affiliate. Hit the jackpot at age 30, but this contract eventually resulted in a buyout.

5- Martin St.Louis, TB, 6 years $31.5M: Marty is by far and away the leading scorer of undrafted players from (2005-2017). He went undrafted simply because of size. The amount he scored in college was obscene. There were greater biases against short players back then.

6- Brian Rafalski, Det, 5 years $30M: This contract helped the Red Wings win a Stanley Cup, and return to the finals the following year. He took an unusual path to the NHL, going undrafted in college, then going to play in Scandinavia for 4 seasons, then signing with New Jersey.

7- Danny DeKeyser, Det, 6 years $30M: This has turned out to be way too much money for level player. He's a good defensive defenseman with limited offensive upside. He was in the undrafted college defenseman category and made a quick jump to the NHL.

8- Jason Garrison, Van, 6 years $27.6M: Another undrafted college free agent defenseman. He cashed in on an improbable career year and never produced at that level again.

9- Ville Leino, Buf, 6 years 27M: He signed as an undrafted European free agent with Detroit at age 25 after dominating the Finland Elite League. He hit the jackpot on is second contract but it would eventually be bought out.

10- Andy Greene, NJ, 5 years 25M: College defenseman gets an NHL contract after going undrafted. We've heard this story before. Greene had a quick path to the big leagues after signing.