Top 10 NHL UFA Contracts That Got Bad Right Away (2005-2018)

When teams sign new free agents, the fans are always excited to see and cheer for the new aquisition. Sometimes though, that relationship between fans and the player can start to sour very early. Here are my top 10 examples of NHL salary cap contracts (2005-2018) that got bad in the first season. Not all of these were signed after July 1^st, as some signed extensions prior to testing unrestricted free agency.

1- Loui Eriksson, July 1st 2016, 6 years $36M: Signed by Jim Benning. Eriksson scored 30 Goals 63 PTS the season before signing this contract. In year one he scored 11 Goals, 24 PTS in 65 GP. He got even worse in year two and ran into injury problems.

2- Ville Leino, July 1 2011, 6 years $27M: Signed by Darcy Regier. He scored 56 PTS the season before signing this contract. In year one he dropped down to 25 PTS in 71 GP. In 3 seasons for Buffalo he scored just 46 PTS before being bought out.

3- Stephen Weiss, July 5 2013, 5 years $24.5M: Signed by Ken Holland. His last full season in Florida saw Weiss put up 57 PTS. His first season in Detroit, he scored 4 PTS in 26 GP. Year two he scored 25 PTS in 52 GP and was bought out.

4- Andrew Ladd, July 1 2016, 7 years $38.5M: They gave a 7-year contract to a 30-year-old player coming off a 46-point season. He dropped down to 31 PTS in 78 GP in year one. He’s a good character guy, but it’s awful to see the large point decline happen right away. He scored 29 PTS in year two.

5- Scott Darling, May 5 2017, 4 years $16.6M: Signed by Ron Francis. His last season in Chicago saw him put up a 2.48 GAA and .924 SV % in 32 GP. Year one of this contract was a disaster for Darling, with a 3.18 GAA and .888 SV%. There is time for him to bounce back, but there is also reason to be concerned.

6- Brendan Smith, June 28 2017, 4 years $17.4M: Signed by Jeff Gordon. The Rangers paid 2nd and 3rd round picks to acquire him from the Red Wings, then re-signed him to this generous contract. In year one he scored 8 PTS in 44 GP and was sent to the AHL. He easily cleared waivers with no NHL teams wanting to pick up the contract.

7- Thomas Greiss, Jan 30 2017, 3 years $10M: Signed by Garth Snow. In 2015/16, Greiss played 41 games with a 2.36 GAA and .925 SV %. In year one of this contract he has a dismal 3.82 GAA and .892 SV %. The fact that he's still the Islanders #1 goalie might have something to do with Tavares leaving town.

8- Mikhail Grabovski, Mar 6 2012, 5 years $27.5M: Signed by Brian Burke. He scored 51 PTS before earning this contract, then had a very uninspiring 48 GP and 16 PTS in a lockout shortened year one and Nonis used a compliance buyout.

9- Vesa Toskala, July 4 2007, 2 years $8M: Signed by John Ferguson jr. He wasn't great the season before signing this, but it got much worse almost immediately with a 3.26 GAA and .891 SV% in year one of this contract.

10- Wade Redden, July 1st 2008, 6 years $39M: Signed by Glen Sather.  Redden scored 38 PTS in 81 GP his last season in Ottawa. It took him roughly 150 games in a Rangers to reach that point total.  It's also worth pointing out that he only played 163 Games in a Rangers jersey before being sent to the AHL. He stayed in the AHL for a few seasons before being bought out.