Age: 31
Remaining Term: 4 years
Cap Hit: $6M
Signing GM: Peter Chiarelli,
July 1, 2016
Ken Holland arrived in Edmonton and quickly won over fans by unloading
the worst contract in the league onto their provincial rival for James Neal
(who also made this list). If Neal can bounce back from an abysmal season, this
trade could haunt the Flames. There are plenty of teams who would be happy to take
Lucic on their roster for significantly less money to play on their bottom 6
just to throw his body around, unfortunately he’s being paid like a top line
player. I attended an Oilers game last season, and it was almost painful to
watch Milan lumbering around the ice. His stat line has an expected free agent
salary of $1.1M, but he’d probably be able to get closer to $2M if he went UFA
tomorrow.
Age: 34
Remaining Term: 5 years
Cap Hit: $6.9M
Signing GM: Stan Bowman, Sep 26,
2015
There is a strong case to be made that Seabrook has the worst contract
in the NHL (with more money and term owing at an older age than Lucic), but
Milan won the top spot because I’d still rather have Seabrook on my team (at
least he’s a right-shot defenseman). His average ice time has shrunk each of
the last 3 seasons by at least a minute per game as he dropped from 22.8
minutes in 2016 down to a little over 19 minutes in 2019. Over that time his
point totals have been 49, 39, 26, 28 (where 49 PTS was reached during the
final season of his previous contract). Seabrook’s stat line has an expected free
agent value in the $3.2M range.
Age: 34
Remaining Term: 3 years
Cap Hit: $6M
Signing GM: Jim Benning, July 1,
2016
There were rumours of an Eriksson for Lucic swap earlier this summer,
which dominated local talk radio for a few weeks. Rest assured it was the
Canucks who said no to that exchange, despite their eagerness to unload
Eriksson’s contract. Louie has less money remaining and is easier to buyout if
the Canucks should decide to do so. He signed this contract following a 30 Goal,
63 Point campaign in 2016, and hasn’t surpassed 30 PTS over his first 3 years
with Vancouver. This is a nominee for the worst contract signed since the
salary cap was introduced. His expected free agent value is $1.2M.
Age: 30
Remaining Term: 3 years
Cap Hit: $4.6M
Signing GM: Marc Bergevin, July
1, 2017
The Canadiens knew they were not buying a point producer when they
signed Alzner to this contract in 2017. It was not a drop in scoring which
turned this into a bad deal, he just wasn’t good enough defensively, which is
what he was signed to do. Alzner was demoted to the AHL out of training camp in
year two, which is disastrous for a contract of this size. I’m mildly surprised
that the Habs didn’t buy out this contract over the summer when there’s a
really good chance they will be burying him in the minors again this season.
The expected UFA value of a defenseman who played 9 NHL games is around $750K.
Alzner might be able to get $1M.
Age: 32
Remaining Term: 4 years
Cap Hit: $5.5M
Signing GM: Garth Snow, July 1,
2016
If part of the objective in signing Ladd was convincing Tavares to stay,
it didn’t work. Now the Isles are left with no Tavares and are stuck paying the
bill for Garth Snow’s mistake. Ladd scored almost 60 PTS per 82 GP on his previous
contract and his scoring pace has plunged all the way down to 33 PTS per 82 GP
over the first 3 years of this one. Letting Ladd go was a smart move by
the Jets, who managed to get a 1st round pick for him as a rental,
right before his production was set to drop. If he went UFA tomorrow, his
expected value would be $1.2M.
Age: 32
Remaining Term: 4 years
Cap Hit: $6M
Signing GM: Tim Murray, July 1,
2016
Okposo scored 64 PTS before becoming an unrestricted free agent in the
summer of 2016, and saw his production plummet immediately after arriving in
Buffalo. At the end of year one he suffered a concussion which led to a health
scare that landed him in Intensive Care in March 2017. He produced just 29 PTS
in 78 GP in 2019. It’s difficult to say if his production would have declined
this much had that health problem never happened, but regardless they are
paying far too much for what he’s providing. Okposo has an expected free agent
value around $1.4M, but he might be able to get closer to $2M on name recognition.
Age: 32
Remaining Term: 3 years
Cap Hit: $7.25M
Signing GM: Bryan Murray, Oct 2,
2014
Bobby Ryan won my Worst Contract in the NHL award in 2017 following 25
PTS in 62 GP, but has since seen his stock rise relative to the other bad
contracts in the league. Ryan scored 42 PTS in 78 GP in 2019, which is
significantly better than those on the list ahead of him. Staying healthy was a
contributing factor. The Senators are still in full rebuild mode, and saw
significant talent moving out the door before last year’s trade deadline. That
won’t help Ryan’s production moving forward, unless it leads to more ice time
and opportunity. Good chance he’ll be back on this list next year, but at least
there is light at the end of this dark tunnel. He has an expected UFA value of
$2.8M.
Age: 35
Remaining Term: 6 years (3 until
the back-dive starts)
Cap Hit: $7.5M
Signing GM: Chuck Fletcher, July
4, 2011
Parise was the winner of the 2018 worst NHL contract award, but has
fallen down the list after a bounce back 2019 season that saw him score 61 PTS
(his best year since 2015). The 6 years remaining at age 35 is daunting, but it’s
almost certain at this point that Parise will be placed on LTIR instead of
retire when his back dive starts, helping the Wild avoid a large cap recapture
penalty. If not for the LTIR loophole (aka "the Marian Hossa Rule") that has saved teams from cap recapture,
this contract might still be in the #1 spot.
Age: 30
Remaining Term: 5 years
Cap Hit: $6M
Signing GM: David Poile, Nov 5,
2017
David Poile thought he was buying a 50-point center, but year one saw
Turris production fall to 23 PTS in 55 GP. He averaged over 19 minutes of ice
time per game over his last few years in Ottawa, and dropped down to 15.7
minutes in year one of this contract. He’s still a good character guy who many
teams would love to have as a 3rd line center, but the price is
wrong bitch. The arrival of Matt Duchene in Nashville will bump Turris further down
the depth chart and ultimately hurt his already declining production. Add the
fact that he’s now on the wrong side of 30, and this is only going to get
worse. Turris has an expected UFA value of $2.6M, thanks to being a center.
Age: 32
Remaining Term: 4 years
Cap Hit: $5.8M
Signing GM: Brad Treliving, July
2, 2018
Perhaps I should wait to see how Neal performs with McDavid before
ranking him in this position. If he forms chemistry with the league’s best
player, he may yet return some value before this is done (provided he can keep pace with Connor). Year one could not
have gone worse with just 19 PTS in 63 GP, and a continuation of that low pace
would vault this much higher on the historical worst contract rankings. You
just can’t pay that much money for a 3rd or 4th liner who
is not producing. That stat line is worth a maximum $1.5M, but Neal would likely beat that number if he went UFA tomorrow, just on the chance that he
could return to previous form with the right linemates.
Age: 32
Remaining Term: 4 years
Cap Hit: $4.3M
Signing GM: Ken Holland, Nov 12,
2015
Abdelkader was a 40-point player when this contract was signed, but he
has plunged all the way down to 19 PTS in 71 GP in 2019. His fall does coincide
with the retirement of Pavel Datsyuk, who helped to inflate his production. It
will sting if the Red Wings are forced to protect Abdelkader in the 2021
expansion draft. At that point it would make more sense to buy him out instead
of exposing a good young player. His expected free agent value is around $1.3M.
Age: 33
Remaining Term: 3 years
Cap Hit: $6M
Signing GM: Lou Lamoriello, July
9, 2014
Schneider was sensational in year one of this contract, posting a .924
SV% and 2.15 GAA in 58 GP. Too bad it wasn’t a 1-year deal, because each year
since has been increasingly disappointing. It’s not out of the question for
Schneider to bounce back from the abyss if he can ever get back to fully
healthy, I’m just not holding my breath. 2019 saw him play 26 games, posting a
.903 SV%. It’ll be an uphill battle to even get back to league average
performance at age 33, but not impossible. Schneider should still be able to
command $2.5M to $3.5M on the open market if his contract were voided tomorrow.
Age: 34
Remaining Term: 7 years
Cap Hit: $7.8M
Signing GM: David Poile, July
24, 2012
The worst part of this contract is not Weber’s current on ice
production, but rather the monster sized cap-recapture penalty the Predators
will be hit with if Shea retires early. Given that this was originally an offer
sheet, maybe the Flyers should have to pay the penalty. From the Montreal
perspective, this is not a terrible contract. Weber still puts up PTS, and it
was heavily font loaded so his actual salary is almost $2M below his cap hit.
It’s the Nashville Predators who will bear the brunt of the penalty when Weber
retires, and because he’s playing in Montreal, the Habs may not have the
incentive to stash him on LTIR to avoid cap recapture (similar to what happened
with Luongo, but worse).
Age: 35
Remaining Term: 2 years
Cap Hit: $6M
Signing GM: Don Sweeney, July 1,
2016
Watching playoff games from the press box as a healthy scratch is not
where you want your $6M man. I’m surprised that Boston did not buy out this
contract over the summer. If I were a gambling service taking bets on whether
or not Backes gets bought out next summer, the yes side would probably pay out
at -1500 (bet $1500 to win $100). Option B is trading an asset to get a team
like Ottawa to eat the last year, with some salary retained. His stat line has
an expected free agent value of $1.2M. On the bright side, the amount of money the Bruins
are saving on Bergeron, Marchand, Pasternak, and McAvoy more than makes up the
difference.
Age: 35
Remaining Term: 3 years
Cap Hit: $5.3M
Signing GM: Ken Holland, July 1,
2016
The man who was signed to help extend the playoff streak has not played
a playoff game in a Red Wings jersey. This is another deal the Red Wings would be
advised to buyout if forced to protect in the expansion draft. Nielsen scored
52 PTS the season before hitting the UFA market and has produced 41, 33, 35 PTS
over the first 3 years of this contract. By all accounts he’s still a decent 3rd
line center, but this is not what you’re supposed to pay a bottom six forward.
The fact that he’s a center does boost his expected free agent value close to $3M.
Dishonorable Mentions:
·
Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers, 2
more yrs @ $8.5M, Age 37:
· Brandon Dubinsky, Columbus, 2
more yrs @ $5.8M, Age 33:
·
Ilya Kovalchuk, Los Angeles, 2 more yrs @ $6.25M, Age, 36:
·
Martin Jones, San Jose, 5 more yrs @ $5.75M, Age 29:
·
Alex Wennberg, Columbus, 4 more yrs @ $4.9M, Age 25:
·
Brendan Smith, Rangers, 2 more yrs @ $4.3M,
Age 30:
·
Viktor Rask, Minnesota, 3 more yrs @ $4M, Age 26:
·
Mikko Koskinen, Edmonton, 3 more yrs @ $4.5M. Age 31:
·
Brandon Sutter, Vancouver, 2 more yrs @ $4.375M, Age 30:
·
Matt Belesky, Rangers, 1 more yrs @ $3.8M, Age 31:
I’ve Got My Eye On You:
A few of these guys have already begun to decline, others are entering
the crosshairs of Father Time. It may not happen this year, but everyone below
is a future contender for Worst contracts list.
·
Carey Price, Montreal, 7 more yrs @ $10.5M, Age 32:
·
Jamie Benn, Dallas, 6 more
yrs @ $9.6M, Age 30:
·
Brent Burns, San Jose, 6 more yrs @ $8M, Age 34:
·
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida, 7 more yrs @ $10M, Age 31
·
Marc Vlasic, San Jose, 7 more yrs @ $7M, Age 32:
·
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles, 5 more yrs @ $10M, Age 32:
·
T.J Oshie, Washington, 6 more yrs @ $5.75M, Age 32:
·
Patric Hornqvist, Pittsburgh, 4 more yrs @ $5.3M,
Age 32:
·
Keith Yandle, Florida, 4 more yrs @ $6.4M, Age 33:
·
Bryan Little, Winnipeg, 5 more yrs @ $5.3M, Age 31:
No comments:
Post a Comment