Anaheim Ducks 15 Worst Contracts (2005-2022)

This was originally published in my 2020 book The Definitive Guide to Salary Mismanagement, and has now been updated with new contracts. I will continue to update each team’s list every summer going forward. The rule is that only active contracts can move up or down. Expired deals cannot pass each other. Next summer it may even be expanded to top 20. The book is still available on Amazon, though some of the stats on active contracts are now out of date. You may yet find it interesting because there were detailed stat graphics that you won't find here.

My latest book The Hockey Economist’s Betting Prospectus is now available. It's a comprehensive commentary on the last 3 years of hockey betting, broken down by team, by category, by strategy, by season. There is plenty of useful information for bettors of all skill levels. It covers pre-pandemic, peak-pandemic, post-pandemic. What worked, what failed. Lessons learned, market trends, team-by-team analysis. What impact did the pandemic have on hockey betting? The market differences between these 3 seasons are discussed at length, and there's a lot to talk about. To read more, visit the Amazon store.

 

Enjoy! Please note: The formatting on the graphics got scrambled being copied from Excel into Google Blogger. It's among the reasons my blog is looking for a new home.

 --------------------------------------------------------

The last 17 years of hockey in Anaheim, under the guidance of Brian Burke then Bob Murray, delivered above average achievements. They won a Stanley Cup and have been in the Western Conference final 4 times. Much like San Jose, the allure of living in beautiful Orange County provides a substantial recruitment/retention advantage.

There have been some strikeouts on the free agent market, but the majority are shorter term and often came as a result of trying to add size and toughness to the roster. Corey Perry was their pinnacle mistake, but I can’t imagine many fans at the time were saying “we need to let this guy walk”. The team was still winning early in the tenure, but once they slipped out of playoff contention, it became untenable. Father Time happened to clip Corey earlier than Ryan Getzlaf.

By and large, their worst contracts list is only moderately faulty, and became difficult to assemble near the end. Bad injury luck did contribute to some of the bigger blunders, as Murray mostly did a good job assembling that roster. 

 

1. Corey Perry

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	F
	Date:	2013-03-18		Age July 1st:	28
	Term:	8 years		Playoff GP:	57
	Total Money:	$69M		Playoff PTS:	44
	Cap Hit:	$8.6M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	77.0	414	311	1130
Per 82 GP	9.6	82	62	224	17.9

"Staying in Anaheim has always been my first choice. This is a great place to play”

– Corey Perry

Corey Perry won the 2011 Hart trophy after a 50-goal season, and had established himself as one of the league’s top power forwards. Both Perry and Ryan Getzlaf needed new deals at the end of the 2013 season, with the duo having previously signed identical contracts 5 years earlier. Getzlaf would be the first to agree to terms, with Perry following suit 10 days later. This time Corey was able to squeeze out a little bit more money than his teammate, thanks having that MVP on his resume.
 
This investment did pay some dividends early, scoring 110 Goals over the first three seasons (with 14 more goals in the playoffs). But his production slowed after turning 30, slipping down to 49 PTS in 71 GP in year five. Corey suffered a serious knee injury at the start of year six, and was terrible upon his return, prompting the Mighty Ducks to buy out the final 2 years of the deal.
 
 
2. Jean-Sebastien Giguere
 

	Signed By:	Brian Burke		Position:	G
	Date:	2007-06-21		Age July 1st:	30
	Term:	4 years		Playoff Wins:	2
	Total Money:	$24M		Playoff SV%:	0.902
	Cap Hit:	$6M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Avg Adj Cap Hit	GP	W	GAA	SV%
Total	8.9	172	75	2.66	0.909

 

"Every single player in this league wants to play for this organization right now. It's an amazing place to live”

– JS Giguere 

There is not a much better time for a goalie to reach the UFA market than immediately after winning a Stanley Cup, and J.S Giguere had that opportunity in the summer of 2007 following a brilliant season. He absolutely could have procured a bigger, longer deal elsewhere, but Jean had no desire to leave Anaheim. Instead he would accept a similar contract to what Tomas Vokoun had autographed 9 months earlier.
 
Sebastien had a good first year, winning 35 games with a .922 SV%, then the wheels came off the bus. By year two his SV% dropped to .900 and his GAA ballooned to 3.10. Eventually he would lose his primary starting role to Jonas Hiller, prompting a trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs for two of Toronto’s bad contracts (Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala). Giguere’s play in Toronto remained below average at a fat price. Peak Giguere ended in 2008 as a 30-year-old. His career continued for a few years in Colorado after this expired, mostly as a back-up at a fraction of this price.
 
 
3- Kenny Wu: converted figure skater had limited offensive upside
 
 
3. Ryan Kesler
 

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	F
	Date:	2015-07-15		Age July 1st:	31
	Term:	6 years		Playoff GP:	21
	Total Money:	$41.3M		Playoff PTS:	10
	Cap Hit:	$6.9M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	43.3	186	80	350
Per 82 GP	7.2	82	35	154	19.0

 

"For me, hopefully, knock on wood, I don’t get hurt again."

– Ryan Kesler

For years Ryan Kesler had been one of the top shutdown centers in the NHL, winning the Selke trophy in 2011 (he also scored 41 goals that season). Bob Murray paid a steep price to acquire Kesler from the Canucks in 2014, and would sign him to a 6-year extension 12 months later. The big problem was, this deal would not begin until after Ryan’s 32^nd birthday and the grinder had endured a heavy workload during his career, with over 1000 hits. The risk of injury or decline was unusually high and *spoiler alert*, that’s exactly what happened.
 
Kesler had a healthy and productive first season on this contract, but ran into injury problems in year two, playing 44 GP with 14 PTS. He managed to squeeze out 60 games in year three, but only contributed 8 PTS. He would miss the entire 2019/20 season after hip surgery and may never play hockey again. The worst case scenario for Anaheim is an attempted comeback, as it would be better to just stash this on LTIR.
 
 
4. Clayton Stoner
 

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	D
	Date:	2014-07-01		Age July 1st:	29
	Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	17
	Total Money:	$13M		Playoff PTS:	1
	Cap Hit:	$3.25M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	14.9	133	17	116
Per 82 GP	3.7	82	10	72	16.8

 

"Anaheim made it known they were looking for more size. They like physical defensemen on the backend. My agent was pushing for Anaheim, too. When they were talking terms, it was either three or four years. I wanted four years, and they were willing.”

– Clayton Stoner

Clayton Stoner reached unrestricted free agency at age 29 after scoring 5 PTS in 63 GP for the Minnesota Wild while averaging a paltry 13.3 minutes per game on the bottom defensive pairing. Bob Murray was on a quest for truckulence and made an absurd offer to the 6’4, 216-pound Stoner. I’m not sure what Bob was smoking that day, but I’d like to know where I can buy some. By year two, Stoner was put on waivers, but nobody wanted to touch this mess.
 
They signed a 3rd pairing D to 2nd pairing money and it was a bad deal, injury or no injury. The Mighty Ducks had to trade Shea Theodore to the Golden Knights to get Vegas to take Stoner in the expansion draft. He was injured in training camp and spent the last season of this contract on IR, which ultimately was good news for the Knights. Stoner hasn’t played since.
 
 
5. Kevin Bieksa
 

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	D
	Date:	2015-07-01		Age July 1st:	35
	Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	9
	Total Money:	$8M		Playoff PTS:	4
	Cap Hit:	$4M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	8.9	140	22	160
Per 82 GP	4.5	82	13	94	18.4

 

“Obviously, who wouldn’t want to play for that team? They had a great last couple of years. They were very close to winning a Stanley Cup and have the right team for that.”

– Kevin Bieksa 

Kevin Bieksa scored a career high 44 PTS with the Vancouver Canucks in 2012, but saw his output dwindle down to 14 PTS in 60 GP for his final season in Van City before getting traded to Anaheim for a 2^nd round draft pick in 2015. Bob Murray signed him to a 2-year extension the following day that would not begin until after Kevin’s 35^th birthday. He was advancing in age and had accumulated over 1000 career hits, so further deterioration was entirely predictable…the red flags clearly visible.
 
Where this contract really stung was the no-movement clause ahead of the expansion draft that forced Anaheim to protect Bieksa. Rather than lose Theodore or Montour for nothing, they shipped Shea to the Knights so they would take Clayton Stoner in the draft. In 2018 Bieksa put up 8 PTS in 59 GP, with Theodore scoring more PTS that year in the playoffs alone. They could have easily bought out Bieksa and kept Theodore in the expansion draft, but did not. Bad choice. Kevin retired at the end of this treaty after he was unable to procure any satisfactory job offers. As an aside, he’s great as a TV personality.
 
 
6. Jakob Silfverberg
 

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	F
	Date:	2019-03-01		Age July 1st:	28
	Term:	5 years		Playoff GP:	0
	Total Money:	$26.25M		Playoff PTS:	0
	Cap Hit:	$5.25M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	26.4	166	76	366
Per 82 GP	5.3	82	38	181	17.3

 

"I like it here a lot and wanted to stay"

-Jakob Silfverberg 

Jakob Silfverberg signed this contract in March before he could reach the UFA market, near the end of a season where he scored 43 PTS in 73 GP (48-point pace). He signed for $950K more than his stat line deserved, but anytime your taking a pending UFA off the market, that generally comes with a premium. In year one he scored at the exact same 48-point pace as the previous season, but in the post-Covid years, he dropped to a 30-point player. Sadly, you need to be above 50 PTS to be worth that pay grade.
 
 
7. Bryan Allen
 

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	D
	Date:	2012-07-01		Age July 1st:	31
	Term:	3 years		Playoff GP:	20
	Total Money:	$10.5M		Playoff PTS:	2
	Cap Hit:	$3.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	13.2	120	18	91
Per 82 GP	4.4	82	12	62	17.8

 

"We attempted to get bigger and stronger on the back end, and I think we accomplished that"

– Bob Murray

The Mighty Ducks were looking to get bigger and stronger on the back end when Bob Murray inked 31-year-old Bryan Allen on July 1^st 2012, giving him the same contract they’d given Francois Beauchemin a few months earlier. Big men tend to age faster than smaller men (with some exceptions of course) and Allen didn’t have much left in the tank.

 
The 6’5 D-man did not score a single goal over this span, averaging under 18 minutes per game of ice time. By the last year, Murray flipped him to Montreal in exchange for another bad contract (Rene Bourque), and the Habs sent him down to the minors. Allen retired at the end of this treaty.
 
 
8- Lester Averman: A somewhat limited depth player. Good dressing room guy with timely comic relief.
 
 
8. Viktor Fasth
 

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	G
	Date:	2013-02-20		Age July 1st:	30
	Term:	2 years		Playoff Wins:	0
	Total Money:	$5.8M		Playoff SV%:	0.000
	Cap Hit:	$2.9M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Avg Adj Cap Hit	GP	W	GAA	SV%
Total	3.6	38	11	3.21	0.893

 

“Viktor has proven himself not only this year in the NHL, but the previous two seasons as the top goaltender in Sweden. We are pleased to be able to keep him and feel fortunate to have two top NHL goaltenders going forward.”

– Bob Murray

Viktor Fasth had only played 9 games in the NHL when Anaheim signed him to this 2-year extension. This might have been a lot of money to give a goalie with just 9 career games, but it was among the best 9-game starts to a career in NHL goaltending history, going undefeated with a .933 SV%. Unfortunately, it was only a downhill journey from there. The Swede only played 5 games for Anaheim under this deal, getting leapfrogged by Fredrik Andersen on the depth chart with John Gibson knocking on the door. Bob Murray traded Viktor to the Oilers in March 2014 for a shockingly high return of 3rd and 5th round draft picks.
 
Fasth was awful for the Oilers, finishing the contract with a 3.21 GAA and .893 SV%. While this qualifies for the Mighty Ducks list because it was signed in Anaheim, the return they got by moving the asset in year one turns this into a positive from their perspective. It was the Oilers who were forced to eat the bad money. Viktor returned to Europe when this contract ended.
 
 
9. Mark Fistric
 

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	D
	Date:	2014-01-29		Age July 1st:	28
	Term:	3 years		Playoff GP:	0
	Total Money:	$3.8M		Playoff PTS:	0
	Cap Hit:	$1.27M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	4.4	9	0	1
Per 82 GP	1.5	82	0	9	14.8

 

"He certainly has made an impact on the defensive zone in physicality, which has been something we lack"

– Bruce Boudreau

Mark Fistric came to Anaheim on a small 1-year deal as a 27-year-old UFA in 2013 and started out mostly as a healthy scratch until Luca Sbisa broke his hand in mid November. Once Mark cracked the line-up, he impressed Bob Murray, who signed him to a 3-year extension 2 months later. Mark would finish the season with 145 hits in 34 GP, so it’s easy to see what Murray liked about an otherwise unimpressive stat line.
 
Fistric only played 9 more games in Anaheim (missing November with a back injury) before he was dispatched to the minors where he played his final 34 games. Bob Murray would buy out the final 2 years of the deal. The marked the end of Mark’s pro career.
 
 
10- Goldberg: Signed a long-term deal after the first championship and eventually became an overpriced backup. He was so bad they had to move him to defense.
 
 
10. Adam Henrique
 

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	F
	Date:	2018-07-16		Age July 1st:	29
	Term:	5 years		Playoff GP:	0
	Total Money:	$29M		Playoff PTS:	0
	Cap Hit:	$5.8M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	29.2	174	106	387
Per 82 GP	5.8	82	50	182	16.8

 

"The term is the biggest thing, especially when you get to this point of your career. I'd love to go as long as possible and play past this contract. That's always been a goal of mine, to play as long as possible. I think that's every players' goal, but there are so many things that can happen along the way.”

-Adam Henrique

Bob Murray paid an expensive price to acquire Adam Henrique, sending promising young blueliner Sami Vatanen to the New Jersey Devils in return for the center. Over the next 57 games with his new team, Henrique performed admirably, scoring 36 PTS in 57 GP (52-point pace). That was good enough to earn the pivot a generous long-term extension that would expire at age 34.
 
The 2 seasons that Adam has played since inking this ticket have been less productive than the audition that slotted him into that pay grade, but the deal has not officially broken bad. Year one was decent, but that season also ushered in his 30^th birthday, which raises alarm bells. It may be pre-emptive of me to include him on the list, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this one.
 
 
11. Sandis Ozolinsh
 

	Signed By:	Brian Burke		Position:	D
	Date:	2005-07-29		Age July 1st:	32
	Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	3
	Total Money:	$5.5M		Playoff PTS:	0
	Cap Hit:	$2.75M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	11.0	57	23	73
Per 82 GP	5.5	82	33	105	20.2

 

"Since entering the NHL, Sandis Ozolinsh has proven to be one of the top puck-moving defensemen in our game. With his experience on the power play, the new rules our league has put into place and our up-tempo style of play, he is a key asset to our franchise moving forward."

– Brian Burke

Sandis Ozolinsh was a 7-time All-Star and for years had been among the best offensive defensemen in the NHL. The Latvian was about to become an unrestricted free agent shortly before his 33^rd birthday following the 2005 lockout when he decided to return to Anaheim on a 2-year deal. Sandis had suffered a serious shoulder injury in 2004 and did not play during the work stoppage. Given his age and health status, he had to have some doubts about the offers he might get elsewhere. Besides, who doesn’t love living in Anaheim?
 
Ozolinsh had only played 13 games for the Mighty Ducks on this deal, when he entered the NHL’s substance abuse program following a knee injury. Upon his return, Brian Burke was able to dump him on the Rangers for a 3^rd round draft pick. On May 3^rd 2006 Ozolinsh was picked up for DUI and was placed back into the NHL’s substance abuse program. The final year was a disaster. Over 2 years, Sandis played 57 games and scored 23 PTS.
 
 
12. Andy Sutton
 

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	D
	Date:	2010-08-02		Age July 1st:	35
	Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	1
	Total Money:	$4.25M		Playoff PTS:	0
	Cap Hit:	$2.13M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	5.7	91	14	72
Per 82 GP	2.8	82	13	65	15.9

 

"I’m definitely playing the best hockey of my career. The mixture of experience and being in great shape has let me grow into a more poised player."

– Andy Sutton

Bob Murray was still trying to fill the physical void on their blueline remaining after the departure of Chris Pronger the previous summer, and settled on 35-year-old Andy Sutton. The 6’6, 245-pound defenseman had just completed a 72-game season with 13 PTS and 197 hits when he became an unrestricted free agent.
 
It would prove to be a poor decision, with Andy watching games from the press box as a healthy scratch and missing some time with a thumb injury. Murray would trade him to the Oilers in the offseason in a mutual bad contract dump for Kurtis Foster. Sutton would see the ice more often in Edmonton, but still wasn’t worth the money. Over 2 years he scored 14 PTS in 91 GP, averaging under 16 minutes per game of ice time. This marked the end of his pro career.
 
 
13. Ilya Bryzgalov
 

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	G
	Date:	2014-12-09		Age July 1st:	34
	Term:	1 year		Playoff Wins:	0
	Total Money:	$2.9M		Playoff SV%:	0.000
	Cap Hit:	$2.9M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Avg Adj Cap Hit	GP	W	GAA	SV%
Total	3.4	8	1	4.19	0.847

 

“We took a chance and it didn’t work out for either of us the right way. Neither one of us feels very good about it”

– Bob Murray

Ilya Bryzgalov had already won the “cash for life” lottery when he was bought out in Philadelphia, but continued his playing career with a decent performance for Edmonton and Minnesota. At age 34 he made the decision to return to Anaheim in December after the season had already started (after an injury to John Gibson).
 
Ilya was terrible, playing only 8 games with a 4.18 GAA and .847 SV% before getting demoted to the AHL. It proved to be a waste of money for the Mighty Ducks, but the good news is that it was not a 9-year deal. Since it was signed in December, some of the salary was likely pro-rated, minimizing the actual losses. Ilya never played professional hockey again.
 
 
14. Andrew Cogliano
 

	Signed By:	Bob Murray		Position:	F
	Date:	2018-01-12		Age July 1st:	31
	Term:	3 years		Playoff GP:	33
	Total Money:	$9.75M		Playoff PTS:	4
	Cap Hit:	$3.25M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	10.0	200	42	262
Per 82 GP	3.3	82	17	107	12.9

 

"I love the organization, and I'm proud to be a Duck."

– Andrew Cogliano

Andrew Cogliano was in the middle of a 12-goal, 35-point season when Bob Murray signed the soon to be 31-year-old to a 3-year contract extension. The winger had scored 16 goals the previous season, but was mostly deployed in a defensive role. When the offense dried up in year one of this new deal, Murray traded him to the Dallas Stars for Devin Shore.
 
Once he was shipped off to Texas, Cogliano saw his role diminish, and the offensive output that earned him this ticket became nothing more than a memory. The Stars were able to parlay Cogliano into a strong playoff run in the 2020 Covid bubble, though the role he played was minor, scoring 2 PTS in 20 games, averaging bottom line minutes. There is some value in a role player such as this, but the salary is far too high for this type of contributor.
 
 
15. Todd Bertuzzi
 

	Signed By:	Brian Burke		Position:	F
	Date:	2007-07-02		Age July 1st:	32
	Term:	1 year		Playoff GP:	6
	Total Money:	$4M		Playoff PTS:	2
	Cap Hit:	$4M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	6.6	68	40	121
Per 82 GP	6.6	82	48	146	16.5

 

"Todd Bertuzzi is a hard-nosed, physical player and a proven goal-scorer," Burke said in a statement. "Adding another imposing presence to our lineup with scoring touch is something we could not pass up."

– Brian Burke

Todd Bertuzzi was limited to 15 games in 2007 due to a back injury and was never the same player after returning, though his career would endure. Todd reached the UFA market at age 32, and concern over age/injury had to limit his suitors and the size of their offers. Brian Burke was willing to gamble that the big man would return to his old point scoring ways, paying him a rich salary, but only on a 1-year term.
 
It did not pay off. Bertuzzi dropped from 71 PTS in 2006 to 40 PTS in 2008. His next contract would be for half this much money. The good news for the Mighty Ducks is that Burkie didn’t take a long-term swing in his never-ending quest for truckulence.