Florida Panthers 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 The book is still available on Amazon, though some of the stats on active contracts are now out of date.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.

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Until recently, the salary cap era had not been kind to the Florida Panthers. While the Tampa Bay Lightning up the road built a power house team that has won multiple Stanley Cups (the first coming right before the 2005 lockout) Attendance was dwindling, and the franchise in danger of requiring relocation. They seem to have turned things around.
 
One Florida team has been able to parlay the “no state tax” discount into championships and playoff wins, while the other missed the playoffs 13 times in 17 years. They have the same advantages, but find themselves at opposite ends of the success spectrum. The biggest reason for that disparity is quality of management. Dale Tallon held the top job for close to a decade and made some astonishing errors in judgement before his termination in 2020.
 
 
1. Sergei Bobrovsky
 

Signed By:	Dale Tallon		Position:	G
Date:	2019-07-01		Age July 1st:	30
Term:	7 years		Playoff Wins:	5
Total Money:	$70M		Playoff SV%:	0.899
Cap Hit:	$10M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Avg Adj Cap Hit	GP	W	GAA	SV%
Total	10.1	135	81	2.93	0.906

“Sergei is an elite starting goaltender who has consistently proven to be one of the best in the NHL. Adding a world-class goalie with Sergei’s abilities and experience will give us a solid foundation in net and the confidence to win every night as we look toward this next era of Panthers hockey in South Florida.”

– Dale Tallon

It’s rare for a two-time Vezina trophy winner to reach the UFA market, so even if there were warning signs of decline with Sergei Bobrovsky, there was inevitably going to be a bidding war for his services when he reached the open market at age 30. It would be interesting to know if Dale Tallon forgot to ask for the “no state tax” discount, or if he did and $10M actually was the discount. Was another GM actually offering Bob much, much more?
 
Needless to say, year one was cataclysmic, as Sergei struggled to reach .900 on his SV% as the league’s 2nd highest paid goalie. The outlook in Florida’s goal went from optimistic to catastrophic within a few months of the ink drying. It does pain me to put Bob at the top of this list, as the two of us have won several fantasy hockey championships together (the first while he was still in a Flyers jersey). I’m a former President of the Sergei Bobrovsky fan club and cannot truly have an unbiased opinion devoid of sentimental attachment. That being said, he also ruined 2 of my fantasy teams in 2020, so maybe I’m just being petty and vengeful.
 
 
2. Keith Ballard
 

Signed By:	Jacques Martin		Position:	D
Date:	2008-09-09		Age July 1st:	26
Term:	6 years		Playoff GP:	14
Total Money:	$25.2M		Playoff PTS:	1
Cap Hit:	$4.2M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	33.1	230	44	219
Per 82 GP	5.5	82	16	78	18.1

"Keith is a talented, puck-moving defenceman that plays a robust style, who will play a pivotal role on our team for many years to come"

– Jacques Martin

Keith Ballard had been a good defenseman when he played with the Florida Panthers, averaging over 30 PTS and becoming infamous for throwing punishing body checks. Vancouver Sportstalk radio was overflowing with boundless optimism when the Canucks traded Michael Grabner and a 1st round pick to acquire Ballard. That enthusiasm faded quickly as both the offense and the ice time took a giant plunge.
 
Keith dropped from 28 PTS in Florida to 7 PTS in Vancouver, his ATOI dropping from 22.4 minutes per game down to 15.9, earning a regular healthy scratch in the playoffs as the Canucks lost in the final. The decline in PTS can be partially explained by the drop in deployment, especially on the power play. Ballard was eventually bought out. That trade turned out to be a heist.
 
 
3. Rostislav Olesz
 

Signed By:	Jacques Martin		Position:	F
Date:	2008-06-30		Age July 1st:	22
Term:	6 years		Playoff GP:	0
Total Money:	$18.8M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$3.1M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	25.5	165	55	324
Per 82 GP	4.2	82	27	161	14.3

“Rostislav is a very talented young player who we are pleased to have agreed to a long-term deal with. He is a strong skater with a tremendous upside who plays well at both ends of the ice and on special teams.”

– Jacques Martin

Rostislav Olesz had never scored more than 30 PTS in a season over his ELC when Jacques Martin made this 6-year commitment. The winger’s pay day crushed everyone in his basket of comparables, and was out of balance with his production level. It’s easy to see where Jacques got the template, as it was basically the same deal he gave Stephen Weiss the previous summer. The big difference (aside from Weiss being a center) was that Olesz had scored nearly half as many points. How exactly does that negotiation work?
 
The Weiss contract proved to be a win, but this one blew up in Jacque’s face. Rostislav scored 55 PTS in 159 GP for the Panthers before getting moved to Chicago in a mutual salary dump for Brian Campbell. That’s when the winger finally started to heat up, scoring 60 PTS in 64 GP for the Chicago Blackhawks Rockford IceHogs. The Hawks bought out the final year. Rusty would play 10 more games with the Devils before returning to Europe.
 
 
4. David Booth
 

Signed By:	Randy Sexton		Position:	F
Date:	2009-07-01		Age July 1st:	24
Term:	6 years		Playoff GP:	5
Total Money:	$25.5M		Playoff PTS:	1
Cap Hit:	$4.25M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	33.5	250	108	678
Per 82 GP	5.6	82	35	222	16.1

“David is coming off a career best season and he is undoubtedly an important part of our club's future. Since we drafted David in 2004, he has dedicated himself to improving his skill set each season.”

– Randy Sexton

David Booth had just completed a successful 31-goal, 60-point season to wrap-up his ELC when management locked him into almost the exact same contract as Keith Ballard one year earlier. In year one Booth was knocked out cold by Mike Richards, sustaining a concussion that cost him over 40 games. He would never again approach the 60-point threshold.
 
In year three the Panthers cut bait and traded Dave to Vancouver (like Keith before him), but unlike the Ballard trade a year earlier, Mike Gillis was aware what he was buying. The Panthers had to give up a 3rd round pick, with the Canucks sending back 2 bad (but expiring) contracts. This was more of a mutual salary dump than an asset acquisition. But after scoring 16 goals in his first 56 games in Van city, the deterioration became problematic. Booth scored 19 PTS in 66 GP in year five before getting bought out.
 
 
5. Ed Jovanovski
 

Signed By:	Dale Tallon		Position:	D
Date:	2011-07-01		Age July 1st:	35
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	7
Total Money:	$16.5M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$4.1M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	20.8	109	19	108
Per 82 GP	5.2	82	14	81	16.5

“He is a five-time NHL All-Star, who has played in more than 1,000 games and will be a mentor for our young defensemen and a leader in the locker room. Ed played an important part in the early success of our franchise and we look forward to his return to South Florida and the Panthers family.”

– Dale Tallon

Ed Jovanovski had been trending on a downward slope during his 5-year run in Phoenix Arizona, scoring a paltry 14 PTS in 50 GP for the Coyotes in 2011. Dale Tallon was determined to make a splash on July 1st, locking up the 35-year-old Jovocop to a 4-year treaty (Dale also needed to reach the salary floor). The evidence of decline had already been on full display with a long history of injury issues.
 
Jovo would go on to score 19 PTS in 109 GP in Florida (averaging 16.5 minutes per game) and was bought out before the final year. Injuries did contribute to the downfall, but that was entirely foreseeable given the hard miles he’d put his body through over a long career. I only hand out injury exemptions when the malady was unexpected.
 
 
6. Dave Bolland
 

Signed By:	Dale Tallon		Position:	F
Date:	2014-07-01		Age July 1st:	28
Term:	5 years		Playoff GP:	0
Total Money:	$27.5M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$5.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	30.9	78	28	102
Per 82 GP	6.2	82	29	107	15.6

“Dave is a proven winner and we are pleased to welcome him to the Florida Panthers. He is a smart, two-way player who competes hard every shift and adds to our depth at center.”

– Dale Tallon

Dale Tallon buying damaged goods that developed injury problems seems to be emerging as a reoccurring theme on this list. Dave Bolland won 2 Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks, undoubtedly creating strong demand for his services as an unrestricted free agent despite having missed most of the previous season due to injury.

There are two ways to look at this contract; either we never knew how good he could be in Florida because he was injured, or Florida got relief by being able to hide a mistake on IR. The center only played 80 games over two seasons for the Panthers before they traded a top prospect to dump this contract on the Coyotes. Dave has been sipping cocktails on Robidas Island ever since…
 
 
7. Scottie Upshall
 

Signed By:	Dale Tallon		Position:	F
Date:	2011-07-01		Age July 1st:	27
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	7
Total Money:	$14M		Playoff PTS:	3
Cap Hit:	$3.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	17.7	192	62	361
Per 82 GP	4.4	82	26	154	14.1

“He recorded career bests in goals and points last season and he is a player that will bring energy and enthusiasm to our line-up every night.”

– Dale Tallon

Scottie Upshall was a former 6^th overall draft pick who had just completed his first fully healthy NHL season at age 26, scoring 22 goals and 34 PTS, before attaining UFA status at age 27. The veteran sparkplug got thrown into the shopping cart as Dale Tallon dispersed $69M to 7 unrestricted free agents that day, with $14M going to Scottie. The Panthers would get one good healthy year out of the winger, as injuries once again became an issue. Upper was a good player who was worthy of a roster spot in the NHL, this was simply an exorbitant sum to pay. By the end he would finish with 26 PTS per 82 GP, averaging 14.1 minutes per game.
 
This does beg the question how much due diligence is a front office capable of doing when they hook 7 free agents in a day? What’s that bartering process like, and how do you squeeze it all into a few hours? This was before teams had a week to negotiate with FAs before July 1st. In theory, Dale didn’t talk to any of these guys until at least midnight on July 1st. All of them came from other teams, more than half had extensive injury histories and would go on to have serious injury issues with the Panthers. 
 
Tallon gave Upshall an almost identical contract to what Alex Steen inked the previous summer after scoring 47 PTS in 68 GP. He followed this up with a 1 year $700K deal with St. Louis, to show how much his value fell.
 
 
8. Bryan Allen
 

Signed By:	Jacques Martin		Position:	D
Date:	2007-06-13		Age July 1st:	26
Term:	5 years		Playoff GP:	0
Total Money:	$14.5M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$2.9M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	20.9	303	61	295
Per 82 GP	4.2	82	17	80	19.5

"He is a very talented and physical player with a tremendous work ethic, who is an asset to our organization both on and off the ice. With the signing of Allen, we now have assembled a core nucleus of defencemen for next season that includes Jay Bouwmeester, Ruslan Salei and Mike Van Ryn.''

– Jacques Martin

Bryan Allen had a breakout 25-point season after arriving in Florida in the Todd Bertuzzi trade and one year later would sign a long-term extension at age 26. It’s ironic in retrospect to see Jacques Martin express excitement about their new defensive nucleus of Allen, Bouwmeester, Salei, and Van Ryn. Three of those D and Martin himself would be gone within 2 years.
 
Allen’s career year in 2007 proved to just be a blip on the radar, as his offensive contribution withered. That’s a lot of money to pay for just hits and blocks. He averaged 12 PTS per season, 19.5 minutes of ice time. In year four Bryan was dumped on Carolina for Sergei Samsonov (who played 20 games for Florida and retired). Allen did get another deal after this that you can read about on the Anaheim Mighty Ducks worst contracts list.
 
 
9. Willie Mitchell
 

Signed By:	Dale Tallon		Position:	D
Date:	2014-07-01		Age July 1st:	37
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	0
Total Money:	$8.5M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$4.25M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	10.0	112	15	111
Per 82 GP	5.0	82	11	81	20.9

“Willie is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, who adds leadership and a veteran presence on our blue line. He is a high character, hardworking player who will be counted upon to help develop our younger defensemen both on and off the ice.”

– Dale Tallon

Willie Mitchell had enjoyed a long career in the NHL with a pair of Stanley Cup rings when he returned to the UFA market at age 37. Willie’s body had endured a heavy toll at that stage in his career, but part of his role was supposed to be mentoring Aaron Ekblad, and it’s hard to quantify that value. The problem was, the price of the mentorship was far too high.
 
Willie’s contemporaries in his basket of comparables averaged 1 year $2.2M (adjusted for cap inflation). Mitchell more than doubled that. Over these 2 seasons Mitchell was named captain and played 112 games, scoring 15 PTS. His Corsi For in year two was 42%. Willie retired when this expired.
 
 
10. Filip Kuba
 

Signed By:	Dale Tallon		Position:	D
Date:	2012-07-01		Age July 1st:	35
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	0
Total Money:	$8M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$4M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	10.3	44	10	50
Per 82 GP	5.1	82	19	93	21.2

“He is a big, strong and responsible, shutdown defenseman who averaged more than 23 minutes of ice time per-game last season. We are confident that he will fit very well into our top six and help our power play. We look forward to his contributions to our team.”

– Dale Tallon

Filip Kuba had reversed a downward trend at age 34 by scoring 32 PTS and averaging 23.6 minutes per game with the Ottawa Senators in 2012, aided by his pairing with 2-time Norris trophy winner Erik Karlsson. As it turned out, Erik might have been doing more of the heavy lifting on that pairing than Dale Tallon realized.
 
The two sides agreed to a July 1^st treaty very similar to one Pavel Kubina signed 2 years earlier in Tampa. Once in Florida, Kuba’s ice time dropped, the points dried up, and the final year was bought out. Filip never played in the NHL again.
 
 
11. Jozef Stumpel
 

Signed By:	Jacques Martin		Position:	F
Date:	2007-06-28		Age July 1st:	34
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	0
Total Money:	$4.5M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$2.25M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	7.0	52	20	64
Per 82 GP	3.5	82	32	101	17.4

"Jozef is a proven playmaker who has fit in very well playing along with our core nucleus of forwards over the past two seasons. He gives us flexibility in our lineup, as he can play center or on the wing, as well as on special teams."

– Jacques Martin

After providing the Panthers with a pleasant surprise on his previous deal, Jacques Martin opted to re-up Jozef Stumpel on a new 2-year pact following a 57-point season at age 34. The veteran center would get a pay raise on the same amount of term as before. The salary was identical to what Tomas Holmstrom had procured from the Red Wings a few months earlier, but one less year of term.
 
The bad news is, the Panthers gave Jozef a pay raise but received a worse player. Stumpel lasted just a single season, scoring 20 PTS in 52 GP before being bought out. Joe left North America to punch a new ticket in the KHL.
 
 
12. Tomas Kopecky
 

Signed By:	Dale Tallon		Position:	F
Date:	2011-06-29		Age July 1st:	29
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	7
Total Money:	$12M		Playoff PTS:	1
Cap Hit:	$3M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	15.1	240	79	436
Per 82 GP	3.8	82	27	149	15.9

“It took a lot of pain to get ourselves in this position. We’ve earned the right to do what we need to do to get this franchise turned around.”

– Dale Tallon

Dale Tallon traded a 7^th round pick to acquire Tomas Kopecky 3 days before he was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at age 29, inking a 4-year extension 2 days later. The Slovakian winger won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010 then exploded for a 42-point season in 2011, doubling his previous career high.
 
Kopecky was decent on the front half and terrible on the back half. Part of the impetus for Dale’s spending spree that July was that the team was $22M under the salary floor. These were not necessarily acquisitions intended on carrying the team to the Stanley Cup, but more a situation where they had no choice but to dump a bunch of money on whoever happened to be UFA that summer. The result was dreadful.
 
 
13. Anton Stralman
 

Signed By:	Dale Tallon		Position:	D
Date:	2019-07-01		Age July 1st:	32
Term:	3 years		Playoff GP:	5
Total Money:	$16.5M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$5.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	16.7	181	51	222
Per 82 GP	5.6	82	23	101	20.7

"I like his ability to move the puck, his defensive play. He's steady. He's reliable. He's smart. He'll be a good partner for one of our young guys.”

– Dale Tallon

Anton Stralman struggled with injury during his last season in Tampa before landing on the UFA market at age 32. The Swedish defenseman saw his ice time increase upon arrival in Florida, but the effect on his teammates was hardly positive. Barkov and Huberdeau both had substantially worse expected GF% when they were on the ice with Stralman, as was the case with several other forwards.
 
The offensive contribution was not anywhere near what should be expected for that kind of money, and several of his teammates were worse when on they were on the ice together. This was eventually shipped off to Arizona with a 2nd round pick in a salary dump.
 
 
14. Jason Demers
 

Signed By:	Tom Rowe		Position:	D
Date:	2016-07-02		Age July 1st:	28
Term:	5 years		Playoff GP:	5
Total Money:	$22.5M		Playoff PTS:	3
Cap Hit:	$4.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	23.8	276	71	329
Per 82 GP	4.8	82	21	98	19.8

"He will play an integral role on our blue line and will help our transition game and special teams. This is another important signing for us this offseason."

– Tom Rowe

Jason Demers played most of his career with the San Jose Sharks before getting traded to Dallas with a year to go in his previous deal. Demers reached his career summit in 2014 when he scored 34 PTS. While his output had diminished over the following 2 seasons, that did not deter the Panthers from making a drastic overpayment.
 
Demers was able to command a big price on the UFA market by virtue of being a right-shot defenseman at age 28. That’s a commodity that too many General Managers are overly generous when buying. Jason would only last 1 season in Florida before getting dumped on the Coyotes in return for a bad Jamie McGinn contract.
 
 
15. Mike Matheson
 

Signed By:	Dale Tallon		Position:	D
Date:	2017-10-07		Age July 1st:	24
Term:	8 years		Playoff GP:	13
Total Money:	$39M		Playoff PTS:	6
Cap Hit:	$4.9M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	39.4	252	94	459
Per 82 GP	4.9	82	31	149	19.6

"He is a dynamic and intelligent defenseman with impeccable character and work ethic. Mike has developed into a difference maker on our blue line and will be an important player and leader for the Panthers for many years to come."

– Dale Tallon

Dale Tallon decided to give Mike Matheson an 8-year extension after one season in the NHL, where he led all Panthers defensemen in even strength ice time as a rookie. He also logged significant minutes on the Panthers penalty killing unit which ranked 2nd best in the league. Matheson is a good skater who provides a physical element to his game.
 
Over the next 2 years, Mike would average 9 goals, 27 PTS, and nearly 22 minutes per game of ice time, but also developed a reputation for mental mistakes and flawed defensive play. By the 2nd year of this deal, his average ice time was cut by over 4 minutes per game, as the warts in his performance became more pronounced. Matheson was still good enough to draw the interest of Jim Rutherford, who traded a bad Patric Hornqvist contract to add the defenseman. Matheson was a better player in Pittsburgh, allowing the Penguins to trade him for Jeff Petry at a later date. He struggled with injury in Montreal.