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 The book is still available on Amazon, though some of the stats on active contracts are now out of date.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

If you’d like to browse my other best/worst contract lists, click here. 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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The Washington Capitals ranked among the league’s best teams for a considerable proportion of the salary cap era, peaking with their Stanley Cup season in 2018. None of the pacts on their worst contracts list overlapped with that victory, hence why Brooks Orpik is absent. It might have become a buyout, but it also bought a championship (in a manner of speaking).
 
The future of the Capitals franchise will start getting murky as the end draws near for their main attraction and superstar Alex Ovechkin. Once that window is shut, a period of darkness is likely to follow as fans should try to enjoy what little time they have left together. Brian MacLellan has done a fine job in his tenure, but soon enough we’ll see how well he handles a rebuild.
 
 
1. Brooks Laich
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	F
Date:	2011-06-28		Age July 1st:	28
Term:	6 years		Playoff GP:	28
Total Money:	$27M		Playoff PTS:	9
Cap Hit:	$4.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	33.0	289	94	483
Per 82 GP	5.5	82	27	137	15.4

“You don’t win a Stanley Cup playing in the American League”

– Brooks Laich

Brooks Laich was only a year removed from his career best 59 PTS in 2010 when he signed this extension days before he would have become an unrestricted free agent at age 28. He had proven himself to be a workhorse for the Caps, averaging over 18 minutes per game, playing both power play and penalty kill for Washington. The team received much of the same in year one of this deal, albeit with a few fewer points. Then in year two during the 2013 lockout, he injured his groin playing in Switzerland, which later required surgery, cutting his season short.
 
Laich was never the same player again, as his scoring rate would drop to half of what it was when he earned the contract. After 11 seasons of indentured servitude in Washington, Brooks was shipped off to Toronto with a 2nd round pick to get the Leafs to eat the final year. The veteran center would play more games for the Marlies than the Leafs, but did earn one more contract from the LA Kings that would be mutually terminated one month after being signed (rather than be assigned to the AHL). He was unemployed when his former teammates raised the Stanley Cup. Tough break. Somewhere in that dressing room, someone must have carved the words “Brooks was here”…
 
 
2. Michael Nylander
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	F
Date:	2007-07-02		Age July 1st:	34
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	3
Total Money:	$19.5M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$4.9M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	28.9	112	70	164
Per 82 GP	7.2	82	51	120	15.9

"I don't think it made sense to really spend money and add free agents until we knew what we were and just exactly what we needed. So we went through that phase for two years and we think we did some things the past couple days that make us far more competitive and address some real needs. We're hopefully knocking on the playoff door now."

– George McPhee

Michael Nylander enjoyed the two best seasons of his career (by far) coming out of the 2005 lockout with the New York Rangers playing on a line with Jaromir Jagr, scoring 83 PTS in 2007. That summer he hit the UFA market at age 34, and cashed in this ticket with the Washington Capitals, who brought him in to be a playmaking center for their talented wingers. This drew the ire of the Edmonton Oilers, who claimed to already have an agreement with the Swede.
 
The first year was off to a good start (37 PTS in 40 GP) before a torn rotator cuff cost him the remainder of the season. That’s when the shit hit the fan, as he returned the following year scoring at half his previous rate, eventually finding himself as a healthy scratch in the playoffs. The Capitals, tried to trade the contract but could not find any buyers, even the Oilers had lost interest. Desperate for salary cap relief, McPhee buried the remaining term in the AHL (with some time in Europe).
 
 
3. Nicklas Backstrom
 

Signed By:	Brian MacLellan		Position:	F
Date:	2020-01-14		Age July 1st:	32
Term:	5 years		Playoff GP:	11
Total Money:	$46M		Playoff PTS:	7
Cap Hit:	$9.2M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	46.2	102	84	159
Per 82 GP	9.2	82	68	128	18.1

"You can ask anybody in this locker room or previous guys who played, first of all he's tremendous person and an unbelievable centre. To be around him and see how he's grown up, how he's matured, it's great."

–        Alex Ovechkin

Nick Backstrom’s career accomplishments have been underrated as a result of existing in Ovechkin’s shadow. Some might even say that Ovechkin deserves most of the credit for Backstrom’s impressive statistics. No doubt Nicky got a boost from passing so many pucks to the greatest goal scorer of all-time, but it also seems entirely plausible that Ovie would not be chasing down Gretzky’s goal record without Backstrom’s 700+ career assists.
 
The centerman was still close to a point per game player when this was signed, and scored 53 PTS in 55 GP in year one during the shortened 2021 campaign, then in year two he developed a serious hip injury, as his scoring rate dropped by 30% and he missed nearly half the season. If he were to end up spending the rest of the contract on IR after that, it wouldn’t be here. Unfortunately, he seems determined to resume his career, which complicates the Caps cap if he’s nowhere near the same player. If his career is over, this will be removed from future updates.
 
 
4. Jeff Schultz
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	D
Date:	2010-07-07		Age July 1st:	24
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	19
Total Money:	$11M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$2.75M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	14.4	152	19	68
Per 82 GP	3.6	82	10	37	17.2

"I kind of saw salary arbitration as a precautionary measure in case something didn't get done, so we weren't kind of left with nothing. It does take away one year of [unrestricted free agency], but I'm happy with where the numbers were and was willing to give up that one year."

– Jeff Schultz

Jeff Schultz had a strong year in 2010, scoring 23 PTS and registering a very impressive +50 rating, averaging close to 20 minutes per game of ice time. Schultz got paid like a 25-point 20-minute defenseman and expressed concern that he was giving up a year of unrestricted free agency.
 
The Capitals did not get what they paid for. His ice time did not drop in year one, but the scoring did, by more than half. Schultz scored 10 PTS in 72 GP despite playing the most minutes with Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, and Nick Backstrom. By year two he dropped to bottom pairing minutes and started becoming a regular healthy scratch. After year three, Schultz was bought out.
 
As fate would have it, the blueliner was still able to test the UFA market at age 27. The Kings gave him 2 years at $850K AAV, which would be his last NHL contract.
 
 
5. Chris Clark
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	F
Date:	2007-07-18		Age July 1st:	32
Term:	3 years		Playoff GP:	8
Total Money:	$7.9M		Playoff PTS:	1
Cap Hit:	$2.6M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	11.3	159	41	224
Per 82 GP	3.8	82	21	116	12.7

“It is an all-the-time thing. Chris Clark has all-the-time leadership qualities. He is a leader in the mold of one of our all-time favorites, Dale Hunter; a quiet man off the ice, a cantankerous, ultra-competitive player on the ice.”

– George McPhee

In September 2006, Chris Clark was named captain of the Washington Capitals and responded by crushing his previous career peak with 30 goals and 54 PTS. George McPhee signed him to a 3-year extension that summer (Scott Walker autographed an almost identical deal a month earlier).
 
The following season before he’d even begun collecting those new bigger pay cheques, Clark suffered a serious wrist injury that cost him over 60 games. When he eventually returned, and the clock started counting on this term, Clark was not the same player. The winger was eventually traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jason Chimera, who would go on to a long career with the Caps.
 
 
6. Olie Kolzig
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	G
Date:	2006-02-11		Age July 1st:	36
Term:	2 years		Playoff Wins:	0
Total Money:	$10.9M		Playoff SV%:	0.000
Cap Hit:	$5.45M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Avg Adj Cap Hit	GP	W	GAA	SV%
Total	9.6	108	47	2.95	0.902

“This is the only team I’ve known, and I’m very optimistic about where the organization is going and if we could ever win a Stanley Cup here during my time.”

– Olaf Kolzig

Olaf Kolzig did not play well when NHL play resumed after the 2005 lockout, posting a losing record with an .896 SV%. After a long and productive career in Washington, McPhee still felt obliged to make the 36-year-old one of the league’s highest paid goaltenders, despite his play on the ice not aligning with the new pay grade.
 
Year one was not a complete disaster, but still far more than he deserved to be paid. Year two was objectively terrible, posting an .892 SV% and losing the starting duties to Christobal Huet (who started all their playoff games). That was the last straw for Olie, who opted to leave after spending his entire career with the Capitals (reportedly storming out of the dressing room after they were eliminated from the playoffs, taking the name plate from his locker with him). He played 8 more games for the Tampa Bay Lightning before retiring.
 
 
7. Jose Theodore
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	G
Date:	2008-07-01		Age July 1st:	31
Term:	2 years		Playoff Wins:	0
Total Money:	$9M		Playoff SV%:	0.849
Cap Hit:	$4.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Avg Adj Cap Hit	GP	W	GAA	SV%
Total	6.5	104	62	2.84	0.905

"All he has to do is stop two breakaways a game and we'll be good"

- Bruce Boudreau

Jose Theodore won both the Hart and Vezina trophy in 2002 as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, but after Propecia became a banned substance in 2004, Jose was never the same goalie without his hair replacement medicine. His first two seasons after the 2005 lockout were abysmal, earning himself a trade to Colorado. Theodore posted decent numbers in 2008 before becoming an unrestricted free agent at age 31. George McPhee had lost both his goaltenders from the previous campaign, as Kolzig left for Tampa and Huet bought a one-way ticket to Chicago.
 
Over these two years Jose did win hockey games thanks to that high-powered offense, winning 62 and losing 24, but his .905 SV% and -15 goals allowed below average where anything but impressive. If you asked Capitals fans to recount the Jose Theodore years in Washington, it’s very unlikely you’d get a pleasant response, just stirring up some ghosts of playoffs past. Jose was abysmal in the post-season, playing in 4 games, winning zero, with an .849 SV%. He was ousted as the team’s starter by Semyon Varlamov. This was not the end of the road for the veteran netminder, playing 3 more years before retiring, including one decent season in Florida.
 
 
8. Roman Hamrlik
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	D
Date:	2011-07-01		Age July 1st:	37
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	16
Total Money:	$7M		Playoff PTS:	5
Cap Hit:	$3.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	9.0	84	14	65
Per 82 GP	4.5	82	14	63	17.7

“I’m not getting any younger”

– Roman Hamrlik

Roman Hamrlik was available on the UFA market at age 37 after scoring 34 PTS in 79 GP for the Montreal Canadiens. George McPhee decided to pounce on a 2-year deal, luring the aging defenseman to DC.
 
It did not take long to learn that Roman had very little gas left in his tank, as his ice time sank in Washington, until he became a regular healthy scratch. He would eventually be claimed off waivers by the Rangers, but didn’t play much there either. In total he only played 84 games, scoring 14 PTS. This market the end of his professional career. Needless to say, a multi year contract to a 37-year-old defenseman is a huge risk.
 
 
9. John Erskine
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	D
Date:	2010-12-17		Age July 1st:	31
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	11
Total Money:	$3M		Playoff PTS:	2
Cap Hit:	$1.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	3.8	58	8	52
Per 82 GP	1.9	82	11	74	15.4

“Dale? He hasn't talked to me one little bit. I talk to Deano and Jimmy Johnson here and there, but that's about it."

– John Erskine

John Erskine was already no stranger to healthy scratches under previous head coach Bruce Boudreau, but became a permanent fixture in the press box under the Dale Hunter administration. According to most accounts, Dale Hunter barely even spoke with Erskine, mostly giving his enforcer the silent treatment (strange considering Dale’s own history as a player).
 
Erskine was a one-dimensional physical specimen who was often only added to the line-up when the Caps would be playing a tougher opponent and needed to tip the physicality balance. It didn’t help that the big defenseman battled injuries in year two. This did not deter George McPhee to extend yet another richer offer, which did not appear on this list because the bulk of it was spent on injured reserve.
 
 
10. Richard Panik
 

Signed By:	Brian MacLellan		Position:	F
Date:	2019-07-01		Age July 1st:	28
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	5
Total Money:	$11M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$2.75M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	11.1	111	36	130
Per 82 GP	2.8	82	27	96	11.9

"I think I can play everything. It just depends where I'm going to fit. I can play on the third line, fourth line, first line, it doesn't matter. I just want to be the difference guy and make the team better. We will see where I'm going to end up."

– Richard Panik

Richard Panik scored 33 PTS for the Coyotes in 2019 before becoming an unrestricted free agent for the first time at age 28. MacLellan locked the winger into a 4-year term that expires at age 32.
 
Panik had been playing a top 6 role in Arizona, but was dropped all the way down to the fourth line in Washington, seeing his average ice time drop from 16.6 down to 11.3 in year one. That reduction in deployment led to a drop in scoring (his PTS per 60 minutes actually went up). The salary is far too high for that usage. There were some red flags in his basket of comparables that feature on other team’s worst contracts lists.
 
 
11. John Erskine
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	D
Date:	2008-10-23		Age July 1st:	29
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	9
Total Money:	$2.5M		Playoff PTS:	2
Cap Hit:	$1.25M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	3.6	123	17	108
Per 82 GP	1.8	82	11	72	15.3

“I’ve been through a lot of injuries and healthy scratches”

– John Erskine

John Erskine was already a frequent healthy scratch when he was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, yet George McPhee still decided to more than double his salary with an October extension. This was far too much money to pay a 4th pairing defenseman who can’t even stay in the line-up. Over the previous 7 seasons, Johnny never played more than 52 games.
 
Year two of this contract did produce “Peak Erskine”, the only time in his entire career that he scored double digit points, with 73 GP and 11 PTS, still as a bottom pairing D-man. He hadn’t even finished that career year when McPhee extended him in December with an even richer deal. Clearly McPhee loved this guy far more than his coaches.
 
 
12. Carl Hagelin
 

Signed By:	Brian MacLellan		Position:	F
Date:	2019-06-16		Age July 1st:	30
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	10
Total Money:	$11M		Playoff PTS:	1
Cap Hit:	$2.75M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	11.1	167	55	263
Per 82 GP	2.8	82	27	129	14.2

“I thought he fit seamlessly from day one. Really liked him on the third line, the way we used him, we bumped him up obviously with the Oshie injury. Our PK got a lot better. Fits in well with his teammates. It's a really good fit for us, yes."

– Brian MacLellan

The Washington Capitals traded 3^rd and 6^th round draft picks to acquire Carl Hagelin from the LA Kings in February 2019 and solicited his autograph on a 4-year extension before he was set to become UFA at age 30. The Swedish winger had been trending downwards since a 39-point season when he arrived in Pittsburgh in 2016.
 
Hagelin did show an improvement after arriving in Washington, and had an acceptable first season. By the end he produced 27 PTS per 82 GP, which isn’t much higher than the scoring rate for forwards who get paid the league minimum.
 
 
13. Eric Fehr
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	F
Date:	2010-07-08		Age July 1st:	24
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	5
Total Money:	$4.4M		Playoff PTS:	1
Cap Hit:	$2.2M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	5.9	87	23	174
Per 82 GP	2.9	82	22	164	11.4

"This is the healthiest offseason I've had in my pro career and I'm really enjoying it.  I'm getting a good opportunity to get a little stronger, work on a few things I haven't been able to work on in the past, and I'm looking forward to big things next year."

– Eric Fehr

Eric Fehr scored a career high 21 goals and 39 PTS at age 24 and got paid accordingly as an RFA. Most of his comparables at the same time in the 40-point rage received similar salaries with varying term. The problem for Washington is that Fehr was never able to replicate those numbers again. The deterioration was aided by a should injury that cost him a chunk of the schedule, but he doesn’t qualify for injury exemption because 1) he struggled when healthy, especially in year two and 2) the Capitals knew what they were buying. Fehr had struggled to stay healthy his entire pro career to that point, so it’s mildly surprising that he even got the 2nd year.
 
This wasn’t all bad for Washington though, as they were able to trade Fehr to Winnipeg for a 4th round draft pick. It was the Jets who got nothing out of this deal, declining to even extend a qualifying offer to Fehr when this expired. Eric would return to the Caps as an unrestricted free agent for 1-year $600K.
 
 
14. Tom Poti
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	D
Date:	2007-07-01		Age July 1st:	30
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	27
Total Money:	$14M		Playoff PTS:	12
Cap Hit:	$3.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	20.8	214	73	236
Per 82 GP	5.2	82	28	90	21.7

"He's very calm with the puck and makes good decisions, nice and simple. Playing with him is very easy. It is always nice having him in there in a little bit of a leadership role and he's so good on the penalty kill."

– Jeff Schultz

Tom Poti scored 44 PTS with the Islanders as a pending unrestricted free agent at age 30, and actually took less money than some of his 40-point contemporaries between 2006 and 2008, like Wade Redden. While the Capitals may have gotten a discount on the stat line, they also did not get a 40-point defenseman.
 
Poti never again reached those heights, and was plagued by injuries for the rest of his career. On a per 82 GP basis, this wasn’t bad. Poti would have received an injury exemption if I were not running out of bad Washington contracts to write about…
 
 
15. Brian Pothier
 

Signed By:	George McPhee		Position:	D
Date:	2006-07-01		Age July 1st:	29
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	13
Total Money:	$10M		Playoff PTS:	2
Cap Hit:	$2.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	16.1	180	60	272
Per 82 GP	4.0	82	27	124	20.8

“Brian is a mobile, puck-moving defenseman who has performed well in the new NHL”

 – George McPhee

Brian Pothier had never scored more than 8 PTS in a season before an offensive explosion to 35 PTS coming out of the 2005 lockout, while only playing 16.8 minutes per game for the Ottawa Senators. George McPhee scooped up the 29-year-old free agent on July 1st.
 
In year one he logged an incredible 24 minutes per game, a massive increase in total ice time, which strangely coincided with a drop in total points. The Caps weren’t leaving Pothier on the ice that long because he was awesome, but rather because they had a brutal defense that season and very shallow depth. The deployment came back to earth in year two, but he also suffered a serious concussion that cost him the next 14 months. In the final year the Caps packaged Pothier with a 2nd round pick to rent Joe Corvo from Carolina.