Five NHLers making big impacts on value contracts in 2024-25

Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The NHL season isn’t even a month old yet, but most teams have played around 10 games this year. It’s not a large sample size, but it’s a good opportunity to get a read on some trends around the league.

On the troubling side, for example, Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens has no goals and just three points while making $7.1 million per year on a seven-season deal. Anders Lee has three points at $7 million with the New York Islanders, too. Steven Stamkos’ new $8 million AAV contract with the Nashville Predators has proven to be a bit pricy for his output, too.

So, let’s examine the other side. Which players making less than $1 million are proving to be well worth their contracts?

Alex Lyon, G (Detroit Red Wings)

Contract: $900,000, Pending UFA

At some point, teams will start putting their full belief in Lyon. He made noise with his excellent late-season heroics with Florida in 2022-23 before signing a very inexpensive deal with the Red Wings the following year. He was one of the team’s bright spots in a three-way goalie rotation and, by all accounts, deserved the benefit of the doubt to be the No. 1 this year.

Instead, GM Steve Yzerman brought in veteran Cam Talbot, whom his American counterpart has outplayed. Lyon, meanwhile, has the sixth-best goals saved above expected at 5.0 and has been a big reason why the Red Wings have kept themselves relevant in the Atlantic Division early on.

Lyon is in the final year of a $900,000 deal, and he’ll be a UFA at 32 years old. Is he a true starting goalie – and if so, for how long? At this point, he at least looks like a solid 1A option, and at less than $1 million, you’re not going to find better value right now. For the Red Wings, that’s important because it won’t be long until one of their real long-term bets – Sebastian Cossa or Trey Augustine – hits it big. They need a stopgap, and if Lyon is as legit has he has shown over the past three years, he could be found money. And, not to mention, he’s going to find a whole lot more of it next summer.

Paul Cotter, LW (New Jersey Devils)

Contract: $775,000, UFA after 2025-26

The Vegas Golden Knights bet big on hoping they could turn Alexander Holtz’s game around, and they moved on from middle-six winger Cotter after 138 games. Holtz is finally starting to see some success with points in his past four games, but it’s nowhere near what Cotter is putting up in New Jersey. Even with a recent three-game scoreless stretch, Cotter has eight points in 12 games and is on pace to break the 50 mark after putting up 25 a year ago.

Cotter has proven to be a good depth scoring piece in his short time in the NHL, and the Devils needed that after seeing things dry up with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier out of the lineup at points last year. Cotter’s play on New Jersey’s third line with Erik Haula and Stefan Noesen has made the team more dangerous than previously imagined, and that’s huge – the Devils look like serious Stanley Cup contenders again. Even if Cotter hits 30 points for the first time in his career, that’ll be a big boost from him because he’s making the league minimum. At 24, he’s still young, and he’ll be 26 when he’s a UFA – and if he keeps this up, Cotter will have no shortage of suitors if he elects to hit the open market.

Johnathan Kovacevic, D (New Jersey Devils)

Contract: $766,667, Pending UFA

Kovacevic has been one of the more underrated young defensemen over the past two years, and it’s good to see him thriving in New Jersey. Given how things fell apart last year, they clearly needed defensive depth. Kovacevic has been paired with Jonas Siegenthaler – often hailed as one of the best pure defensive defenders in the NHL – and it has allowed Kovacevic to open up his offensive abilities a bit more. He had 13 points in 62 games with the Montreal Canadiens last year but is already up to six points in 12 games – putting him on pace for just more than 40.

With Siegenthaler at his side, the pair has combined for an expected goal percentage of 63.7, which is good for sixth among all NHL defensive pairs. Not only that, but Kovacevic is playing more physically, too. After playing some decent hockey with the Canadiens, Kovacevic has come into his own as a 27-year-old blueliner in New Jersey. He’s exactly what they needed, and that’s going to allow him to get a solid pay increase this summer when he hits the open market.

Cole Koepke, RW (Boston Bruins)

Contract: $775,000, Pending UFA

A big reason why the Bruins have remained relevant in the standings the past few years is because they’ve been able to strike gold with their depth finds. The newest case: Koepke, a 26-year-old winger on a league minimum contract who had just three points in 26 games before leaving the Tampa Bay Lightning over the offseason. He was a good AHLer but nothing that screamed more than an occasional call-up option for Boston. But here we are, nine games in, and he has seven points to put him second in team scoring behind David Pastrnak.

Some of Koepke’s analytics aren’t pretty, but he sits third in the NHL with a 5-on-5 points-per-60 of 4.53. Not bad for what most just considered to be a quiet, AHL-bound deal back on July 1. But he’s not alone – the Bruins’ fourth-liner has seen some good chemistry with Mark Kastelic, who, himself, has six points in nine games on an AAV of $835,000. The 25-year-old center has a career-high of 11 points, and he’s on pace to smash that in the next month. Boston’s ability to turn these cheap pieces into immediate help is seriously impressive.

Tanner Pearson, LW (Vegas Golden Knights)

Contract: $775,000, pending UFA

Pearson is a three-time 40-plus-point producer with Los Angeles and Vancouver, but the last few years have been ugly. Between injuries and just poor play, Pearson is nowhere near the contributor he once was. He signed a professional tryout with the Golden Knights this year before training camp but turned it into a full-time deal to play in the middle six. Pearson now has six points in 10 games, which has him on track for a career-best 50 points. Will it last? Recent history suggests no, but he’s definitely playing like a totally new man on a Golden Knights team with no shortage of scoring options.

Pearson could have easily left for Europe or even called it quits, but he never let his NHL dream die. Between his strength, good shot and quick legs, Pearson is capable of being a real impact player in the right circumstances. Right now, in Vegas, it seems like everything’s coming together for a true career revival.

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