The best contracts signed in 2024 NHL free agency so far
Free agency is always a tough time of the year for teams to navigate and survive. It’s when teams have the most cap space, and with so many players available to them to try to bring in, it’s very easy for them to start throwing money around. This offseason displayed that quite well, as a rising cap meant that teams had even more money to spend, and as such we had a lot of overpayments and a lot of term.
Because of this, the teams that can find efficiencies in the market give themselves a bit of an advantage. Not only are they still bringing in good players, they’re doing so at much better cap hits to work around, allowing them to make future additions down the road if they’re still competitive. And if they’re not competitive, they can get a lot more assets for those players in trades.
After looking at the worst contracts signed in free agency last week, I’ve decided to dive in and find some of the best contracts signed this summer. There weren’t a ton of options because teams really liked spending this year. But, there were still some good ones that will likely pay off for the teams that signed them down the road.
Honorable mentions
Alexandre Carrier, Nashville Predators ($3.75 million AAV x 3 years)/Sean Walker, Carolina Hurricanes ($3.6 million AAV x 5 years) – I decided to group Alex Carrier and Sean Walker together because both of these deals surprised me considering all of the expensive or long-term contracts that were handed out to defensemen in free agency. Both were locked up to great cap hits and given some term, and they probably would have cracked the list if that term didn’t extend into their 30s.
Viktor Arvidsson, Edmonton Oilers ($4 million AAV x 2 years)/Ian Cole, Utah Hockey Club ($3.1 million AAV x 1 year)/Anthony Mantha, Calgary Flames ($3.5 million AAV x 1 year) – Viktor Arvidsson, Ian Cole and Anthony Mantha only get an honourable mention here because these contracts are relatively close to their market value. But at their best, Cole is an excellent shutdown defenseman and Arvidsson and Mantha are some of the more efficient 5v5 scorers in the league. The chances of them outperforming these cap hits aren’t as high as for some of the other contracts on this list, but I still like all of these deals.
Vincent Desharnais, Vancouver Canucks ($2 million AAV x 2 years)/Blake Lizotte, Pittsburgh Penguins ($1.85 million AAV x 2 years) – In terms of their market value, I’d say that both Vincent Desharnais and Blake Lizotte probably got close to what their worth in terms of these contracts, which is why they don’t crack the list. I wanted to mention them because I like the upside they could potentially bring to their new teams if they get put in the right roles, but for now these contracts are just fair rather than total steals.
Mattias Janmark, Edmonton Oilers ($1.45 million AAV x 3 years)/Kevin Stenlund, Utah Hockey Club ($2 million AAV x 2 years) – I grouped Mattias Janmark and Kevin Stenlund together for similar reasons to Carrier and Walker. Both players were textbook examples of depth guys on teams that went on runs who could have easily cashed in on big deals. Instead, they both get reasonable contracts for what they do, and the term locks them in on that. They aren’t steals, but they’re still excellent value for both Edmonton and Utah.
Erik Brannstrom, Colorado Avalanche
One year, $900,000 AAV
Erik Brannstrom is probably closer to the honorable mentions than he is to the other four contracts that will be listed below. There weren’t a ton of deals this year that jumped out for me as absolute steals, as it came down to me having to pick one of the honorable mentions, and I decided to go with the cheapest one due to the higher chance of Brannstrom exceeding the value on his deal.
The Avalanche have shown in the past that they can pretty much plug in any defenseman into their system and get the best out of them, whether that be Walker last season, or even watching Jack Johnson over the past few seasons somehow look like a competent player. Brannstrom has some intrigue because he does have the toolset that could work for a team like the Avalanche, and while he hasn’t quite broken out and lived up to his draft pedigree yet, I’m interested to see how he performs outside of Ottawa. Considering the unknown variables floating around the Avalanche’s cap situation with Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin, they needed to take some low-cost gambles where they could, and I think Brannstrom could be that.
Jonathan Drouin, Colorado Avalanche
One year, $2.5 million AAV
Last year Jonathan Drouin made the honorable mentions for my best contracts, as the cheap $825,000 deal had basically no risk for the Avs and the only concern would have been if his injury history held him back, either in terms of playing time or his actual ability. So then how does he actually make the list a year later, even though his cap hit is now $2.5 million? Well, because now we know how he works with Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Co., and there’s a lot more confidence in Drouin’s ability to live up to a cap hit of $2.5 million, never mind his $825,000 from last season.
Drouin seems to have found a good place for him in Colorado, largely because of how good the team is at identifying the types of players like Drouin that fit in their system, and with his familiarity with MacKinnon from their time with the Halifax Mooseheads. Last season saw Drouin put up a career-high 56 points in 79 games, and with holes up front due to the uncertainty of Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin, Drouin will probably be put in a position to succeed again this season. He did still run into injury problems at the end of the season, keeping him out for all but three of their playoff games, but even seeing him be mostly healthy is a great sign. If he has a similar season, he’s well worth the $2.5 million cap hit. It’s surprising that he didn’t ask for more after last season, but as I said before, the Avs need all the value deals they can get right now.
Matt Duchene, Dallas Stars
1 year, $3 million AAV
I had rated Matt Duchene‘s deal with the Stars last year very highly, as it was a great example of Duchene coming off a buyout and taking a discount to try and win with Dallas. It was a big reason why the Stars’ depth up front last season was so imposing, and he clearly benefitted from it with 65 points in 80 games. Going into the offseason, I thought that it would be a challenge for the Stars to replicate that depth this season, largely because I assumed that they would be priced out of bringing back Duchene.
And yet, here Duchene is, back on the exact same deal for another season. While they did lose a couple pieces up front, they still managed to retain all of the important ones, so having Duchene back in the same spot again next season means that Dallas will likely be just as successful next season. What else is there to really say here? We already know how he does in this role and on this contract, so if it was a win last season, the only thing preventing it from being a win this season is that he’s one more year past 30.
Erik Gustafsson, Detroit Red Wings
2 years, $2 million AAV
I didn’t give enough love for Erik Gustafsson‘s contract last season. The New York Rangers got him at just $825,000 despite him showing signs of his offensive game returning in 2022-23, and they were rewarded for the gamble. Not only did Gustafsson play well in a depth role for the money he was paid, he also stepped up on their top power play when Adam Fox was hurt and barely looked out of place among the talent that they had on that unit.
That’s why I like this deal for the Red Wings, even though it comes at a slightly higher price tag. With Jake Walman and Shayne Gostisbehere out of the picture, Detroit needed some more offense from the blueline and Gustafsson will happily provide that. Whether he ends up on their second power play unit or on their top unit (if Derek Lalonde wants to continue to give Moritz Seider no easy minutes), Gustafsson should put up the points worthy of at least being worth the $2 million he’s getting paid each season. Detroit may not have won the offseason as a whole with some of the weird decisions they made, but at the very least, this is a nice win for them.
Jeff Skinner, Edmonton Oilers
1 year, $3 million AAV
Even before Jeff Skinner signed his contract, he was probably the biggest lock for this list. Money was likely going to be the last thing on his mind entering free agency considering that he was just bought out of his eight-year, $9 million AAV contract with the Sabres; he’d still be getting paid almost $2.5 million from that buyout next season. Considering that he has yet to make the playoffs in 14 years in the NHL, it seemed like a shoe-in that he’d sign a team-friendly deal with a Cup-contending team.
Well, who better to do that with than the team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final last season? Skinner joins an Edmonton Oilers team that is almost identical to the squad that made the run to the Final, and the few changes can certainly be looked at as upgrades. It seems incredibly likely that they will end his playoff drought, and he might even get a chance at a Cup as well. Skinner’s previous $9 million was an overpayment, but $3 million is probably below the value he’s brought over the past few seasons. With him and Arvidsson joining the team, the Oilers’ top six forward group looks like one of the best in the league, which will also probably give Skinner a productive season to cash in on next offseason. Connor Brown‘s season last year showed that individual success isn’t a guarantee in Edmonton, but Skinner is in as good of a spot as any for both team and individual success.
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