The worst contracts signed in 2024 NHL free agency so far
You would think that after almost 20 years of the salary cap, NHL teams would learn from the mistakes that are made on the first day of free agency. And yet, after spending all season scrambling to get out from under contracts they signed that aged poorly within a couple seasons, they do the exact same thing once the free agent market opens up again every year.
And this year’s edition of the mad scramble to waste salary cap space had some doozies. While last year saw GMs either go too high on term or too high on salary, a lot of examples this year did both – on a market that didn’t have a talent pool justifiable to hand out those types of contracts.
So, let’s dive into five of the worst contracts handed out in free agency so far, with a lot of them going to players considered to be at the top end of the market. First, some honorable mentions:
Honorable mentions
Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins ($7.75 million x 7 years) – The Bruins’ lack of a top six center was one of the most obvious depth problems in the league, and with Elias Lindholm being the best option on the market, it made sense for them to pay up to finally get a quality top-six center. But that doesn’t mean that this doesn’t come without a massive risk. Lindholm has now gone two whole seasons since his 82-point performance in 2021-22, and the 57-point pace he’s played at since is not worth the money or term that Boston paid here, so they better hope they get 2021-22 Lindholm going forward.
Sean Monahan, Columbus Blue Jackets ($5.5 million x 5 years) – Did we not just go through this situation with Sean Monahan two years ago? The Calgary Flames needed to give up a first-round pick just to get rid of his at-the-time $6.375 cap hit with his poor performance and injury issues! While it’s been great to see him rejuvenate his career, it is a big risk for the Columbus Blue Jackets to bet on Monahan keeping up his recent play for five years given his injury history, even if he’s reuniting with Johnny Gaudreau.
Brett Pesce, New Jersey Devils ($5.5 million x 6 years) – I love Brett Pesce, and I think he will be a great fit on the Devils for the next few years. But six years is a long time for a player who will turn 30 in November. Add in the fact that they traded John Marino, who is probably better defensively than Pesce, to make this signing happen, and it feels like a step back in the long run for a team that is set to contend for a long time.
Chris Tanev, Toronto Maple Leafs ($4.5 million x 6 years) – I feel like most of the Leafs signings so far this summer fall under the same umbrella: not a bad addition, but the contract is enough above market value that it doesn’t feel like a win. Chris Tanev really personifies this, because in a vacuum, he’s the perfect add for the Leafs to help their defensive issues, but signing a 34 year old to a six-year deal is insane. Sure, it can be LTIRed down the road if he gets hurt, but signing someone to a long-term deal in the hopes that he doesn’t play the full term out isn’t really the big-brained move a lot of Leafs fans seem to think it is.
Joel Edmundson, Los Angeles Kings
Four years, $3.85 million AAV
Four years ago, the Montreal Canadiens gave Joel Edmundson almost the same deal as he got this summer (to which it was panned quite severely off the hop), and outside of a solid first season where he primarily played alongside Jeff Petry or Shea Weber, he never lived up to it. And the Kings just decided they should do it again! It was insane to do it then when he just wasn’t that good of a defenseman, so it’s even crazier to do it now when he’s 31 years old.
I got to watch Edmundson a bit more when he played for the Leafs, and while many Leafs fans said he was good, I don’t think anyone ever gave me a legitimate reason as to why they thought he was good. He’s not effective defensively, including on the penalty kill, and he can’t move the puck up the ice. He’s basically getting paid to be a big body, and there are a lot of defensemen who can do that just as well that aren’t being paid this much money. Add in the fact that he’s serving as their replacement for Matt Roy, and this is a tough one to justify for Los Angeles, especially when they have the cap space to pay up the extra $2 million.
Brandon Montour, Seattle Kraken
Seven years, $7,142,857 AAV
Look, I get it. Brandon Montour was probably the best offensive defenseman on the market, especially given the 73-point season he had in 2022-23, and the Kraken still need more top-end skill on their roster. On paper, Montour provides that, and whether they go with Montour or Vince Dunn on their first power play unit, it should help the Kraken more offensively.
But outside of that 73-point season, Montour’s resume isn’t all that good. He’s only hit 30-points on three other occasions, and while two of those did come with the Florida Panthers after they unlocked his potential, the Kraken are paying a lot of money for a defenseman who has only surpassed 40 points once. Add in the fact that he did have a major surgery last year, and he took a step back after that, and there’s plenty to be concerned about. If the Stanley Cup-winning team was so easily willing to let Montour walk, you have to wonder if it’s worth paying that much for him.
Brady Skjei, Nashville Predators
Seven years, $7 million AAV
A lot of people credited the Predators as one of the biggest winners during free agency, and to some extent, I agree. They managed to bring in a couple of great scorers in Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault for a team that last year had the play-driving ability but not the finishing talent. Even though the final couple years of those contracts have a chance of getting ugly, it’s still a good gamble while they develop their younger players. But when people were mentioning Brady Skjei as one of their wins, that’s where they lost me a bit.
Skjei is pretty good defensively, but he just doesn’t move the needle on the back end like a lot of people seem to believe that he does. Add in the fact that he’s 30 years old, and a seven-year deal with a $7 million cap hit has high potential to get ugly very quickly. Skjei got lucky and cashed in on the fact that he was one of the two really big names on the market for defensemen, but that doesn’t mean that teams should be spending like that. Barry Trotz and the Preds certainly made some headlines on Day 1, but this deal was a little bit too bold for my liking.
Chandler Stephenson, Seattle Kraken
Seven years, $6.25 million AAV
Seattle reeeeeeally went all in on throwing big money at the table scraps of Stanley Cup winning teams on July 1st. On top of Montour, they also signed Chandler Stephenson to a seven-year deal for about $1 million less, making him their highest-paid forward. Big props to Stephenson, who seemed to be a fringe player at the start of his career but managed to grow into a solid top-six forward, but he is not the kind of forward you give this kind of money too.
Stephenson has been more productive in recent seasons, but even then, he’s topped out at 65 points, and that’s been primarily alongside Mark Stone (when Stone is healthy). You’re banking quite a lot on Stephenson continuing to play that way on a Kraken roster that does not have the top-end scoring. In a sense, he’s a perfect fit for the Kraken in that he’s another middle six forward to add to their scoring depth, but that’s not what Seattle needs; they need top-end scoring. And it’s going to be even harder to get that talent when you’re paying that kind of money to Stephenson for as long as they are.
Nikita Zadorov, Boston Bruins
Six years, $5 million AAV
Until this season, I don’t think I’ve ever really thought too long and hard about Nikita Zadorov. He’s always come across as a defenseman who best thrives in a bottom pair role, but can play in a top-four role alongside a capable partner in a pinch, and the numbers have generally aligned with that. And yet, I’ve had to think about Zadorov more than I’d like to over the past calendar year between the trade request, the trade to Vancouver, the goals in the playoffs, and the looming contract status, and Zadorov has appeared to cash in on the sudden attention he’s gotten.
Zadorov is a great example of the two mistakes that teams make in free agency, especially on the first day. This season, the first mistake was trying to learn from the Florida Panthers on how to win, and learning the wrong lesson in the process. Most teams seem to have mistakenly thought that the lesson was them being physical when they actually won by being an elite defensive squad with arguably the best defensive forward and defenseman in the league. And even when teams hyper focus on that lesson, they pay big money for a player like Zadorov, when they should actually be looking for the next Zadorov who comes at a much smaller price. Boston lost to Florida in the second round, thought the issue was their physicality, and decided to overpay Zadorov to get that done, and it will likely hamper them in the long run.
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