Top five early bargain NHL players in 2023-24

Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

Just like the rest of us, NHL teams like to save money wherever they can.

With the salary cap staying rather stagnant the past few years, salaries have gone up, but cap space hasn’t. Any time you can get solid production out of a player making a couple million or less feels like a win.

The ultimate bang-for-your-buck NHLer this year is Nashville Predators forward Tommy Novak. The 26-year-old forward is making just $800,000, but he had been playing at a 70-point pace before suffering an injury this week that’ll take him out for around a month. Given he had 43 points in 51 games last year, Novak’s latest deal was an absolute steal.

Who else deserves love for their efficient play this year? With the help of CapFriendly’s cost-per-point tool, here’s a look at five players playing way above their pay grades right now:

Erik Gustafsson, D (New York Rangers)

2023-24 Salary: $825,000, cost per point of $82,500

While his defensive decision-making can be ugly at points, Gustafsson’s offensive game has never been an issue. He’s on pace for 18 goals and 60 points in his first year with the Rangers, which would tie his output in his first full NHL season with Chicago back in 2018-19. he’s been such a valuable contributor for the Rangers, especially since Adam Fox suffered his injury a few games back. With a salary just over league minimum and a goals-above replacement of 4.8 (good for ninth among all NHL defenders), Gustafsson has given the Rangers everything they wanted – and much, much more.

James Van Riemsdyk, LW (Boston Bruins)

2023-24 Salary: $1 million, cost per point of $90,909

This deal looked like a home run from the get-go. At the very least, a 30-40 point season would be a win for a player turning 35 during the postseason. But the Bruins are once again the class of the field, and JVR is thriving on the team’s second line, giving them some valuable scoring depth behind Brad Marchand. At his current pace, Van Riemsdyk is on track for the third 60-point campaign of his career and first since tallying 62 with Toronto in 2016-17. Anything over 40 points is unbelievable value.

Sean Monahan, C (Montreal Canadiens)

2023-24 Salary: $1.985 million, cost per point of $152,692

Just maybe, the days of Monahan putting up 60-plus points a season aren’t done after all. Drafted sixth overall by the Calgary Flames in 2013, Monahan struggled to stay healthy by the end of his Flames’ tenure and saw his production fall drastically after setting a career-best 34 goals and 82 points in 2018-19. He looked good last year in his first season with the Canadiens, but now he’s humming along with 13 points in his first 16 games this year. He’s second in scoring for Montreal, giving the team a legitimate No. 2 center behind Nick Suzuki. Monahan could be a valuable trade target heading to the deadline, but seeing him revive his career with a rebuilding squad has been amazing.

Ryan Hartman, C (Minnesota Wild)

2023-24 Salary: $1.7 million, cost per point of $154,545

With Marco Rossi and Joel Eriksson Ek thriving as a 1-2 center pair, Hartman is looking great as the third man down the middle. Hartman has been a tremendous value for three years now, scoring a career-best 65 points in 2021-22 after signing his current $1.7 million deal. He was limited to 37 points in an injury-shortened 2022-23 campaign, but he’s now on pace for around 40 goals and 60 points this time around. He signed a three-year contract extension worth $4 million annually that kicks in next year, giving him a well-deserved raise.

Frank Vatrano, LW (Anaheim Ducks)

2023-24 Salary: $3.65 million, cost per point of $228,125

Vatrano has been a human turret this year, exploding offensively with 11 goals and 16 points. With Trevor Zegras struggling from the get-go, Vatrano has stepped up and made this team a dangerous threat night in and night out. He’s on pace for 60 goals, which, given he has never scored more than 24 in a season, would be quite remarkable. At 29, even if he slows down and ends up with 30 goals and 50 points, it’ll still be a breakthrough season for the American winger. He had a career-best 41 points this year, and this is just an extension of that. And at $3.65 million for one more year, that’s one hell of a steal for a rebuilding Ducks team.

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