Every year, young or overlooked players break out in the NHL and provide incredible value for their teams. In Vegas they know this phenomenon quite well. Jon Marchessault and William Karlsson are impact players for them while earning pennies compared to other stars, and are a big reason why the Golden Knights look like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
But at the other end of the spectrum are players who have fallen apart after signing long-term, big money deals. Veterans who earned a big payday after some excellent seasons in their youth, but aren’t coming anywhere close to delivering on that promise. We’ve looked at this subject in the past, mentioning players like Carl Soderberg and Bobby Ryan, who hadn’t come close to their previous scoring totals. Soderberg has reclaimed some of his offensive touch this season, while Ryan has continued to struggle in Ottawa.
So who really does have the very worst contract in the league? In the poll below we’ve listed some of the obvious options, but make sure to discuss in the comment section who you think tops the list. Is it an aging defenseman, or a useless forward? A former superstar, or a role player riding the spoils of a career season?
The amount listed is how much of the contract is remaining after the 2017-18 season.
[Mobile users click here to vote!]
Brendan Smith.
All of the guys with worse contracts are better players and most were much better players at one point.
Smith sucks and always has sucked but he played a dozen OK games for NYR after the deadline so they hand him 2nd pairing money for 4 years. He’s a #8, at best.
The precedent set by that terrible deal had a ripple effect on almost every team in the league. Just looking at my Pens, they had to give Justin Schultz almost a million a year more than expected and then they had to give Matt Hunwick a similarly terrible deal to get him.
Milan Lucic. Paid like a 1st line player and majority of the season next to Connor Mcdavid. Can’t even average half a point per game. Lucic is where scoring chances go to die.
As a Kings fan it was annoying to see them let Lucic walk after trading so much to get him. But the move turned out so great. They avoided a terrible contract and resigned Lewis, Toffoli and Pearson from the money saved.
I hated the Lucic trade right away. I knew they wouldn’t be able to keep him long term and didn’t like what they sent the other way. So happy the Kings didn’t resign him.
Same thing with Sekera. Just a terrible trade but glad they didn’t retain him either.
Jonathan Toews $10.5 annual cap hit thru 2023 may be the worst contract of all time. With 2017-18 season almost in the books, he is 75th in the league in scoring with 52 points, and probably won’t make it to 60 pts for the year, which will be the third straight season he hasn’t made it to 60 points despite being the third straight year he was a $10.5M cap hit. He deserves credit for captaining 3 Cup winners, but he was never worth the $84 M contract extension and now that his play has steadily deteriorated, he’s at best a 3rd line center. For example, salary aside, I don’t think Pens trade Brassard for Toews even up. Toews salary cap hit is a Chicago franchise albatros that will make the team irrelevant until the 2023-34 (six seasons from now). Ouch.
Toews didn’t get paid just because of his scoring. There are so many other parts to his game. He is still one of the best two-way centers in the league and any team would take that trade. he was going to get paid if he stayed or left and you don’t let a player like that leave.
Salary aside, Pens would be stupid not to do Brassard for Toews straight up. Brassard’s offensive ceiling and Toews current offensive output are roughly the same and Toews is the much better defender. He’s not worth the $10.5m per year, I agree, but he’s still a good player. If he was at $5-7m per year, his contract would be much more palatable.
I know I’ll get hit for this. But Henrik Lundqvist is an awful contact. It is incredible how dumb management was to give him a contract that would handcuff a team from full-fledge competing for the length of the contract. One season in the Stanley cup final. One season in conference final. Both opponents completely outmatching the Rangers. I hate that contract and I can’t wait for it to be over.
Lundqvist’s contract is not the reason the Rangers can’t compete. The other overpriced, underperforming players are. Girardi and Staal were/are paid like first pair dmen, but perform at a third pair level. Nash was being paid as a top line winger and the last few years started producing like a middle six winger.
It’s amazing how many of these players played for the B’s and the fans got so mad they didn’t sign them
Haha. It’s great hearing different fan bases complain about their own horrible contracts. Something similar we all have as sports fans. When it comes to the worst contract in the NHL I have you all beat….
Half of the Detroit Red Wings.
AH!….but which half?
Shea Weber could nuke the Predator cap situation if he were to retire, say with foot problems, at any point before the contract expires.
Is Nashville paying a large part of the Weber contract while he is in Montreal?
No but they are on the hook for any of the recapture penalties if he retires early because it was one of those cap circumvention contracts. It is an at least semi-realistic possibility too since his final 3 years pays him $1 million per year. If he retires with one year left, the Preds are on the hook for a $24 million cap hit for that final season.
Is that only if he actually retires? For instance the Datsyuk contract was still on the books for Arizona but he wasn’t even on this continent. Couldn’t Weber just not show up?
Of course he could also blackmail the shit out of Nashville if wanted to…uh, how about you put $10m in this swiss bank account or my retirement papers may just get filed by accident??
Price and Weber is going to make their cap situation really really bad
Price doesn’t affect Nashville’s cap. And if Weber retires he doesn’t affect Montreal’s cap. The 2 don’t really affect eachother. The hit kinda hurts Montreal while Weber is playing but it isn’t overly painful.
I meant Montreal.
Andrew MacDonald
Kari Lehotenen
I’m surprised that Price isn’t a choice on his own with this list. Great goalie sure…but is any goalie worth that much? It’s such a fickle closely related position with goalies being so close now a days. Hes not like Brodeur or Roy, where they were miles better then anyone. Sure he won a Hart trophy…but so did another Montreal goalie in the past. Can many people even remember his name?? haha. A season or 3 doesn’t make an 80 million dollar legend…unless you already captained your team to 3 cups lol
Not one who is always injured Price is highly over paid
Plus…I can’t reason why Seabrook is tops on this list!? Like so many other players…he’s paid for past performance…like when he was under paid while helping his team win 3 cups.
My pick of the worst contract is Bobby Ryan, Marian Gaborik, Troy Brouwer, Milan Lucic and Loui Eriksson.
I went with Loui he had one good season with a great center in Bergy the guy is a stiff at least some of those guys give you something he gives them nothing
Seabrook is a terrible contract, but can’t understand why he’s tops on this list!? Like so many…he’s being paid for what he contributed in the past when he was under paid.
You answered your own question. Its paying a lot of money for a guy who is likely no longer going to contribute at a high level. He is also locked up for a long time, making him a candidate to be traded, bought out, etc. For the same money, I wouldn’t mind seeing Ryan Kesler on this list as well though.
I don’t think he has terrible contract. I do think he not scoring that many goals because of age.
Victor Rask hands down
I have no comment.
It’s probably best to withhold our opinions until we find out how much those Zamboni drivers are getting paid.
I picked other for Brendan smith. It’s like wade redden redux
dale weise…..healthy scratch every game and his puck possession is terrible.
say hello to first captain and assistant captain of the seattle please not totems. milan lucic and brent seabrook. maybe bobby ryan if next gm is smart enough to give up something to take him like dorian should have this time.
Mike Smith 6m
Gary Bettman is the worst contract in the NHL.
He will tell you that he is worth a premium because not everyone is talented enough to talk out of both sides of their mouth at the same time.
Jori Lehtera. $4.5 mil for 3 goals and really lackluster play in the fourth line.
I think the Blackhawks have the 3 wirst contracts with Seabrook, Keith and Toewes lock up for years to come w no trade deals :(
Carey Price by far has the worst contract. He maybe has 3 decent years left, then there will be a buyout!!!!! Another DiPietro contract in the making. That is the worst contract. Hands Down!!!!!!!
Shea Weber. Also, Shea Weber for the Predators if he retires a year or two early.