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Largest Contract In Franchise History For Each NHL Team

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Here’s our list of the largest contracts each of the 32 NHL teams has ever signed. Each contract is linked to its PHR post, except for those that predate the site’s existence. The amounts denote the total value owed to the player, including deferred money.

Conor Geekie Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that forward Conor Geekie is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The 20-year-old went hard into the boards in the second period of last night’s game against the Florida Panthers and left for a brief period. He was able to return to action later on and finished out the game but did not dress for tonight’s second half of a back-to-back against the Panthers. The Lightning don’t play again until Saturday against the New York Rangers, so it is possible that Geekie doesn’t miss any game action, although the details of his injury are unknown.

The 11th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft was a central part of a trade this summer that saw him dealt to the Lightning from the Utah Hockey Club, along with two draft picks and J.J. Moser in exchange for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.

The trade has afforded Geekie an opportunity in Tampa Bay to play a depth role, something he has responded well to. In 31 games this year, the Strathclair, Manitoba native has posted five goals and five assists as well as 51 hits while averaging 12:30 of ice time per game.

Geekie remains a bit of a project for the Lightning, but he is certainly one of their best young players. The 6’4” forward has made good use of his size this season but still has a long way to go to improve his skating and his balance if he hopes to become a stand-out power forward at the NHL level.

Predators Place Cole Smith On IR

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The Nashville Predators have placed forward Cole Smith on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. The 29-year-old is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks. Although no specifics about his injury were given, it is likely related to the hard shot he took off the ankle in Saturday night’s contest against the Los Angeles Kings.

Smith is in his third full NHL season with Nashville after a four-year NCAA career and a couple of seasons in the AHL. The native of Brainerd, Minnesota has never been a prolific scorer but has been difficult to play against in his brief NHL career, playing the role of a disruptive forechecker as well as displaying a keen ability to get to the front of the net. He has also been a good penalty killer, utilizing his 6’3” frame to force turnovers.

Smith had a career year last season, tallying nine goals and 14 assists in 80 games, but has seen his offensive output dry up this year with just two goals and three assists in 34 games. Although that is a dramatic drop-off in production, it is likely due to his deployment which has seen him start just 20.7% of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone compared to 35.1% last season.

Deployment aside, Smith has also seen his PDO (shooting percentage + save percentage) drop a full five points and his CF% has also dipped from 48% down to 45.8%.

Jets Reassign Simon Lundmark

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5:02 p.m.: After Winnipeg completed a 5-2 win over Toronto, Lundmark is back to the minors and off the active roster for the holiday break. Expect him to be recalled later this week if Stanley and Fleury aren’t ready to go for their next contest.

3:27 p.m.: The Jets announced that they’ve recalled right-shot defenseman Simon Lundmark from AHL Manitoba prior to today’s game against the Maple Leafs. It’s the first recall of his NHL career aside from a one-day emergency stint on the roster in January 2022. Winnipeg had an open active roster spot, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.

Lundmark was scratched from today’s contest, but his services may be needed when Winnipeg resumes its post-break schedule against the Senators on Saturday. Logan Stanley has missed the last two contests with a lower-body injury, while Haydn Fleury left today’s game with a non-contact right knee injury. The 24-year-old, who the Jets selected in the second round in 2019, hit restricted free agency last summer but eventually agreed to a one-year, two-way pact to stay in Winnipeg and cleared waivers during training camp. He’s made 22 appearances with Manitoba this season, posting six points in 22 games. He has a -7 rating that’s middle of the pack on a Manitoba team that’s struggled to the tune of a 7-17-1 record.

While Lundmark has been a regular contributor on Manitoba’s blue line since coming to North America from his native Sweden in 2021, he’s never done enough to put himself in serious consideration for a roster spot. His offensive production has been consistent, stagnating at around 0.25 points per game, and he has a cumulative -24 rating across 210 AHL appearances.

Lundmark can remain on the Jets’ roster for up to 30 days or play 10 games until he requires waivers to return to the minors. He carries a $775K cap hit, leaving the Jets with $4.22MM in current cap space with a full roster.

Hurricanes Reassign Riley Stillman

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The Hurricanes announced today that they’ve returned defenseman Riley Stillman to AHL Chicago ahead of tonight’s game against the Predators, their final contest before the holiday break. They now have an open spot on the active roster, which will likely be filled by a recall on the blue line come Friday, whether that’s Stillman or someone else.

Stillman, 26, was signed to a one-year, two-way contract after reaching unrestricted free agency last summer. The Hurricanes picked him up after he spent the entire 2023-24 campaign in the AHL with the Sabres’ affiliate in Rochester, marking his first season without any NHL action since 2017-18.

After missing the first 12 games of the season following offseason lower-body surgery, Stillman cleared waivers in mid-November and has spent the time since heading up and down between the Hurricanes and the Wolves. He’s yet to actually enter a game for Carolina this season, but he has been rostered for seven contests as a healthy scratch and last-minute injury insurance. The endless juggling between leagues also means that Stillman has only played seven AHL games since getting his season underway last month, posting two assists, 11 PIMs, and a +1 rating.

It’s easy to see why Stillman hasn’t gotten an NHL crack on Carolina’s very deep and very healthy blue line. Their top six defenders – Brent Burns, Jalen Chatfield, Shayne Gostisbehere, Dmitry Orlov, Jaccob Slavin, and Sean Walker – have all played all 33 games for the Canes this year, providing no opportunity for Stillman (or other frequent press-box option Ty Smith) to see NHL ice. With 26 points, a -19 rating, and underwhelming possession metrics in 158 career NHL games, Stillman wouldn’t sit higher than No. 7 on pretty much any other team’s defensive depth chart anyways.

Assigning Stillman to the minors will delay his temporary waiver exemption. Between his roster moves, Stillman’s still appeared on Carolina’s roster for less than 30 days since clearing waivers last month, so he won’t be exposed to the waiver wire again today.

Oilers Sign Connor Clattenburg To Entry-Level Deal

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Oilers left wing prospect Connor Clattenburg has put pen to paper on a three-year entry-level contract, his agent, Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein, relayed today. The contract carries an $855K cap hit and will pay him $775K in the NHL and $82.5K in the minors, with an $80K signing bonus each season, per PuckPedia.

The Oilers just picked up Clattenburg, who stands at 6’2″ and 205 lbs, in the fifth round of this year’s draft. The 19-year-old had been passed over in the 2023 draft, but after posting 13 goals, 16 assists and 29 points in 60 Ontario Hockey League games split between the Soo Greyhounds and Flint Firebirds last season, he generated interest from Edmonton.

A bang-and-crash winger in the truest sense of the description, Clattenburg has improved his game offensively this season with 10 goals and 18 points in 22 games with Flint. He serves as the Firebirds’ captain and leads the team with 57 PIMs.

Clattenburg won’t play in the NHL this season and will remain on loan to Flint, so his freshly-signed ELC will slide to the 2025-26 campaign and expire in the summer of 2028. His $80K signing bonus for this season will be paid out regardless, though, lowering his cap hit slightly when his deal does go into effect.

He didn’t check in as a top-15 prospect in the Edmonton system in McKeen’s Hockey’s preseason ranking, nor did he crack the top-20 in Allan Mitchell of The Athletic’s offseason look at the Oilers’ prospects. His ceiling is that of a fourth-line piece, although a fringe recall option is a far more likely projection. Clattenburg will be eligible to suit up for AHL Bakersfield next season or return to the OHL for an overage campaign.

Avalanche Reassign Keaton Middleton, Jere Innala

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With their pre-holiday break schedule wrapped up, the Avalanche announced this morning that they’ve assigned defenseman Keaton Middleton and right-winger Jere Innala to AHL Colorado. Their active roster is now at 20.

Middleton’s demotion seems unlikely to be reversed when the Avs return to action on Friday. That’s because defenseman Josh Manson is expected to return from an upper-body injury after the break and come off injured reserve, knocking Middleton off the roster. All of Colorado’s other demotion options would require waivers, while Middleton hasn’t been on the roster for long enough since last clearing them to necessitate hitting the wire today.

The 26-year-old younger brother of Wild defender Jacob Middleton has played in the Avalanche’s last nine games, his first in the NHL since making his debut with the Avalanche in April of 2021. The longtime Colorado farmhand was a fourth-round pick of the Maple Leafs back in 2016 but never signed, waiting until 2021 to land his first NHL contract with the Avs. He’s been in their system ever since, racking up 59 points and 390 PIMs with a +27 rating in 251 showings for the AHL side over the last five seasons.

Middleton, who’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, had four assists in 17 AHL games before being recalled. In his nine appearances with the Avs, he went without a point but logged a +1 rating and 13 hits while averaging 10:31 per game. The Avalanche controlled 47.6% of shot attempts in Middleton’s limited 5-on-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, Innala was summoned for the first time on Thursday as Colorado rotates depth forwards in the absences of Jonathan Drouin and Miles Wood. The 26-year-old signed with the Avs as a free agent over the offseason after spending the last two seasons with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League, where he accumulated 54 points in 94 games and represented his native Finland at the 2021, 2022 and 2024 World Championships. He averaged 7:57 across two contests, posting a -1 rating and four shot attempts (none on goal). He had five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 21 AHL games prior to the recall. He could find himself back on the roster when the holiday break concludes.

Kraken Reassign Ben Meyers, Gustav Olofsson

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Dec. 23: After being rostered for their back-to-back over the weekend, the Kraken returned Meyers and Olofsson to Coachella Valley this morning, per a team announcement. Olofsson didn’t play during his recall, while Meyers posted a -1 rating in 8:52 of ice time in last night’s loss.

Dec. 21: Seattle has added some reinforcements to its roster in advance of their game tonight against Vegas.  The team announced (Twitter link) that forward Ben Meyers and defenseman Gustav Olofsson have been recalled from AHL Coachella Valley.

This is the second recall of the season for Meyers who got into three games with the Kraken back in November but was held off the scoresheet while averaging just under eight minutes a night.  The 26-year-old has been productive with the Firebirds, collecting nine goals and ten assists in 22 games with them.  Signed to a one-year, one-way contract in unrestricted free agency this summer, Meyers could be heading back there next year unless he gets into ten more NHL games this season which would then make him a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.

As for Olofsson, it’s his first time up with Seattle in 2024-25.  The 30-year-old has played in 27 games with Coachella Valley this season, picking up four goals and seven assists, putting him one point shy of his total from last year in barely half as many games.  Olofsson has 63 career NHL contests over parts of seven seasons, four of which have come with the Kraken over the past two years.

Seattle had two open roster spots following the recent demotion of Mitchell Stephens so no further moves were needed to bring Meyers and Olofsson onto the active roster.

Wild Activate Yakov Trenin From Injured Reserve

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The Wild will have winger Yakov Trenin’s services for tonight’s game against the Blackhawks. The team announced this morning that he’s been activated from injured reserve, ending a nine-day absence due to an upper-body injury.

Trenin, 27, became an unrestricted free agent for the first time last summer and landed a four-year, $14MM contract with Minnesota. The 6’2″ Russian forward was a second-round pick of the Predators in 2015 and spent his entire career there until last year’s trade deadline when he was flipped to the Avalanche as a rental.

Unfortunately, Trenin hasn’t come as advertised. Usually a decent secondary option offensively in a checking role, he has just two goals and an assist in 29 showings this year. He’s averaging 13:37 per game, which is his lowest usage since his rookie season, although he ranks second on the team with 82 hits. That physical play hasn’t translated to two-way dominance, as Minnesota only controls 44.4% of shot attempts with Trenin on the ice at 5-on-5. That’s the lowest such share of his NHL career.

He’ll return to the lineup in a fourth-line role with AHL call-ups Ben Jones and Devin Shore, Daily Faceoff projects. That’s a demotion from where he spent most of the year prior to his injury, skating as the third-line right wing alongside Marcus Foligno and Frédérick Gaudreau. The reduction in role also comes despite Minnesota still being without two regular forwards, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jakub Lauko, due to lower-body injuries.

The Wild freed up the roster spot for Trenin’s activation yesterday by assigning Travis Boyd and Jesper Wallstedt to the AHL. As expected, they’re also getting netminder Filip Gustavsson, who’s missed four games with a lower-body issue, back today against Chicago, reports Jessi Pierce of NHL.com.

Rangers Healthy Scratch Chris Kreider

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The Rangers have made veteran winger Chris Kreider a healthy scratch for today’s game against the Devils, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports. Aside from a pair of late-season precautionary scratches in 2017 and 2022, it’s the first time he’ll sit in the press box while healthy for the Blueshirts since his rookie season in 2013-14.

Much has been made of Kreider’s brutal 2024-25 campaign. After three straight seasons of at least 35 goals, Kreider has 11 in 30 games this season but has added just one assist for 12 points with a -4 rating, his first time in the red since 2020-21. He’s averaging 17:26 per game, his lowest figure since 2020-21, and has three points in 11 games since Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on Nov. 25 that the Rangers were dangling him and now former captain Jacob Trouba in trade talks.

It’s unclear if Kreider’s scratch is purely performance-based or if it’s to avoid an injury before a trade. No deal will be made in the next few days, but today is the Rangers’ last game before the roster freeze lifts on Dec. 28. 

Kreider’s struggles have underscored much more significant issues with the Rangers, who have now fallen to .500 after starting the season 12-4-1. They’ve gone 4-12-0 in their last 16 games. They could end today in last place in the Metropolitan Division with a regulation loss at New Jersey and wins for the Blue Jackets and Islanders, an unimaginable position for last year’s Presidents’ Trophy winners this far into the season.

Despite Kreider’s underwhelming performance, he’s bounced around the depth chart very little. He’s spent most of the season stapled to Mika Zibanejad and Reilly Smith on the team’s second line, skating there in 24 of his 30 appearances. While he leads the trio in goal-scoring, he’s the weak link in overall point production. Zibanejad has 21 points in 33 appearances, still far below expectations, while Smith has 16 in 32. All of them have struggled defensively, controlling only 47.8% of expected goals together, per MoneyPuck. Rookie Brett Berard will skate in Kreider’s usual second-line left-wing spot today, according to Mollie Walker of the New York Post. He hasn’t been much of a factor offensively either since being recalled last month, posting two goals and an assist in 11 games with a -5 rating and underwhelming possession metrics.

Kreider, 33, is only three seasons removed from leading the league in power-play goals (26) and game-winners (11). From 2021-22 through 2023-24, his 127 goals were seventh in the league behind Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrňák, Connor McDavid, Mikko Rantanen, and Kirill Kaprizov. He’s accumulated 315 tallies and 564 points in 845 appearances, all with the Rangers, dating back to his regular-season debut in 2013. That’s good enough for third in franchise history in goals and 10th in points.

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