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Calvin de Haan

Snapshots: Datsyuk, Faulk, Karlsson, Sutter

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Despite some initial speculation early this off-season, it seems an NHL comeback for Pavel Datsyuk is unlikely. Speaking to Helene St. James of The Detroit Free Press, agent Dan Milstein stated that Datsyuk’s probable landing spot remains his home town of Yekaterinburg with the KHL’s Avtomobilist. A free agent after wrapping up a very successful three-year stint with SKA St. Petersburg, Datsyuk made it known that he was leaving SKA and was hoping to land somewhere more familiar to he and his family. The 40-year-old center’s NHL rights are currently owned by the Arizona Coyotes, but they expire on July 1st with the start of the new league year. As such, there was some thought that he could return to the Detroit Red Wings, where he spent all 14 years of his NHL career. Datsyuk would be joining a team now run by fellow Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman and even in his advanced age, Datsyuk would have had the chance to return to a key role for Detroit. Although he recently visited the city and reportedly spoke to Yzerman and company, Milstein maintains that Datsyuk is more likely to settle into a cushy role in Yekaterinburg. “We are meeting in the coming days to discuss options and future plans,” Milstein said, but it seems that the decision is already close to being made. “It’s very likely Pavel will live up to his promise of playing for his hometown team in Russia.”

  • In an article offering up some trade suggestions over the waning days of the NHL postseason for those teams no longer in the running, USA Today’s Kevin Allen notes that teams may not want to waste their time trying to pry a defenseman out of Carolina. The Hurricanes succeeded this season largely because of their strength on the back end and GM Don Waddell appears more concerned with maintaining that depth rather than leveraging it. Allen reports that the team is engaged in extension talks with long-time stalwart Justin Faulk, whose current contract expires after next season. Allen adds that the team is not interested in dealing Faulk or any of their top-four defensemen at this time, which certainly includes Dougie Hamilton, Jaccob Slavin, and Brett Pesce, but may also include their big free agent addition from last summer, Calvin de Haan. The one defenseman who might have been dangled as trade bait is Trevor van Riemsdyk who, like Faulk, has only one year remaining on his contract. However, a long-term injury that will see van Riemsdyk on the sidelines to begin the season will probably put a damper on any trade talks. van Riemsdyk’s early-season absence will also allow youngsters Haydn Fleury and Jake Bean to see some NHL ice time, keeping all blue line parties content through another season at least.
  • Offer sheets remain a rare occurrence in the NHL – the last came in 2013 – but that doesn’t stop talk from spreading every off-season that one of the top restricted free agents could finally land such an offer. One prominent RFA whose name has not been associated with an offer sheet thus far, perhaps should be, writes David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Schoen believes that center William Karlsson is a prime candidate for an offer sheet this summer. The Vegas Golden Knights are already buried in payroll and the off-season has yet to begin. CapFriendly estimates that they are already over the projected $83MM ceiling for next season, yet still have Karlsson, Nikita Gusev, Malcolm Subban, and others to re-sign. The Knights will be forced to move out salary regardless, but a substantial offer sheet signed by Karlsson may be too much for Vegas to match. Specifically, Schoen names the Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, and Detroit Red Wings as potential suitors, citing cap space and need for all four teams.
  • While it is not a done deal, the Los Angeles Kings don’t appear worried about losing one of their key free agents. Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen reports that the Kings are close to extending Brett Sutter, the captain of the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Sutter, 32, is a respected veteran who Rosen states is a “great conduit between the coaching staff and dressing room.” An experienced and productive minor league forward, Sutter is the type of dedicated player that all organizations like to have around and it seems he will be back with L.A. for at least one more year.

Jordan Martinook, Calvin De Haan Undergo Surgery

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The Carolina Hurricanes made huge strides in the postseason, defeating the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders en route to a berth in the Eastern Conference Final. Unfortunately, it came at a cost. The team has announced that Jordan Martinook and Calvin de Haan have both undergone surgery. Martinook’s procedure was to repair a core muscle and will keep him out for four to six weeks, while de Haan had surgery on his right shoulder and will be out four to six months.

Obviously Martinook will be expected back in time for a full training camp, but de Haan’s injury means he will likely miss at least some of it if not the beginning of the season. That would mean the Hurricanes are potentially going into next year without two of their veteran defensemen, as Trevor van Riemsdyk is also on the shelf after shoulder surgery. That will certainly affect their offseason plans, as many believed the Hurricanes would be looking to move a defenseman for some more help up front.

de Haan returned to action this season after missing most of 2017-18 with the New York Islanders, and once again found his consistent two-way game for the Hurricanes. The 28-year old recorded 14 points in 74 games while posting excellent possession numbers in just over 18 and a half minutes a night. On a deep blue line de Haan actually led the group with 187 hits and blocked more than 100 shots for the fifth time in his career. He has three years remaining on his contract which carries a $4.55MM cap hit.

Martinook meanwhile had an excellent season of his own, setting a career high in goals with 15. The 26-year old forward is an important player for the Hurricanes off the ice as well, taking rookie Andrei Svechnikov under his wing to show him the ropes at the professional level. Martinook has two years remaining on his contract, but may very well be an extension candidate next summer if his positive impact on the Hurricanes continues.

Minor Transactions: 04/07/19

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With the regular season ending Saturday, many teams, especially those who didn’t go to the playoffs, have decided to assign some of their younger players to the AHL to continue to get some playing time. Playoff teams could be adding to their rosters for the upcoming playoff run. Stay tuned to see transactions throughout the day.

  • The Carolina Hurricanes announced they have recalled defenseman Jake Bean from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Bean, the team’s first-round pick in 2016, has had an impressive season in his first full season in the AHL and has been recalled several times by the Hurricanes despite having played in just two games. Bean has 13 goals and 31 assists this year with Charlotte. He will likely fill in for Calvin de Haan, who has already missed a week with an upper-body injury.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have assigned several of their young players to join the AHL’s Binghamton Devils, including forwards Joey Anderson, Nathan Bastian, Michael McLeod and Brett Seney. Anderson has played in 34 games for New Jersey, having scored four goals and seven points. Bastian has spent most of his season with Binghamton where he has played 56 games this season, tallying 17 goals for them, while McLeod has appeared in 52 games with 31 points with Binghamton. Seney has spent more of his season with New Jersey, having scored five goals in 51 games for the NHL squad.
  • CapFriendly is reporting that the Nashville Predators have recalled forward Zac Rinaldo from his conditioning stint with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. Rinaldo was assigned in Milwaukee on Apr. 2 despite undergoing what was considered to be season-ending shoulder surgery in February. He hasn’t appeared in a game since Jan. 1. He played three games for Milwaukee.
  • The Boston Bruins announced they have assigned four players to return to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. The team will send forwards Trent Frederic, Anton Blidh and Zach Senyshyn as well as defenseman Jeremy Lauzon to their former team. Frederic played 15 games for Boston, but didn’t register a point. Blidh played in one game, while Senyshyn played in two games, registering one goal. Lauzon played in 16 games for Boston.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned defenseman Adam Clendening to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. The 26-year-old has spent all but four games with Cleveland, putting up four goals and 36 points in 43 games.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced a flurry of moves today as they have assigned eight players to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, including forwards Christoffer Ehn, Martin Frk, Matt Puempel and Dominic Turgeon, defensemen Jake Chelios, Joe Hicketts, Filip Hronek and Dylan McIlrath. The team also assigned goaltender Kaden Fulcher to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.
  • The New York Rangers have assigned several players to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, according to the AHL transactions page. The team has returned forward Vinni Lettieri and defensemen John Gilmour and Ryan Lindgren. The 24-year-old Lettieri played 27 games for the Rangers this season, but was dominant in Hartford, posting 23 goals and 46 points in 44 games. Gilmour has also dominated in Hartford, putting up 20 goals in 66 games, while Lindgren added needed physicality for Hartford in 63 games as well.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have returned forward Corban Knight and defenseman Mark Friedman to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. Knight, who was injured for much of the season, has only played in four games for Phantoms this season, putting up six points. Friedman, who made his NHL debut Saturday, has played 71 games for Lehigh Valley this season.
  • The Washington Capitals announced they have assigned forward Nathan Walker to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. The 25-year-old Walker has appeared in three games for the Capitals, but will return to Hershey wher he played 54 games this season, posting 14 goals and 34 points.
  • With an injury to goaltender Corey Crawford Friday, the Chicago Blackhawks recalled Kevin Lankinen from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. He wasn’t needed, however, and the team announced they have returned the young goaltender to the IceHogs. The 23-year-old fared well in his rookie season with Rockford, putting up a .911 save percentage and a 2.47 GAA in 18 appearances.
  • The Ottawa Senators announced they have assigned defenseman Andreas Englund to the Belleville Senators of the AHL. Englund played three games for Ottawa this season.
  • Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jaycob Megna cleared waivers Sunday and assigned to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. The 26-year-old Megna played 28 games for the Ducks while playing 35 for the Gulls.

Minor Transactions: 04/01/19

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Welcome to April and the end of the NHL regular season. There are just a handful of games remaining before the 2018-19 playoffs begin and teams have started locking up their first round opponents. Still, for teams battling on the edge of postseason contention the next week may be just as important as any other. Today eyes will be drawn to the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues’ game, which very well could decide the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. The Avalanche currently hold the spot with a one-point lead over Arizona, but have this game in hand on them. As teams prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The Carolina Hurricanes are just one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens in the East and have recalled Haydn Fleury under emergency conditions to help them stay there. The team was defeated last night and need to get back on track tomorrow night when they travel to Toronto, but will be without Calvin de Haan who is heading back to Carolina after suffering an upper-body injury.
  • With Louis Domingue banged up the Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Eddie Pasquale from the minor leagues. The team obviously wants their backup goaltender healthy, but all eyes are on Victor Hedman as he deals with an upper-body injury. Pasquale has played in one game for the Lightning this year but has a solid .916 save percentage through 43 appearances for the Syracuse Crunch.
  • The Calgary Flames are set to rest several regulars after clinching a playoff spot, and Juuso Valimaki has been recalled to take their place. Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk, Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic and Noah Hanifin will all be out of the lineup.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Joe Hicketts from the minor league under emergency conditions, and CapFriendly believes they have moved Mike Green to long-term injured reserve in order to fit him in. Hicketts’ recall follows an injury to Danny DeKeyser, who looks like he may miss the last few games of the season.
  • The Nashville Predators have recalled forward Miikka Salomaki from the minor leagues, bringing him back from a conditioning stint. Salomaki hasn’t played an NHL game since early January but could be an option for the team down the stretch and into the playoffs.
  • With Nico Sturm set to join the Minnesota Wild immediately, Matt Read has been sent back down to the AHL. The team is expected to put Sturm into the lineup as soon as possible, though since he hasn’t yet practiced with the team it is not clear when exactly that will be. Read meanwhile will be on call for the next opportunity as he has been all season.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have returned Sam Carrick back to San Diego of the AHL.  He had been recalled on Saturday and suited up that night, logging just over 12 minutes against Edmonton while picking up an assist.

Calvin De Haan To Make Full Recovery From Eye Injury

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It was a scary moment for Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Calvin de Haan when Alexander Kerfoot’s stick came up and hit him in the eye during last night’s game. The veteran defenseman writhed in pain on the ice for a few moments before leaving the game and travelling to a nearby hospital. GM Don Waddell updated the situation with some great news today, indicating that de Haan avoided serious injury.

Calvin sustained an injury to his right eye last night, but was released from the hospital in time to make the flight home with the team. At this point, his eye is responding as we would hope. We are optimistic that he will make a normal recovery without restrictions to his ability to play hockey in the near future.

de Haan, 27, has come back strong this season after dealing with injury for much of 2017-18. Signing a four-year, $18.2MM deal with the Hurricanes in the offseason, he has stepped into a valuable role for the team as one of their key penalty killers. Logging nearly 19 minutes a night, de Haan also leads the team in hits with 169 and has contributed 14 points on the season.

Getting him back in the lineup quickly will be important for Carolina, who suddenly have jumped into a divisional playoff spot in the Metropolitan. With a 7-2-1 record in their last ten, the team now sits just four points behind the New York Islanders for second in the division and four points clear of a Columbus Blue Jackets team sitting in the final wild card position. There’s no guarantee that they’ll make the postseason, but having de Haan healthy and on the ice in the coming weeks will certainly help.

The team has recalled Haydn Fleury from the AHL under emergency conditions for the time being.

Deadline Primer: New York Islanders

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we continue our look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? As we continue with the Metropolitan Division, here is a look at the New York Islanders.

The New York Islanders are under new management and new general manager Lou Lamoriello has made a name for himself over the years with numerous big deals at the trade deadline during his time with New Jersey and Toronto. The question is whether Lamoriello intends to making a big move with his team being atop the Metropolitan Division.

The team has a core of pending unrestricted free agents who Lamoriello may or may not bring back next season and a number of impressive prospects that are either on the team or sitting with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL and has plenty of cap space to work with. Besides Mathew Barzal, the team still lacks a defining core to work and could use another big-name player or two to give the team several faces to the franchise, which is where the deadline could come in. The real question is do the Islanders want to take the chance of possibly damaging the chemistry the team has created so far this year under head coach Barry Trotz.

Record

35-17-6, first in the Metropolitan Division

Deadline Status

Serious to moderate buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$46.12MM in full-season cap hit, 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 45/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: NYI 1st, CAL 2nd, NYI 5th, NYI 6th, NYI 7th
2020: NYI 1st, NYI 2nd, NYI 3rd, NYI 4th, NYI 5th, NYI 6th, NYI 7th

Trade Chips

The team has a number of players it could package to a team for a big-name player as the team has five significant players who are approaching unrestricted free agency in the summer, including Jordan Eberle, Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, Valtteri Filppula and goaltender Robin Lehner. That doesn’t mean the team has any intention of trading even one of those players. That also doesn’t mean the team won’t let them walk away in free agency either. In fact, there is little known about what the team intends to do before next season and knowing what we know about Lamoriello, the team will make significant changes to their team before the start of next season. However, if Lamoriello intends to make a deal, those five could potentially be part of any package. One interesting storyline is Lehner, who is having a comeback season after struggling greatly in Buffalo and dealing with alcoholism. However, does the franchise feel that he is worthy of a long-term deal or could Lehner be used to work out a deal for a Sergei Bobrovsky?

The team also has a number of young players who could be sent out as well, including Michael Dal Colle, Kieffer Bellows, Joshua Ho-Sang, Otto Koivula, and Sebastian Aho to name a few and that doesn’t even include the talent they still have sitting in the junior ranks. Bellows could be a significant trade chip as the team’s 2016 first-rounder has had significant success on his way up, but has also had some struggles. He currently has 11 goals as a rookie in the AHL. Ho-Sang, who has showed some offensive flair over the years, hasn’t put it all together and has struggled with his attitude. One other significant asset the team has is a significant amount of cap space and the team could be willing to take on a bad contract or two if that can net them another talent.

Five Players To Watch For: F Keiffer Bellows, F Jordan Eberle, F Joshua Ho-Sang, G Robin Lehner, F Brock Nelson

Team Needs

1) Franchise Player: Other than Barzal, the team lacks that face-of-the-franchise player at the forward position who can take over games for the next eight years. The team does have Josh Bailey under contract for a few more years, but the rest of the top-six will have to be written, whether that includes re-signing some of their own unrestricted free agents or whether they attempt to trade for a player like Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, Mark Stone or even someone like Bobrovsky in net.

2) Upgrade on defense: The interesting thing about the Islanders’ defense is that it went from being one of the worst defenses in the league in the 2017-18 season as they allowed 3.57 goals per game (31st in the league) and suddenly the team has totally turned that around in 2018-19 as they have allowed just 2.29 goals per game (first in the league). And that’s with almost no changes on defensive personnel. The team lost defenseman Calvin De Haan, but basically returned the same group from the previous year. Obviously, much of the credit should be given to Trotz, but at the same time, the team needs to consider adding to that defense and improving its blueline like acquiring a Alec Martinez from Los Angeles or Cody Ceci from Ottawa.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Which Carolina Defenseman Is Most Likely To Be Traded?

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With more reporting today that the Carolina Hurricanes are willing to move one of their defenseman, a debate has emerged over who would be the best target among them. The group is incredibly talented all around, but each player has their strengths and weaknesses. That makes for interesting decisions for both the Hurricanes and any inquiring team over what to prioritize as they look for playoff success. Is offensive skill at a premium in today’s NHL, or is a minute-munching penalty killer more valuable when the games get tighter?

Despite most of the trade speculation surrounding Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce, we’ll list the basic stats for each of the defensemen currently on the Hurricanes roster below. Cast your vote on who you think will be traded and make sure to explain why in the comments!

Dougie Hamilton:

25, right-handed
19:30 ATOI
48 GP, 6 G, 10 A, 16 P, -13 rating, 59% CF%
$5.75MM through 2020-21

Jaccob Slavin:

24, left-handed
23:04 ATOI
48 GP, 5 G, 16 A, 21 P, -13 rating, 55.2% CF%
$5.3MM through 2024-25

Justin Faulk:

26, right-handed
22:14 ATOI
48 GP, 3 G, 14 A, 17 P, -2 rating, 54.1% CF%
$4.83MM through 2019-20

Calvin de Haan:

27, left-handed
19:24 ATOI
48 GP, 1 G, 10 A, 11 P, +6 rating, 55.1% CF%
$4.55MM through 2021-22

Brett Pesce:

24, right-handed
19:38 ATOI
39 GP, 3 G, 8 A, 11 P, +14 rating, 54.2% CF%
$4.025MM through 2023-24

Trevor van Riemsdyk:

27, right-handed
15:16 ATOI
44 GP, 2 G, 7 A, 9 P, -2 rating, 53.1% CF%
$2.3MM through 2019-20

Haydn Fleury:

22, left-handed
12:40 ATOI
11 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 P, +1 rating, 52.5% CF%
$863K through 2018-19 (RFA)

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Hurricanes To Bring In KHL’s Michal Cajkovsky On PTO

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The Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said the team will be bringing in KHL defenseman Michal Cajkovsky to training camp, tweets Chip Alexander of the News & Observer.

The 6-foot-4, 236-pound Cajkovsky spent the past two years in the KHL for Yekaterinburg Automobilist, where he posted seven goals and 19 points for the team in 43 games last season. The left-shot defenseman also spent time playing for the Slovakian national team in both the Olympics and in the World Championships. Cajkovsky did spend some time in North America as part of the Washington Capitals organization as he played two years in the ECHL for both the Reading Royals and the South Carolina Stingrays between 2013 and 2015 and was promoted for a 13-game stretch with the AHL’s Hershey Bears in 2015.

What Cajkovsky’s chances are to make the Hurricanes is another question. The team is already loaded on the left side of their defense as they already carry Calvin de Haan and Jaccob Slavin for their top-four as well as Trevor van Riemsdyk and Haydn Fleury as two players battling for the final spot on the left side. The team is already deep on the right-side with Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk and Brett Pesce.

What Does The Future Hold For Jake Gardiner?

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Before July 1st, few people outside of the Toronto Maple Leafs front office were too concerned about the contract status of defenseman Jake Gardiner, who enters the final year of his current deal in 2018-19. Then Drew Doughty, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Ryan McDonagh, and Ryan Ellis all preemptively signed long, expensive extensions. Just like that, the situation for Gardiner changed completely.

Looking ahead to next summer, there is now an argument to be made that Gardiner is the second-best defenseman on the unrestricted free agent market as it currently stands. That was far from true earlier this summer. He has gone from an afterthought to an Erik Karlsson consolation prize. While the free agent class features many prominent veteran defenders – Jay Bouwmeester, Anton Stralman, Marc Methot, and Alexander Edler – it lacks many long-term pieces behind Karlsson and Gardiner. The Winnipeg Jets’ Tyler Myers and the Vegas Golden Knights’ Nate Schmidt would perhaps offer Gardiner some competition, if either unexpectedly reaches the market, but there is a strong case to be made that Gardiner would be the superior target.

The real question is whether or not Gardiner actually makes it to free agency. While nothing has changed about Gardiner’s value or ability since July 1st, his relative cost has shifted dramatically. With a potentially loaded free agent market for defensemen, Gardiner would have been taking a risk by turning down a fair extension from the Leafs to pursue other offers that may not have come once the smoke cleared from the major signings. Now that he almost certainly will be considered one of the top available names, Toronto may have to pay a premium to keep him from testing the waters, if they can. By the time Gardiner finishes next season, his career games played and offensive production will likely be superior to those currently of a player like McDonagh, who just signed a seven-year extension worth $6.75MM AAV. Granted, Gardiner is not the all-around player that McDonagh is, but given his continuously improving play and the boost of being a top available younger player, it is a fair frame of reference. For example, look at the four-year, $18.2MM contract that Calvin de Haan – considered by many to be the best defenseman in this current free agent class – signed with the Carolina Hurricanes this summer despite missing the majority of last season due to injury. The market sets the price and scarcity drives up price.

So will Toronto ante up to keep Gardiner? The Maple Leafs have to be careful with their long-term salary cap management. The team still owes William Nylander a contract this summer, as well as extensions for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner by next off-season. Those are the three names that everyone is focused on when it comes to Toronto. Yet, in addition to Gardiner, other impending free agents that the Leafs would like to keep include forwards Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson, and Josh Leivo, defensemen Travis Dermott, Andreas Borgman, and Connor Carrick, goaltender Garret Sparks, and even incoming imports Par Lindholm and Igor Ozhiganov who could win spots on the team this season. This is the final year that Toronto can take advantage of this massive group of bargain players, all of whom are paid $1.3MM or less and due raises. Not to mention, signing Gardiner and the other blue liners and losing veteran Ron Hainsey will still keep a massive hole open on the right side of the defense that the team will need to continue to search to fill.

The numbers simply don’t seem to add up, at least not very neatly. It would seem difficult for the Maple Leafs to pay Gardiner his market value, extend all of their other key impending free agents, fill the gap on the right side of the top pair next to Morgan Rielly, and still somehow end up under the salary cap next season. The story line to watch this season, as the John Tavares era begins, is whether the Jake Gardiner era is ending. Another career year for the capable defenseman could leave the Leafs without much choice but to let him walk next off-season and continue to work with a pieced together blue line. Do they trade him at the deadline? Do they trade a young core forward to replace him? Or instead do they somehow move salary to fit Gardiner in at any cost? Find out in 2018-19.

 

Poll: Which Free Agent Contract Will Be Regretted The Most?

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Two years ago the unrestricted free agent was flooded with aging players who still looked like they might have a few effective seasons left in them. That led teams to get into bidding wars and overpay, hoping that they could inject some production into the lineup while dealing with the consequences later down the line. Unfortunately, most of these contracts blew up immediately and provided very little value.

The biggest contracts given out in the first few days of the 2016 UFA market were as follows:

Milan Lucic (EDM) – Seven years, $42MM

Kyle Okposo (BUF) – Seven years, $42MM

Andrew Ladd (NYI) – Seven years, $38.5MM

Loui Eriksson (VAN) – Six years, $36MM

Frans Nielsen (DET) – Six years, $31.5MM

David Backes (BOS) – Five years, $30MM

Jason Demers (FLA) – Five years, $22.5MM

Troy Brouwer (CGY) – Four years, $18MM

Mikkel Boedker (SJS) – Four years, $16MM

That list is uninspiring to say the least, with two of the players having already been traded and a third who was bought out this offseason. Some of the others are among the worst contracts in the league relative to their production, something that can be said a few seasons out of basically every UFA season. This year may be no different, though there seemed to be more talent available.

Here is a list of the biggest contracts handed out this time around:

John Tavares (TOR) – Seven years, $77MM

James van Riemsdyk (PHI) – Five years, $35MM

James Neal (CGY) – Five years, $28.75MM

Paul Stastny (VGK) – Three years, $19.5MM

Ilya Kovalchuk (LAK) – Three years, $18.75MM

Calvin de Haan (CAR) – Four years, $18.2MM

Jack Johnson (PIT) – Five years, $16.25MM

David Perron (STL) – Four years, $16MM

Tyler Bozak (STL) – Three years, $15MM

While there is an obvious difference at the very top, it does seem like teams were wary to hand out six or seven year contracts to forwards approaching or at 30 years of age. van Riemsdyk and Neal especially would have ranked among the very best available in 2016, and likely would have been able to negotiate seven-year contracts along the lines of Lucic and Okposo. Still, not all of these deals will be looked back upon fondly. Even two years from now teams may be considering trades or buyouts to get out from under the cap hit, or stuck in purgatory hoping for a bounce-back campaign.

Which contract do you think will be regretted the most? Is Tavares’ mega-deal going to bite the Maple Leafs when they need to re-sign their young forward group? Will Kovalchuk bolt for the KHL again and leave the Kings holding his big cap hit? Will van Riemsdyk be able to take on more responsibility in Philadelphia and live up to his big number?

Cast your vote below and explain why you think the contract will be regretted. If you think someone else deserves the title—perhaps an Islanders or Canucks signing?—make sure to leave a comment to include them in the conversation.

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