Polls

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.

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As is often the case around the trade deadline, there was a flurry of moves but only a handful involving players of prominence (including Ryan McDonagh to Tampa Bay, Paul Stastny to Winnipeg, and Rick Nash to Boston).  Considering the players who were rumored to be available, some of the non-trades certainly came as a surprise.

Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson was the biggest name out there and while it seemed like a longshot at first, the rumors only seemed to intensify to the point where it started to look like he would have indeed been dealt.  By all accounts, Vegas was in it until the dying minutes but a deal failed to materialize while other teams had also had discussions.  Instead, his future will now have to be addressed in the summer.

Another Senator, Mike Hoffman, also failed to move despite being signed for two more years at a reasonable rate.  Max Pacioretty out of Montreal had been available for a couple of months at least and despite a down season, has been one of the top scorers around the league in the past several years but it appears that no trade was particularly close.

Many viewed Detroit’s Mike Green as the top rental blueliner available but he wound up staying put.  His neck injury certainly lessened the overall interest but even with the extra risk, he still appeared to be close to a lock to move.  Jack Johnson, another rental defender, had asked for a trade from Columbus early in the year and the team had even gone and acquired a possible replacement for him in Ian Cole but in the end, he remains with the Blue Jackets.

Which of these non-moves was the biggest surprise in your opinion?  Have your say by voting in the poll below.

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While there is plenty of trade talk in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline each year, there is also an uptick in pending free agents signing contract extensions.  These are often done to ensure that the player won’t wind up being dealt as a rental while it also gives teams a better idea of what they have to spend beyond the season in case that plays a role in their deadline strategy.

Earlier this season, Kyle Turris was the first prominent unrestricted free agent to take himself off the open market when he signed a six-year, $36MM extension upon being dealt to Nashville.  Odds are that someone else of note will do so in the next month leading up to the February 26th deadline.

Who will be the next potential free agent to put pen to paper on a new contract before deadline day?  Make your predictions by voting in the poll below.  Players are listed in the order that they appeared in our midseason UFA power rankings (1-10, 11-20, honorable mentions) from earlier this month.

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