{"id":834134,"date":"2026-07-29T17:37:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T17:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/834134\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T17:37:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T17:37:28","slug":"nhl-contract-efficiency-rankings-2026-which-teams-spend-their-money-most-wisely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/834134\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL contract efficiency rankings 2026: Which teams spend their money most wisely?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every summer I take some time to dig into the NHL\u2019s contract landscape. The best of the best<\/a>, the worst of the worst<\/a> and then the rest: A deep dive that ranks each team\u2019s cap sheet.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s today\u2019s goal: Assessing every player\u2019s market value over the remainder of his contract, comparing it to his actual cap hit and then measuring the probability of the deal providing positive value. From that, I put all the pieces together to see which teams are spending their money best.<\/p>\n

Over the last two years, the cap landscape has obviously shifted dramatically, leaving a lot of older contracts looking great and a lot of newer contracts looking less so. What that means is that a large majority of the league have more positive value than not on their books, but also that the teams with the most term left on legacy deals hold the most power. It\u2019s not enough to get a \u201cfair\u201d deal, and having negative value on the books can put a team way behind.<\/p>\n

All of this is ever-changing, of course \u2014 that\u2019s why it\u2019s an annual exercise to see how things shift around the league as players develop and decline. Using the same criteria as the best and worst contracts list, each player is judged based on total surplus value (more term means more time for value to compound, for better or worse) and the likelihood of the deal being good. Both are based on every player\u2019s future trajectory over the life of his contract, which uses player comps to determine his likeliest path(s) forward.<\/p>\n

How a player ages and how the cap increases are two of the biggest factors for this exercise. The current cap environment is an especially big factor when a 10 percent deal is worth $10.4 million next year, but could be worth as much as $15 million in seven or eight years. That means that valuations for younger players will look a lot better than some might expect if it\u2019s over a lengthy term. Keep in mind that all the model estimates listed below \u2014 whether you agree or not \u2014 are based on an estimation of the future, not the past.<\/p>\n

With all that being said, here\u2019s how every team measures up.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s the better power play QB: Quinn Hughes or Lane Hutson?<\/p>\n

Scott Wheeler, Max Bultman and more<\/p>\n

The goal here is to grade contracts empirically, with the same context being applied to each player across the league: how much value does each player bring to the table per year and over the life of the contract. The way that\u2019s measured comes from comparing a player\u2019s Net Rating and the expected salary that comes with it to a player\u2019s current contract<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What players have already done holds no merit; this is about the future value of the deal, with age effects<\/a> based on player comps taken into account while accounting for expected salary growth. Contract clauses and bonus structure are important, but not considered with this assessment. Players on LTIR were not considered.<\/p>\n

1. Carolina Hurricanes<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 2nd<\/p>\n

With seven A-level deals, no team has it better than the Stanley Cup champions. Last year\u2019s big bets on young talent look like absolute larceny in a rising cap world with the big term allowing plenty of surplus value to compound. Over one year, the value on Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven\u2019s deals has already appreciated 24 percent.<\/p>\n

Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho and Jaccob Slavin are the other core pieces on terrific lengthy deals while last year\u2019s addition of K\u2019Andre Miller has already aged wonderfully.<\/p>\n

Across the board, nearly every bet the Hurricanes have made has panned out well, from UFAs (Nikolaj Ehlers, Sean Walker, Shayne Gostisbehere) to trades (Taylor Hall, Mark Jankowski).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The lone blemish is the Jesperi Kotkaniemi deal, but that feels fairly movable these days given the center market. And even with that, the team still has $10 million in cap space. That\u2019s solid business and it\u2019s why the Hurricanes likely aren\u2019t done after winning the Cup this summer. They\u2019re designed to keep winning for years to come.<\/p>\n

2. Montreal Canadiens<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 14th<\/p>\n

After a season in which the Canadiens ascended into the league\u2019s final four, it should come as no surprise as to where they land given their relative age and long-term deals in place. No team jumped higher than Montreal, up 12 spots. Kent Hughes is building a monster off the back of some incredible cap efficiency for Montreal\u2019s core group.<\/p>\n

Montreal has four A-plus grades on the books, two more than any other team in the league. Having forwards such as Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd at their current levels making less than Jacob Trouba will have that effect. Given their relatively young ages, there isn\u2019t much decline expected; with the term on each deal and the cap rising, that leads to some gaudy market value. It wouldn\u2019t be a shock to see Ivan Demidov get to that level this time next year either, and the model is a big fan of Jakub Dobes\u2019 immediate future, too.<\/p>\n

Those contracts, though, don\u2019t hold a candle to Lane Hutson\u2019s deal, which is without question the best one in hockey. There\u2019s a very strong chance Hutson is a top-10 defenseman for the entirety of his contract, and the model expects he won\u2019t be close to 10th. He\u2019s already that good and will only get better, which leads to a modeled value higher than the league max. That he makes less than $9 million for eight more years is pure robbery, leaving over $100 million on the table. That shouldn\u2019t be that difficult to see after Bowen Byram\u2019s eye-popping extension this summer.<\/p>\n

Those five deals do a lot of the heavy lifting here. The rest ranges from fine (Noah Dobson, Kaiden Guhle) to outright bad (Phillip Danault, Josh Anderson). The good news is the great deals will be cooking for a while and should allow Montreal to build something truly special. The bad deals? They\u2019ll be off the books by next summer, where it wouldn\u2019t be a shock to see the Canadiens sitting at the top of this list with plenty of room to add to one of the game\u2019s best young cores.<\/p>\n

3. Ottawa Senators<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 5th<\/p>\n

Even without Brady Tkachuk in the fold, the Senators still land in the top five again this year. It\u2019s a shame he didn\u2019t stick around for what the Senators were building; they looked to be on the cusp and strong cap efficiency plays a central role in that.<\/p>\n

The biggest draw is the bets Ottawa made on its twin budding stars, Tim St\u00fctzle and Jake Sanderson. Deals just over $8 million for each look like nothing now, especially for Sanderson, who emerged as one of the game\u2019s best defensemen last season. Add new deals signed for Shane Pinto and analytics darling Jordan Spence and the Senators look great.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the skater front, there is zero bad money on the books, which leads to an average positive value rate of 75 percent; only the Hurricanes are higher. If the Senators\u2019 goaltending ever figures itself out, they\u2019ll be cooking.<\/p>\n

4. Dallas Stars<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 6th<\/p>\n

With Jason Robertson signed, the Stars are set and they\u2019re looking excellent across the board. When the two worst deals on the books are a soon-to-be expiring deal for Tyler Seguin (who is still very good!) and an essentially fair deal for Mikko Rantanen, the franchise is living good. Almost everyone is underpaid.<\/p>\n

The difference between the Stars and the three teams above them is the lack of big wins. Wyatt Johnston, Roope Hintz, Esa Lindell, Miro Heiskanen and Jake Oettinger are all on fantastic deals \u2014 they just don\u2019t quite land as hard as the teams above. A long-term extension for Robertson after Jan. 1 could change that, though even that doesn\u2019t feel likely to be a big win given his reported asks; his new deal would likely be closer to fair money.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s if he stays. If he doesn\u2019t, that\u2019ll be a tough loss that would be hard to come back from \u2014 even with all the other efficient deals on the books.<\/p>\n

5. Tampa Bay Lightning<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 1st<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s top dog has dropped to fifth, mostly because deals on other teams\u2019 books have aged more strongly than Tampa Bay\u2019s own.<\/p>\n

The one truly bad deal for Tampa Bay is the one that was weirdly signed this summer for Jeffrey Viel. Aside from that, everything looks rosy, led by Brandon Hagel having one of the best deals in hockey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The big question will be how much surplus value the Lightning can extract from Nikita Kucherov\u2019s next contract. He\u2019s worth nearly double his current salary at the moment, but age may make things tricky if he\u2019s looking to command Kirill Kaprizov money.<\/p>\n

6. Colorado Avalanche<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 3rd<\/p>\n

Having one of the best players in the world signed for the next five years at Bowen Byram money is a cheat code. That\u2019s the main deal that powers Colorado\u2019s standing, but it helps to have two recent extensions given out to Martin Necas and Sam Malinski already looking great, too. There\u2019s a good chance Cale Makar\u2019s deal adds to those wins.<\/p>\n

The Avalanche have a lot of great deals spread out, but the Brett Kulak one signed this summer already feels like a miss. He needs a big bounce-back from last season.<\/p>\n

7. Buffalo Sabres<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 16th<\/p>\n

The Sabres finally made the playoffs and that partly led to a healthy jump into the top 10 in cap efficiency. A breakthrough season from Mattias Samuelsson and continued excellence from Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin helped on that front.<\/p>\n

Also helping are a pair of new deals for two emerging core pieces: Zach Benson and Josh Doan. The two spark-plug wingers are going to be a bargain for the next seven years, adding to the team\u2019s foundation. If Owen Power can take a real step next season, the Sabres should be rolling.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one nitpick, it\u2019s Beck Malenstyn\u2019s new contract. Giving term to a fourth liner is rarely ideal. That and a bunch of dead money is what keeps the Sabres out of the top five.<\/p>\n

8. Florida Panthers<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 4th<\/p>\n

The Panthers are still in the top 10 after a rough year, but don\u2019t rank as highly as they once did. Age, injuries and some recent extensions signed that were just fair (Eetu Luostarinen, Niko Mikkola) play a role, but it has more to do with the rest of the league catching up than anything. Florida\u2019s average positive value and total surplus are both nearly identical to last season; other teams have just begun to score higher.<\/p>\n

A return to form for the team as a whole should help Florida\u2019s standing going into next season, but the relative age of everyone means it\u2019s not exactly a given. With the rest of the East on the rise, even the two-time champs have something to prove next season.<\/p>\n

9. Washington Capitals<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 20th<\/p>\n

One of the year\u2019s biggest contract glow-ups belongs to Jakob Chychrun. I was a vocal proponent of the extension, but the combination of his breakthrough last season and the cap likely going up even further than expected has his deal ageing beautifully. Between him and Logan Thompson, the Capitals have two of the league\u2019s best contracts.<\/p>\n

After all the moves the Capitals have pulled off over the last few years, they deserve a lot of trust in their process. Almost every deal on the books looks reasonable and that allowed the team to splurge on a luxury deal in Alex Tuch. There was some consternation when he landed on this year\u2019s worst contracts list, but that\u2019s far from a problem with the Capitals given all the value the team has elsewhere \u2014 not to mention three potentially strong ELCs to add further surplus to the books. And given the way things have trended in Washington, it wouldn\u2019t be a shock to see Tuch\u2019s deal age better than forecasted.<\/p>\n

10. Utah Mammoth<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 12th<\/p>\n

While I\u2019m really down on MacKenzie Weegar\u2019s trajectory at the moment, it\u2019s a risk Utah could afford to take \u2014 the rest of its books are that clean. That\u2019s obviously led by Dylan Guenther\u2019s extension, which is one of the league\u2019s best, and it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise if Logan Cooley\u2019s gets to that level next season either.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Mammoth spent fair money in free agency (Anders Lee) and added a good value deal as well this summer (Vincent Trocheck). They\u2019re a team on the rise and their cap structure will be a major part of that. John Marino\u2019s recent extension adds to that.<\/p>\n

11. New Jersey Devils<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Last season: 9th<\/p>\n

New GM Sunny Mehta is the exact reason the Devils managed to stay around the top 10 after a disappointing season. He added Anthony Mantha and Evan Rodrigues, he extended Arseny Gritsyuk and Nico Hischier, and he shipped away \u0160imon Nemec and Jacob Markstrom. All of those moves improved New Jersey\u2019s overall pricing and have the Devils well-situated not only to compete this year but also to continue building a potential contender.<\/p>\n

12. Edmonton Oilers<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 8th<\/p>\n

As usual with the Oilers, the best parts are exactly who you\u2019d expect. Leon Draisaitl is obviously a bargain now at $14 million for the next seven years and even if Connor McDavid only has two years of term, the Oilers are saving big at the price. Add Evan Bouchard and Zach Hyman to that mix and it\u2019s the usual suspects for Edmonton.<\/p>\n

There are some other good deals around the edges, but also a plethora of bad decisions that keep the Oilers outside the top 10. Edmonton got rid of Darnell Nurse\u2019s deal, which helps, but spending $20 million on Jason Dickinson, Trent Frederic, Jake Walman and Tristan Jarry is far from savvy. Ryan Shea, at least, was a great bet this summer; he\u2019s not far from Nurse\u2019s on-ice value at less than half the cost.<\/p>\n

(And for those wondering why McDavid\u2019s model value is $200,000 lower than Hutson\u2019s, it\u2019s entirely due to age and term. McDavid\u2019s value on an eight-year deal, even in his 30s, is $25 million).<\/p>\n

13. Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 7th<\/p>\n

Remember when Jack Eichel signed for $13.5 million for the next eight years less than a year ago? The context around that deal sure has changed and it\u2019s now Vegas\u2019 best deal up front.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Golden Knights have a strong history of pricing and that\u2019s apparent with a majority of their deals. It\u2019s what made it so surprising when they still gave Rasmus Andersson the deal they did this summer, even after a weak showing post-deadline and a particularly rough playoffs. That nullifies a lot of the wins they got with Eichel.<\/p>\n

The biggest reason Vegas fell out of the top 10, though, was the fall-off of Adin Hill. He has the worst goalie contract in the league and was a hindrance on Vegas\u2019 offseason. The cap is exploding, but bad money can still lead to losing good players.<\/p>\n

14. Pittsburgh Penguins<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 21st<\/p>\n

The Penguins had a remarkable turnaround last season thanks to some great bets from Kyle Dubas. That continued this summer with the Kaedan Korczak trade and it\u2019s likely the Egor Chinakhov extension lands better than I expect given his performance once he got to Pittsburgh. Now they enter this season with a great cap sheet and a ton of cap space.<\/p>\n

The only problem, aside from Ryan Graves continuing to be here, is term. The Penguins are seventh in positive value probability, but are only average in surplus value due to the lack of length on the great deals they do have. The Penguins aren\u2019t exactly in a position to be giving out term to anyone anyway, but that detail is what keeps them out of the top 10.<\/p>\n

15. Columbus Blue Jackets<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 17th<\/p>\n

Before Jet Greaves signed a deal that the model absolutely loves (he\u2019s been one of the league\u2019s most efficient goalies over the last few seasons), the two best deals on the books belonged to the two players who wanted out this summer. That\u2019s not ideal for Columbus. Zach Werenski has since walked back that idea, but Kirill Marchenko\u2019s name is still out there in trade rumors. This franchise needs some stability and that may come with a long-term extension from Adam Fantilli even if it\u2019s not immediately efficient. His modeled value on a five-year deal is $10.6 million and it wouldn\u2019t be a shock to see him come in above that.<\/p>\n

The rest is mostly meh, though it is great to see Ivan Provorov prove the haters (me) wrong with a terrific season in the first year of his deal. He\u2019s not all the way up to $8.5 million of projected value yet, but it was an incredibly encouraging sight to see him actually play at a top-pair level last season. Ditto for Damon Severson.<\/p>\n

16. Detroit Red Wings<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 13th<\/p>\n

Shoutout to the Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider deals; they\u2019re the only reason the Red Wings barely land in the league\u2019s top half. A lot of the cap sheet aside from that duo still looks lackluster, however, and it\u2019s why the Red Wings\u2019 average positive value rate is on the wrong side of 50 percent.<\/p>\n

The Red Wings have a lot of cap space, but it\u2019s rare that they know how to use it. A lot of their free agency bets from the past have aged poorly and I don\u2019t quite see why they traded for Keegan Kolesar, given his contract. The Ben Chiarot extension from earlier this season remains mind-boggling and was immediately one of the league\u2019s worst deals. That his game only degraded further from that moment makes things even worse.<\/p>\n

17. Minnesota Wild<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 11th<\/p>\n

The Wild did what they had to do with Kirill Kaprizov; a $1.5 million overpay is easy to stomach for a superstar of his caliber. The same can\u2019t be said about Michael McCarron\u2019s deal. That price is what the market dictates, but I don\u2019t believe he\u2019s the quality of 4C that warrants \u2014 especially not at that term. It\u2019s a growing trend of Bill Guerin overspending on the bottom of the lineup. Spending nearly $14 million on Nico Sturm, Yakov Trenin, Marcus Foligno and McCarron doesn\u2019t feel great.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the Wild still have great deals in place for core pieces such as Matt Boldy and Brock Faber. And obviously Quinn Hughes will be a bargain for one more year.<\/p>\n

One real tough spot is in net, where a decision will have to be made next year. For now, the Wild are getting $10 million worth of goaltending for $8.8 million. The math won\u2019t work if Jesper Wallstedt continues to seize the starter\u2019s role for the foreseeable future, though.<\/p>\n

18. Boston Bruins<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 25th<\/p>\n

The Bruins have several problem deals on the books, and with term, too. I\u2019m not sure it was wise to add Will Borgen to that list.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, they have David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman locked up for a long time. The two are among the best at their positions and making a lot less than they should. It would be great if the Bruins could build more efficiently around them. JJ Peterka was an interesting swing in that direction. Even after a down season, his market value is still roughly in line with his salary. If he can click well with Pastrnak, that could be the win Boston is looking for.<\/p>\n

19. Los Angeles Kings<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 18th<\/p>\n

The last Ken Holland summer was a dud and he probably gave too much money last fall to Adrian Kempe, who is probably not a $10 million guy.<\/p>\n

The Kings have been a bit better since adding Artemi Panarin on a good contract, getting Mats Zuccarello for a bonus-laden deal and capping it off with an excellent extension on Brandt Clarke. He\u2019s making the same money as Nemec and Pavel Mintyukov while being a significantly better player. That\u2019s a major win.<\/p>\n

20. Philadelphia Flyers<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 26th<\/p>\n

One year makes a pretty big difference. The Flyers\u2019 roster responded really well to Rick Tocchet hockey, with much of the roster\u2019s value taking a positive step forward. Noah Cates was arguably the biggest beneficiary of that, and the Tyson Foerster extension helped add a fair bit of surplus value.<\/p>\n

Still, the Flyers land a bit below average thanks to a string of deals that are close to fair for both sides from Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak, Jamie Drysdale and Dan Vladar. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that, but in a rising cap world in which other teams are getting massive wins, fair deals aren\u2019t quite enough.<\/p>\n

21. Winnipeg Jets<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 10th<\/p>\n

No team fell more than Winnipeg\u2019s 12 spots since last season. The main culprits for that: Extensions for Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry both looking much pricier than their caliber of player warrants.<\/p>\n

Given Winnipeg\u2019s unique issue of retaining players, locking both up was a win in and of itself. It\u2019s just that neither contract looks like it\u2019ll age well, with Lowry\u2019s especially being a major overpay. That is what the market dictates for a shutdown 3C these days; I\u2019m just not convinced of the 33-year-old\u2019s staying power at that level.<\/p>\n

In brighter news, Mark Scheifele had a nice return to form while Cole Perfetti signed a reasonable extension on top of that. It\u2019s just not enough to keep up with the two-thirds of the league with a better financial outlook.<\/p>\n

22. New York Rangers<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 24th<\/p>\n

The Rangers are wasting Adam Fox\u2019s prime with a sea of fair-money deals. Sure, there aren\u2019t a lot of anchors here anymore, but there also aren\u2019t many outright wins either. Not with a whole lot of term anyway.<\/p>\n

When everyone gets paid fairly, the result is mid. That\u2019s where the Rangers expect to be this season. If every other team is getting a deal, the result might get ugly. That\u2019s where the Rangers likely end up beyond this season.<\/p>\n

23. St. Louis Blues<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 19th<\/p>\n

The offer-sheet bros were extended this year, and the Blues got massive wins on both deals. Robert Thomas\u2019 deal continues to age well, too, while Colton Parayko\u2019s deal is finally on the right side of the ledger.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still a little too much that\u2019s questionable, though. We\u2019ll see what Mason McTavish can do as a Blue, but extensions to Pavel Buchnevich and Cam Fowler have started rough, and I\u2019m iffy on Connor McMichael\u2019s new deal. The Ross Johnston signing this summer was also puzzling.<\/p>\n

24. Toronto Maple Leafs<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 15th<\/p>\n

God bless John Tavares\u2019 hometown discount and the model\u2019s incredible fascination with Darren Raddysh (explained more here<\/a> before he was signed). If not for that, the Leafs might be even closer to the bottom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New GM John Chayka spent a lot of money this summer, and while the team got better and they had the right idea to keep terms short, the Leafs left a lot on the table efficiency-wise. Spending nearly $14 million on Jack Roslovic, Teddy Blueger, Colton Sissons and Brandon Duhaime just doesn\u2019t feel sound. And while there\u2019s plenty of hope that Sergei Bobrovsky is the next Ed Belfour, the odds aren\u2019t in Toronto\u2019s favor with the third year really dragging things down.<\/p>\n

Compare where the Leafs are to where the league\u2019s contenders are and there\u2019s a lot of work left to be done. Some of that might be proven on the ice this season away from Craig Berube hockey, but in order to get back to contention, the Leafs are going to have to earn some much bigger wins in the boardroom.<\/p>\n

25. Seattle Kraken<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 32nd<\/p>\n

Things are still ugly in Seattle, but not as ugly as they were this time last season. There are still four D-level deals on the books with Chandler Stephenson\u2019s being the headliner, but there\u2019s more good than bad overall. Adding Mackie Samoskevich was savvy and Matty Beniers\u2019 deal is ageing nicely. The Kraken have a ton of cap space on top of that and didn\u2019t waste it this summer, which is a plus. Still, there\u2019s a long way to go here.<\/p>\n

26. Nashville Predators<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 30th<\/p>\n

The Predators recuperated a decent chunk of value with a few bounce-back seasons from some of their recent big-name signings. Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei, Nicolas Hague and Juuse Saros all saw their stock improve over the last year, and while none are value deals, they all look better than they did a year ago.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not enough to get the Predators too high up the list, but it\u2019s a step in the right direction. What would\u2019ve been really nice: A long-term extension to Luke Evangelista last summer when Nashville had the chance. He\u2019s underrated enough that the Predators should get a good deal on him anyway, but they could\u2019ve saved more if they did it before his breakout last year.<\/p>\n

27. Anaheim Ducks<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 28th<\/p>\n

The Ducks are suddenly in a bit of a bind after being somewhat blindsided by a Leo Carlsson offer sheet that now ranks as one of the league\u2019s worst contracts. They still have Cutter Gauthier left to sign and there\u2019s a good chance his deal is going to be a lot more expensive than expected. Pavel Mintyukov\u2019s certainly was and now what is usually a major win for most up-and-coming teams \u2014 the second contract for star-level RFAs \u2014 is a major loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That might be OK if the Ducks had a clean cap sheet, but they\u2019ve had a prior tendency to overspend that is biting them on deals for Alex Killorn and Frank Vatrano. A rich new deal for A.J. Greer adds to that.<\/p>\n

Anaheim\u2019s exciting young talent might mean everything works out, but without cap efficiency on their side, the team\u2019s ceiling could end up more limited.<\/p>\n

28. New York Islanders<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 29th<\/p>\n

No team has more D-level deals than the Islanders. The worst part is that four of them came on Mathieu Darche\u2019s first year on the job. Extending Alexander Romanov immediately backfired, giving up value for both Brayden Schenn and Ondrej Palat was odd given their contracts, and extending Jean-Gabriel Pageau instead of moving him was a misstep.<\/p>\n

The good news is the Islanders have arguably the best ELC in hockey in Matthew Schaefer and one of the best goalie deals from Ilya Sorokin. But there are just way too many problem areas that are directly the result of the current man in charge.<\/p>\n

29. Calgary Flames<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 23rd<\/p>\n

If not for Dustin Wolf\u2019s steal of a contract (based mostly on the expectation he\u2019ll age very well), Calgary would be in an even rougher spot. That speaks volumes for the 29th-ranked team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jonathan Huberdeau\u2019s onerous deal obviously causes a lot of damage here, but there\u2019s also too much recent money invested into questionable defensemen. Up front, if the best value deal is Morgan Frost for one more season, your team is in trouble.<\/p>\n

30. Chicago Blackhawks<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 31st<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough to judge the individual merits of a collective this poor, and it\u2019s possible that many Blackhawks are individually better than the sum of their parts may indicate. That\u2019s certainly true for Connor Bedard, who looked sensational before injury, and while his deal grades out poorly at the moment, I have little doubt he\u2019ll find a way to become the $15 million player he was recently paid to be. As the team grows around him, deal efficiency should start growing, too. Key extensions to Frank Nazar and Spencer Knight look really promising.<\/p>\n

Still, there\u2019s a pattern here of overspending that is impossible to ignore. Bedard\u2019s deal could end up fine, but $15 million is a lot of money for a budding superstar who has proven significantly less than past superstars who netted nearly 15 percent of the cap on their second deal. We don\u2019t need to argue Bowen Byram\u2019s controversial deal any further, and the Blackhawks added to that later with Patrick Kane somehow netting $8 million. It\u2019s been a steady routine over the years under Kyle Davidson, and we\u2019re now at a point that one of the league\u2019s worst teams has only $8 million left in cap space despite having six players on ELCs. That\u2019s less than the defending Stanley Cup champions. Ignore Chicago\u2019s dead money on the books and the Blackhawks are still spending as much as Montreal next season; it\u2019s not hard to look at both rosters and pick who you\u2019d rather have.<\/p>\n

All of that is a bit hard to fathom and leaves the Blackhawks with one of the lowest probabilities of positive contracts in the league. I hope it works out for them, but overpaying players by a few million every time tends to add up. The cap may be rising, but there\u2019s still a cap that Chicago seems to ignore with every new deal.<\/p>\n

31. Vancouver Canucks<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 22nd<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter how much money the Canucks are paying Jamie Oleksiak and Luke Schenn in free agency; this is not going to be a good team regardless. That\u2019s the beauty of the tank; the trick is not making a habit of it as Vancouver pivots back toward competing a la Chicago and San Jose.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What does matter is if the Canucks can flip any present value for future value. Jake DeBrusk at fair money feels logical at present time, but for any Elias Pettersson deal, the team would probably be best served rebuilding his on-ice value. Just last year it was closer to $10.4 million; that\u2019s a lot easier to move and get full trade value on.<\/p>\n

32. San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season: 27th<\/p>\n

Once the Sharks extend their young phenoms, this picture will start looking rosier. Macklin Celebrini is a max-value player on any extension that\u2019s five years or longer; there\u2019s a good chance he\u2019ll have one of the league\u2019s best deals whenever he signs. I imagine future deals for Will Smith and Michael Misa will have the same effect.<\/p>\n

But they\u2019ll need to be, given how grim the current picture looks, especially after this offseason. I understand the team\u2019s need to beef up the blue line, and I didn\u2019t mind the idea of Darnell Nurse for that. Doing that after signing Jacob Trouba, to what is immediately one of the worst deals in the league, is a tough look.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The wins should come once the youngsters get signed, but that\u2019s also no longer a given with the way the market has gone this summer. For now, the Sharks have piled up some unfortunately big losses on their cap sheet; hopefully it doesn\u2019t cost them.<\/p>\n

Update: On Wednesday, shortly after this story published, the Sharks signed Celebrini<\/a> to a five-year extension with an $18.8 million AAV. It\u2019s a good deal<\/a> for the Sharks and Celebrini becomes their best forward deal, but even with the updated cap sheet, the Sharks are still 32nd.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\u2014 Data via CapWages<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every summer I take some time to dig into the NHL\u2019s contract landscape. The best of the best,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":834135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[766,740,741,49,762,48,748,756,758,755,757,742,453,769,747,763,761,743,760,749,750,751,448,744,752,753,764,768,82,759,745,746,765,452,767,754,449],"class_list":["post-834134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-anaheim-ducks","tag-boston-bruins","tag-buffalo-sabres","tag-ca","tag-calgary-flames","tag-canada","tag-carolina-hurricanes","tag-chicago-blackhawks","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-dallas-stars","tag-detroit-red-wings","tag-edmonton-oilers","tag-fantasy-hockey","tag-florida-panthers","tag-los-angeles-kings","tag-minnesota-wild","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-nashville-predators","tag-new-jersey-devils","tag-new-york-islanders","tag-new-york-rangers","tag-nhl","tag-ottawa-senators","tag-philadelphia-flyers","tag-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-seattle-kraken","tag-sports","tag-st-louis-blues","tag-tampa-bay-lightning","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-utah-mammoth","tag-vancouver-canucks","tag-vegas-golden-knights","tag-washington-capitals","tag-winnipeg-jets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/834135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}