Every summer, several NHL teams make major moves they hope will propel them into Stanley Cup contention, and every fall, some of those teams begin to feel buyer\u2019s remorse for their summer aggressiveness. Unfortunately for these teams, buyer\u2019s remorse is rarely short-lived and often leads to years of pain; eventually, people lose their jobs. Good examples include the Nashville Predators in 2024 and the Calgary Flames in the summer of 2023. This fall and winter, there will be teams that feel buyer\u2019s remorse for their summer moves. So, who could they be?<\/p>\n
The San Jose Sharks were among the most aggressive teams this past summer, acquiring Michael Kesselring<\/a>, Jacob Trouba<\/a>, Mason Marchment<\/a>, and Darnell Nurse<\/a>. The Kesselring and Marchment moves were solid, with Kesselring having the potential to jump into the Sharks\u2019 top four, but the Trouba<\/a> and Nurse<\/a> moves could be disasters for the emerging Sharks. This dynamic has been written about extensively on PHR, but the combination of Trouba and Nurse counts $17.5MM against the Sharks\u2019 cap, and both are on the wrong side of 30.\u00a0That\u2019s not to say that either player isn\u2019t useful; they both are NHL players. But their games have warts, which isn\u2019t a deal for defensemen making north of $8MM.<\/p>\n Nurse remains a capable defenseman with a decent skill set, though it isn\u2019t what it once was. For Nurse, the issue has never really been the regular season, although last year wasn\u2019t great. No, the issue for Nurse and, to be honest, for Oilers fans, was his play in the playoffs, not in any one season but over five seasons. As David Staples of the Edmonton Journal pointed out<\/a>, Nurse struggled in the playoffs nearly every year Edmonton made it, making him a lightning rod for criticism when games mattered most. Had Nurse simply been his regular-season self, fans in Edmonton might have begrudged his $9.25MM cap hit, but it wouldn\u2019t have been a major issue overall, just a slight overpay. But when your second-pairing defenseman (who\u2019s paid like a number one defenseman) turns into a below-replacement-level player, that\u2019s a huge issue. Hopefully, Nurse figures out his game in the playoffs for San Jose; otherwise, they will regret the trade immensely.<\/p>\n Sliding over to Trouba, we\u2019ve written about him as well this summer. The 32-year-old had a bounce-back season last year in Anaheim and is prime for regression this year. Folks may forget that it was less than two years ago that the New York Rangers dumped Trouba as a cap dump to the Ducks. With the rising salary cap, Trouba was able to catch a raise on his new deal with the Sharks, signing for four years at $8.25MM annually. As we wrote earlier this summer<\/a>, that contract for Trouba isn\u2019t likely to age well and will almost certainly lead to buyer\u2019s remorse for the Sharks. Much like Nurse, Trouba will eat up a lot of minutes for San Jose. He will also make some good offensive plays and lay some big hits in the process. But he will also do a lot of running around in his own end and make a ton of mistakes as he chases the big hits and big plays. If his skating holds up, he won\u2019t be a disaster, but if his legs go at all in the next few years, this contract could become a problem.<\/p>\n Next up are the Chicago Blackhawks and a couple of questionable moves they made to make the roster resemble that of a playoff contender. The Patrick Kane<\/a> signing<\/a> wasn\u2019t an especially good move, but it\u2019s not the contract the Hawks will regret in the coming years. Bowen Byram<\/a> was acquired<\/a> along with Jordan Greenway<\/a> from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the fourth overall pick, the 45th overall pick, and defenseman Louis Crevier<\/a>.<\/p>\n Byram is a highly skilled offensive defenseman who can carry the puck and create chances for his teammates. If he fits with Chicago and plays as he did last year alongside the Blackhawks\u2019 top players, he could drive play without hurting the team. However, if his play reverts to what it was before last season and in the few years prior, the contract will be a major problem for the Blackhawks. Despite his obvious on-ice talents, Byram hasn\u2019t demonstrated that he is an NHL number-one defenseman, yet Chicago gave up a package and signed him to a contract that says he is.<\/p>\n There has long been a gap between Byram\u2019s on-ice results and the skill set he shows when you use the eye test to evaluate his play. Byram is a phenomenal skater and can lead rushes or simply join them, depending on the rush dynamic. He can also skate his way out of trouble, use his playmaking to set up teammates, or pivot to his shot, which is both accurate and heavy. On the flip side, Byram\u2019s defense is poor; his puck-watching in his own end is a problem, and his defensive reads leave much to be desired. Should Chicago find Byram the right teammates to support him, he\u2019ll be fine. But if they can\u2019t, it could be a long year for both Byram and the Blackhawks.<\/p>\n Finally, we have the Washington Capitals, who were arguably the NHL\u2019s most aggressive team this summer. The Capitals made some major moves, including a sign-and-trade<\/a> for forward Alex Tuch<\/a>, the trade<\/a> for Jordan Kyrou<\/a>, and UFA signings such as Boone Jenner<\/a> and Vincent Desharnais<\/a>. Not all of these moves will lead to buyer\u2019s remorse, but three have the potential to go sideways, two of which could happen in a hurry. The Kyrou trade was a solid piece of business for the Capitals, and it\u2019s hard to find fault with the move. However, Tuch, Jenner and Desharnais all carry significant risk, and the latter carries risk without much upside.<\/p>\n Tuch has been a perennial 30-goal scorer for the past handful of seasons and has the potential to pile up a few good years with Washington\u2019s formidable offense. Tuch is a smart player and should continue to score for a few seasons, but he has already begun to lose some speed and isn\u2019t as willing as he once was to battle along the boards. He still carries a lot of value, but the concern for Washington is that if he continues to lose skating, it could begin to impact his overall game, which is a lot of risk for a guy being paid $10.5MM per season over the next eight years. Tuch is already 30 and could decline over the next few years, which is likely part of why the Buffalo Sabres were so hesitant to meet his contract demands. Power forwards don\u2019t age as gracefully as other NHLers, and as Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic put it<\/a>, \u201cA lot of Tuch\u2019s comps had a relatively harsh age curve that could spell trouble for Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond Tuch\u2019s mega deal, the Jenner deal<\/a> was another pricey acquisition for a player whose best days are likely behind him, or very close to being so. Jenner should be a third-liner on the Capitals and bring some leadership, although it\u2019s hard to quantify the leadership a 13-year veteran with exactly one (seven-game) playoff series win will bring. Jenner adds to the Caps\u2019 center depth, isn\u2019t afraid to get his nose dirty, and will likely remain a tough player to play against and a decent playmaker. But his two-way forward reputation should be set aside, as he is no longer the defender he once was, and that could become a problem in the latter half of this contract if he isn\u2019t able to contribute offensively and his defensive play continues to taper off. The Capitals likely view the gamble here as a chance to take runs at a Stanley Cup while Alex Ovechkin<\/a> is still in the NHL, and in a vacuum, it makes sense. It could be short-sighted if Jenner\u2019s play falls off.<\/p>\n