To blatantly borrow from my intro to my “Worst” article – I’m a salary nerd. When I was asked to write about the top 10 best and worst contracts, I thought it would be a piece of cake. Silly me. Still, I managed to pare it down to 10 (ish) based on a few things:
- How well they perform versus their peers
- Are they under or overpaid for their performance
- Is the contract term reasonable
Without further ado, here is how I ranked the Top 10 Best contracts in the NHL, from best to best…est.
10) Bryan Little, Winnipeg Jets – $4.7 AAV, UFA in 2018
Defensively excellent and generally overlooked, Bryan Little’s contract is one of the reasons the Jets have been able to become legitimate contenders in the Central Division. There are a lot of the current Jets I could’ve picked, honestly, but I chose Little’s because it takes him straight through his 20s.
Centers are getting more and more expensive, as the position is consider to be one of the most important on the ice, so getting an extremely productive first line center for under $5m will be a huge boon to the Jets for years to come.
9) Jake Muzzin, Los Angeles Kings – $4.0 AAV, UFA in 2020
While the most noted defender on the Kings is Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin deserves the nod when it comes to value for money.
Muzzin’s Zone Start% Relative is so high because he’s their primary power play guy. But even so, looking at Unblocked Shots Against, his are ridiculously low. Let me put this way: usually I start that chart’s axis at 35 FA60. For Muzzin, I had to lower it 20. That’s insane. Top that off with the fact that offensive-minded Dmen are in high demand, so locking up Muzzin for the next 5 years was a great move by the Kings.
8) Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators – $4.2 AAV, UFA in 2018
While I generally criticize the Senators’ thriftiness, their budget conscious approach has landed them some excellent deals, like that of goalie Craig Anderson. Extended in 2014 for a total of $12.6 million over three years, the Sens gave themselves some breathing room for their rookies to develop.
Goalie evaluation metrics aren’t where skaters are yet, but it’s still pretty clear that Anderson is exactly where he should be in terms of pay. And while he’s not necessarily blowing anyone away, there are a ton of Goalies who are far less tested and more unreliable making nearly the same amount of money. And over the next few years, the Sens will be able to roll their savings from goaltending into extensions for Stone and Hoffman.
7) Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals – $9.538m AAV, UFA in 2021
Yes, even at the staggering figure of $124,000,000 spread over 13 years, Alexander Ovechkin makes the Best Contracts list. He has 5 years left, just turned 30, and while I’ve preached about the aging curve with respect to salary already, he is the kind of exceptional player you expect to buck the trend.
The numbers speak for themselves. The veritable lynch pin of the Caps power play, Ovi makes his entire team better (SCF% Rel) while being more effective in Primary P60 than most of his peers are in regular Points per 60. To top it off, he has one “intangible” that doesn’t get enough love as a financial asset: his huge and marketable personality. No wonder the Caps emptied the bank for him.
6) Tyler Johnson & Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning – Matching $3.333m AAVs, RFAs in 2017
Two thirds of the aptly nicknamed “Triplets” line, GM Steve Yzerman clearly saw the potential in these two early, extending them each for $10m coming out of their Entry Level Contracts. These days, such easy-on-the-wallet “bridge deals” that buy out years of Free Agency are fewer and farther between. Most top scorers jump directly to Big Money deals, like Tarasenko did this summer, or have been heading to arbitration and taking shorter and smaller contracts, like Hoffman.
Talk about underpaid. Yes, in two years, Yzerman will have some tough choices to make, especially since he’s going to have to extend Steven Stamkos this season. But for now, he should take a bow for this pair of beautiful contracts.
Stay tuned – my picks for 1-5 are up next!
Written by Carolyn Wilke, who can be found on twitter @Classlicity
