Every NHL Team’s Worst Contract

*This article was updated after the 2025-26 season

The world of NHL contracts is changing. With the news that the salary cap ceiling is on pace to spike around $25 million over the coming three seasons, the era of the flat cap is ending. That also means that the contracts signed over the last few seasons, which might look bad under a flat salary cap, will likely look much better going forward. A player making $6.5 million per season is currently making around seven percent of the salary cap. If the cap does indeed balloon to $113.5 million a few seasons hence, those $6.5 million average annual values (AAVs) will drop to just 5.7% of the cap. The difference might seem small, but it compares to roughly a $5 million AAV in today’s numbers.

Chances are, the sharp increase in salary cap space will prompt a lot of reckless spending from NHL GMs. So this article might look very different in the coming seasons. But for now, we’ll look at the contracts that appear the worst by today’s standards. Most of these contracts were signed for a reason, given to players who have earned a great paycheck in the NHL.

Their inclusion is not meant as any disrespect to the players, who owe it to themselves and their families to get the best contract they can when it’s available. But injuries happen, performances decline, and circumstances change. In this article, we’ll pick the worst contract for each time right now, and look to e explain the circumstances that brought them to this point.

(The bolded text below each player name displays the term remaining on the contract entering the 2025-26 season, as well as the AAV and any no-trade clauses (NTC) or no-movement clauses (NMC) the deals contain.)

Anaheim Ducks: Mikael Granlund

(Two years, $7 million, M-NTC)

The Anaheim Ducks had a terrific season, making the playoffs for the first time since 2018. But there were a few older veterans on expensive contracts who were passengers more than they were leaders. Most notable among these were Mikael Granlund, who makes $7 million through two more seasons, and Chris Kreider, who makes $6.5 million for one more season. Because of the longer term and the higher cap hit, Granlund takes the cake here. Neither contract is going to put a bad taste in the mouth of Ducks fans who have plenty of reasons to be excited about their future, especially since they’re still well below the salary cap. But these might be contracts they’d like to unload if the opportunity arises.

Boston Bruins: Elias Lindholm

(Five years, $7.75 million, NMC)

Replacing Patrice Bergeron is an impossible task, but the Boston Bruins signed Elias Lindholm in part to do exactly that. At the very least, they expected the production of a first or high-end second-line center, capable of producing at or near the point per game pace he performed at in the 2021-22 season. After his first two seasons in Boston, the deal is starting to look like a disaster.

Lindholm was sixth on the team in points this season and was completely surpassed by the breakout performance of Morgan Geekie. He hasn’t surpassed 50 points or 17 goals in either of his first two seasons with the Bruins. And his metrics arguably grade out even worse. Combine that with a full No-Movement Clause, and it’s looking like a real anchor for Boston. They can only hope that Geekie continues to perform at his outstanding level on an extremely team-friendly deal, but even so, Lindholm’s contract is one they’d like to have back.

Buffalo Sabres: Josh Norris

(Four years, $7.95 million, M-NTC)

Nobody is going to rain on Buffalo’s parade after the Sabres made the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and looked good doing it. Even if someone were inclined to, their salary cap situation is relatively clean, for the most part. But the acquisition of Josh Norris still is a bit of a head scratcher, and his contract, as the highest-paid Sabres forward, is worth calling into question. Norris is a good player, but is injury-prone to the extreme. When he is healthy, he’s arguably worth most of his AAV. But the Sabres can’t rely on him to be available. He still hasn’t played more than 66 games in an NHL season, and managed only 44 this season. If he ever gets healthy and plays to his full potential, maybe this move will pay off. But it looks unlikely at this point, and Buffalo still has a long commitment to him.

Calgary Flames: Jonathan Huberdeau

(Five years, $10.5 million, NMC)

Jonathan Huberdeau’s first four seasons with the Calgary Flames have been nothing short of a disaster. It would have been reasonable to expect some falloff after his career-best 115-point season in 2021-22 season, but then general manager Brad Treliving could not have anticipated this when he inked Huberdeau to the richest contract in franchise history, an eight-year, $84-million monster deal. Treliving proffered the contract before Huberdeau had played a single game in Alberta — shortly after acquiring him in the shocking Matthew Tkachuk trade. Everyone knew it was a huge swing at the time, but the Flames were desperate to keep some quality players around for the long haul.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this and Huberdeau’s immense drop-off remains mystifying. While his deal looked a little pricey at the time (his market value was $9.9 million) and there was a good chance he wouldn’t find the same success away from Florida, the degree to which he fell off was still hard to imagine.

Dom Luszczyszyn (From ‘NHL’s 10 worst contracts, 2025 edition: Jonathan Huberdeau, Ivan Provorov and more,” The Athletic NHL, July 31, 2025)

Huberdeau wouldn’t reach 115 total points in Calgary until early in his third season. And his fourth season was the worst performance yet. If non-existent production weren’t an issue, his attitude might be, as he recently generated controversy with comments about “not feeling” like skating during a preseason optional skate. He may indeed have been joking, but if so, it’s a tone-deaf remark to make after such a string of disappointing seasons in Cowtown.

Carolina Hurricanes: Jesperi Kotkaniemi

(Four years, $4.82 million, M-NTC)

The Carolina Hurricanes have developed a well-earned reputation for managing their salary cap well. But they might have made a mistake with Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The idea was simple enough: lock up a talented two-way forward long-term, keeping his salary cap hit low to buy the best seasons of his career. They locked him up on an eight-year, $38.5 million contract in 2022, after grabbing him via an offer sheet the offseason prior. Unfortunately, Kotkaniemi has not provided much offense, managing just 141 points in 347 games with Carolina. And he missed much of the 2025-26 season due to injury or as a healthy scratch. It’s just a bad situation for the Hurricanes at this point, and one they’d like to get out of.

Chicago Blackhawks: Andre Burakovsky

(One year, $5.5 million, M-NTC)

There isn’t a lot going right in the Windy City right now. They’re once again at the bottom of the league, and budding superstar Connor Bedard can’t do it all alone. If there is one bright spot, it’s that their salary cap situation isn’t much of a mess. So it’s hard to pick out a truly bad contract, but we’ll highlight that of Andre Burakovsky.

Burakovsky has been fine, just not great. He managed only 33 points this season, though that wasn’t a big step back from last season’s performance. It’s just not much for $5.5 million per season. Right now, there might be a tax on the Blackhawks, and they probably are glad to pay a few veterans over market value to keep them around. So it’s picking nits to zero in on Burakovsky. But we’re covering every team in this article, so we had to highlight somebody.

Colorado Avalanche: Valeri Nichushkin

(Four years, $6.125 million, NMC)

Valeri Nichushkin signed an eight-year, $49 million contract in July 2022. He was coming off a 25-goal season and was a major contributor to the Colorado Avalanche’s run to the Stanley Cup the previous season. He has been a great player with the Avalanche, and he still is when he’s on the ice. Unfortunately, he is on the ice less and less these days. Nichushkin entered Stage 3 of the NHL/NHL Players’ Association Player Assistance Program during the second round of the playoffs in 2024. He was thereafter required to miss a minimum of six months at this stage in the program.

The reasons for any player’s admittance to the program are, appropriately, shrouded in mystery, and it’s inappropriate to speculate what might be going on. But Avalanche players at the time seemed disappointed in the circumstances. And, whether the distraction played a role or not, they would go on to lose that series to the Dallas Stars. When he plays, he’s still a good player. But if the team cannot rely on him, his contract will remain an eyesore and a point of frustration for the Colorado front office over the next five years, unless they can find another solution.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Conor Garland

(Six years, $6 million, NMC)

The worst contract on the Columbus Blue Jackets right now is one they chose to acquire when they traded for Conor Garland at the trade deadline in March. Garland just turned 30 years old and is about to start a six-year, $6 million contract that the Vancouver Canucks were, apparently, desperate to get rid of. After joining the Blue Jackets, Garland had 7 points in 21 games, and was a minus-6. Metrically, he grades out terribly.

The salary cap is going up, and we will all need to adjust to $6 million contracts being more common for middle-six players. But the $36 million commitment with a full NMC makes you wonder what Columbus saw in Garland to want to trade for him. There is such a thing as the Columbus tax, and maybe they wanted to acquire a player on some term. But the player they chose to get may not prove to be worth it.

Dallas Stars: Tyler Seguin

(One year, $9.85 million, NMC)

It’s not often that a player is publicly called out by his team’s front office for poor performance, but Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn and teammate Tyler Seguin have suffered that fate at least twice in their career. In 2018, CEO Jim Lites spoke to The Dallas News and said “what nobody says is what is completely obvious to me: We are getting terrible play from our top two players. If 14 (Benn) and 91 (Seguin) don’t lead we will not be successful.” Then, history repeated itself when owner Tom Gaglardi appeared on the Cam & Strick Podcast in 2022.

Dallas owner Tom Gaglardi talks Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Full interview avail on all platforms. #GoStars ⁦@CamandStrick⁩ pic.twitter.com/XbooKF5d0w

— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) August 30, 2022

“When you sign contracts, you have to earn that,” Gaglardi told Andy Strickland. “The two guys are taking one-quarter of the cap space of the team, and both of them aren’t producing enough… I expect them to step up and get better.” Since then, Benn has re-entered the fan base’s good graces and re-signed a one-year, incentive-laden contract this summer after his bigger deal expired, but Seguin hasn’t eclipsed 52 points since the 2018-19 season. Injuries took their toll this season as well. And there is another season left on his contract, which carries a full NMC. The cap is going up, and the Stars still felt they had the flexibility to spend big on pending free agent Mikko Rantanen’s contract, so they aren’t crippled by the Seguin deal. But they will probably be happy to see the back of them when the time comes.

Detroit Red Wings: Ben Chiarot

(Three Years, $3.85 million, NTC)

This might be a first: Ben Chiarot could be the only player to have earned a spot on this list with two different contracts. Chiarot’s first deal with the Detroit Red Wings was a horrific mistake that never paid off and has kept him on this list for many seasons. But for reasons that defy understanding, Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings saw fit to give him a three-year extension in 2026, though, admittedly, at a lower AAV. Clearly, they see value in Chiarot, but the numbers don’t back it up, and this saga is just one of the reasons many are beginning to doubt the Yzerplan.

Edmonton Oilers: Darnell Nurse

(Four years, $9.25 million, NMC)

It’s hardly a surprise that Darnell Nurse’s extensive and expensive contract ended up as an honorable mention near the 10 worst in the league by The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn (cited above). Nurse is a fine defenseman, but he’s being paid like a franchise defenseman, and he hasn’t been playing like one. To compound issues, he has been particularly bad in the postseason, becoming a regular target of criticism during the 2024 run to the Stanley Cup. Nurse is still an ok defenseman and is respected in the room. But you need more than that for a $9-plus million contract to not become an albatross, and his has.

Florida Panthers: Seth Jones

(Four years, $7 million, NMC)

When the Florida Panthers decided to acquire Seth Jones at the trade deadline in 2025, they knew the contract they were taking on. Long considered one of the worst in the league, the Blackhawks signed Jones right before their team went into an extended rebuild. They gladly ate just over 25% of the annual salary cap hit to move on from him and send him to Florida, and Jones gladly waived his No-Movement Clause to move to a contender.

Jones shined in his new role and helped the Panthers become back-to-back champions, but even at a heavily reduced rate, his four remaining seasons are a lot to take on for a cap-conscious team like the Panthers. They believe the potential rewards outweigh the risks, and Jones should continue to be a huge asset playing a more suitable role with the Panthers. Still, on a team with few bad contracts, Jones’ is inarguably the worst one on the books.

Los Angeles Kings: Adrian Kempe

(Eight years, $10.625 million, NMC)

On the one hand, you can’t argue the Los Angeles Kings didn’t get what they paid for with Adrian Kempe. After signing the Swedish forward to an eight-year, $85 million extension early in the 2025-26 season, he went out and posted almost identical stats to the season prior, finishing with 73 points in 81 games in both campaigns. But the feelings surrounding the Kings at the start and end of this season makes this contract look very different now than it did in November.

The Kings squeaked into the playoffs based in large part on the loser point, and promptly got railroaded by the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche, bringing an end to Anze Kopitar’s illustrious career with an ignoble first-round sweep. Right now, the Kings appear stuck between generations, with no clear direction and no obvious path to success. And paying Kempe nearly $11 million a season well into the middle of the next decade just doesn’t help them at all at this point. They need to restructure in a significant way, and there’s no obvious path to doing it. Knowing what they know now, it’s hard to believe they would sign the same contract again.

Minnesota Wild: Jacob Middleton

(Three years, $4.35 million, M-NTC)

It’s grasping at straws a little bit to pick a bad contract in Minnesota, where general manager Bill Guerin has managed the salary cap incredibly efficiently around the sunsetting buyouts for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. The top players in the Twin Cities are getting paid like stars, and many of them are significantly underpaid, which offsets the outlandish $17 million AAV superstar Kirill Kaprizov secured in September. As much adjusting as it will take for NHL fans to get used to a $136 million contract for any one player, it’s impossible to argue that’s a bad deal for the Wild, who had to keep the game-breaking forward in town.

So instead, we’ll focus on Jacob Middleton. He’s a solid lower-lineup defenseman, but his metrics aren’t great, and he’s making $4.35 million per season for three more seasons, with a Modified No Trade Clause on top of it. It’s not a deal that’s going to make or break the Wild, but on a team with a lot of good contracts, this one sticks out as a questionable one.

Montreal Canadiens: Mike Matheson

(Five years, $6 million, NMC)  

Montreal is another town overflowing with good vibes right now and there’s no sense raining on the Canadiens parade. But the new contract extension Mike Matheson begins next season is a bit of a questionable one. He’s an aging defenseman with suspect metrics, and he’s about to start a five-year, $30 million extension. With the salary cap going up and Montreal having limitless resources to pay players, there’s no need to sweat this contract excessively. It’s just not one that grades out particularly well on its own.

Nashville Predators: Steven Stamkos

(Two years, $8 million, NMC)

The contract the Nashville Predators gave to Steven Stamkos was meant to be a splashy move into a new era for the team. Instead, it was the marker of the beginning of the end of their competitive window, and the first step towards an inevitable rebuild. Of course, Stamkos is still one of the best goal-scorers in NHL history. But there’s a reason why the cap-conscious and ruthless Tampa Bay Lightning opted to let Stamkos, a franchise legend, walk and replace him with the younger (and more expensive) Jake Guentzel.

It simply isn’t wise to make long investments in 34-year-old players, especially with Stamkos’s injury history. His first two seasons have seen Nashville fall far short of the playoffs and move towards the cliff of total team restructure. It’s not his fault, and he’s undoubtedly a future Hockey Hall of Famer. But the Predators were the wrong team to give this contract when they did, and they will likely look to move it if they can.

New Jersey Devils: Luke Hughes

(Six Years, $9 million, M-NTC Starting in 2030-31)

It’s hard to feel bad for a guy set to make $63 million before he turns 29, but Luke Hughes is in an unenviable spot. The youngest brother of an American hockey dynasty, he did not join his older brothers Jack and Quinn in winning Olympic Gold this winter for a very simple reason: his play hasn’t been nearly good enough to justify it. And the fans in New Jersey are starting to turn on the 22-year-old as he struggles to live up to the hype generated for him by his ultra-talented siblings.

The theory behind giving Luke a long contract extension was simple enough: lock down Jack and Luke, and when Quinn, the most elite player in the family, moved on from Vancouver, it would be a no-brainer for him to come to the Garden State. That might still work out, but it became much more uncertain when it was the Wild, not the Devils, who landed Hughes in a trade this season. Quinn took the Wild to the playoffs while his brothers’ Devils missed the postseason once again, and now, some are even questioning whether it might be Jack who moves to Minnesota and not the other way around.

Whatever the eventual outcome of that drama, Luke is unfairly caught in the middle, which adds an absurd amount of pressure to his development. This contract could still turn into a very good one for New Jersey, but right now, he’s not living up to the hype, whether through his fault or circumstance. And that makes it a rough one for New Jersey at the moment. Nevertheless, our sympathies are with Luke Hughes and youngest siblings everywhere.

New York Islanders: Scott Mayfield

(Four years, $3.5 million, NTC)

A low AAV might make a contract more palatable, but it doesn’t make it good. And giving Scott Mayfield a seven-year extension in 2023 is one of the more perplexing moves in Lou Lamoriello’s storied career. Mayfield is a solid third-pairing defenseman. But he is already 33 and will turn 34 early in the 2026-27 season. He’s a fine stay-at-home defenseman, but a replaceable one, and giving him a seven-year extension is truly baffling. There are a few bad contracts on the Islanders, but this takes the cake.

New York Rangers: Mika Zibanejad

(Four years, $8.5 million, NMC)

Things are getting ugly at Madison Square Garden, and Mika Zibanejad is at the center of it. The Rangers are struggling, and Zibanejad hasn’t been helping them turn the ship around. But any thoughts about a potential trade are out the window. When asked about a potential move on locker cleanout day last season, Zibanejad bluntly stated: “I know what my contract says. … Both parties agreed to it, and like I said, I think I’ve earned it. Until it’s time to adjust it, I have no plans of going [anywhere]. I’ve invested a lot of years here.” The Rangers have some other questionable contracts, but this one has become an emotional albatross and a lightning rod, two things no team wants on the books.

(Four years, $7.1 million)

Last trade deadline, the Ottawa Senators made a bold move, dealing Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Dylan Cozens. They were betting that Cozens, now 25, could still turn into the type of top-six center that he was drafted seventh overall to become. Cozens has shown flashes, and looks to be a very good defensive center, but his contract is still hard to justify.

The Senators’ real issue is in their mix of top two centers. They have Cozens, the defense-first, responsible center, and Tim Stützle, the offense-only, high-scoring center who can’t really be trusted in his own end. if they could be merged into one center, they’d be truly elite, but since they can’t, the Senators don’t really have the top line, elite option you need to compete these days, and it showed as the Carolina Hurricanes pretty easily swept them in the playoffs. Perhaps it’s unfair, then, to single out Cozens over Stützle, but the latter is scoring at over a point per game clip, and that’s a more obvious benefit than Cozens’ responsibility in his own end.

Philadelphia Flyers: Sean Couturier

(Four years, $7.75 million, NMC)

No one projected a playoff season for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2025-26, let alone one where they’d get to bounce their archrivals from the playoffs. But the happy vibes are papering over some major structural problems, including the fact that their two highest-paid forwards are not producing at all like their contracts dictate they should. But Travis Konecny at least put up nearly 70 points this season. Sean Couturier is a shell of his former self and managed only 36 points in 78 games this season. Yes, the team captain has always been known as a defense-first center, but there’s a limit to how valuable that is, and he’s well crossed it by now. Much like Cozens, he simply isn’t measuring up to the kind of first-line center the Flyers need him to be, but unlike Cozens, at 33, he probably doesn’t have another level to get to.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Erik Karlsson

(One year, $10 million, NMC)

How can the 2022-23 Norris Trophy winner be the worst contract on his team? Despite the recent success, Karlsson has one of the worst contracts in the league. It might be controversial, and yes, he had 101 points in 2022-23. But he’s the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL, and he cannot play effective defense anymore.

Karlsson has had a great career, which includes three Norris Trophies. He’s a future inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame without question. But Karlsson has become an empty calories points machine who is not an asset in his own end, and that cannot fly for someone making $11.5 million (although the Penguins only owe him $10 million of that). Now 36, Karlsson might sign a one-year contract at a reasonable AAV that makes him a veteran asset to some team after this contract expires. But as long as its still on the books, it’s an albatross for whoever has it.

San Jose Sharks: Alexander Wennberg

(Three Y4ears, $6 Million, NTC)

The ship is turning around in San Jose, thanks in part to Macklin Celebrini evolving into one of the league’s true superstars. Fortunately, as general manager Mike Grier looks to build on the good work he’s already done in rebuilding the team, there aren’t a lot of truly bad contracts he’ll have to work around anymore. Just a few veterans are making a little bit more than they should for a little bit longer than they should, and Alex Wennberg is the one making the most for the longest. He’s a fine player in the middle of the Sharks’ lineup, but he just signed a three-year, $18 million extension to stay there. Every young team needs veterans and clearly, they like Wennberg, but it’s just a hair more expensive than it needs to be, and on a roster with few bad deals, this one has to be labeled as the “worst.”

Seattle Kraken: Chandler Stephenson

(Five years, $6.25 million, NMC)

The aforementioned Luszczyszyn ranked the then-new, massive Chandler Stephenson contract as one of the 10 worst in the league as soon as it was signed, and it’s understandable. He was already declining, he was already 30, and it was a massive amount of money and term to give to a player who had never really been a star on his team. Two years into the deal, and nothing has changed. Stephenson was third on the team in points, but he was a minus-24 on a team that didn’t make the playoffs. He doesn’t make the Kraken better now, and it’s unlikely that will change as he grows older on this contract.

St. Louis Blues: Pavel Buchnevich

(Five Years, $8 million, NTC)

When the St. Louis Blues acquired Pavel Buchnevich from the New York Rangers, it seemed like a heist. He exploded in the Gateway City and managed over a point per game in both of his first two seasons. But by the time it came to sign an extension, many fans advocated for trading Buchnevich, rather than giving him a long extension as he aged. Management opted for the latter, and so far, it’s coming back to haunt them. Buchnevich had his worst season by far in the Blue Note in his first season on the new contract, with just 48 points in 81 games, and terrible metrics. Now, with five seasons left, he needs to rebound in a big way even to give the Blues a shot to trade him.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Nick Paul

(Three years, $3.15 million, NTC)

The Tampa Bay Lightning are ruthless with their salary cap — as evidenced by letting franchise legends like Stamkos walk away in free agency. And that makes it even more difficult to explain the seven-year contract given to Nick Paul after the 2021-22 season. Yes, the then-deadline acquisition played an important role for the Lightning in their deep run to the Stanley Cup Final. But the Lightning had seen rentals come and go before. Why was it so important to keep Paul that they would sign him for seven seasons?

Obviously, the argument for a longer deal is a smaller AAV. But the 31-year-old is leaving his prime with three more seasons left to play. The risk on three more seasons of Paul seems to be the most potentially problematic, especially now that he’s missing big chunks of time with injury after shoulder surgery. The Lightning are still a well-run team with very few bad contracts, and Paul’s is nowhere near as problematic as others on this list — but it’s just a few seasons longer than it needs to be.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Chris Tanev

(Four years, $4.5 million, NMC)

It’s not going to be popular in the Greater Toronto Area, but there really is no justification for the six-year contract Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving gave to then-34-year-old Chris Tanev two summers ago. Unsurprisingly, it’s started to go very badly for the Maple Leafs, who missed the postseason with Tanev playing only 11 games. Long salary commitments to aging players are always a risky gamble, and this one absolutely has not paid off for Toronto, which looks like it’s on the edge of a potentially franchise-redefining restructure.

Utah Mammoth: JJ Peterka

(Four years, $7.7 million)

The Utah Mammoth took a big swing in the summer and traded for JJ Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres, but so far, the gamble hasn’t paid off. The 24-year-old Munich, Germany native struggled to get off the ground in his first season in Salt Lake City, and finished with only 47 points, well off his career high of 68 from the season prior. Both teams made the postseason, and Peterka could still have a very bright future. But right now, this is a trade the Mammoth would probably undo if they could.

Vancouver Canucks: Elias Pettersson

(Six years, $11.5 million, NMC)

Few players have ever fallen off as hard and as quickly as Elias Pettersson with his $11.5 million AAV. Yes, he’s played at a superstar level before, and the Canucks will use everything they can to get him back to that level. But they missed their opportunity to trade him before his NMC kicked in, which means they’re now stuck with whatever version of Pettersson remains until or unless he decides to try a fresh start.

Petey is ready to go ???? pic.twitter.com/7kYeJURqIZ

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) August 7, 2025

The 2025-26 season was an utter disaster that immediately puts this contract in the “terrifying” category. 15 goals and 51 points isn’t a great result for someone making half as much money per season as Pettersson. And the pernicious controversy between him and J.T. Miller was an embarrassment to the entire franchise. There are no more excuses for Pettersson. Either he delivers, or his contract immediately joins Huberdeau’s as among the very worst in the league.

Vegas Golden Knights: Noah Hanifin

(Six years, $7.35 million, NTC)

The Vegas Golden Knights are notoriously ruthless with their salary cap, and every dollar counts for a team that finished the 2025-26 season at nearly $12 million over the salary cap on the books. And there’s no obviously horrendous contrat on the book, but Noah Hanifin’s has a chance to move in that direction. He’s a fine defenseman right now, but fine isn’t good enough for a team that expects to compete for Stanley Cups every season. He dropped to just 28 points this season, and had middling metrics on both offense and defense. He’s a good piece for a lot of teams to have, but at his current term and cap hit, he’s a problem for the Golden Knights.

Washington Capitals: Tom Wilson

(Five years, $6.5 million, NMC)

Yes, Tom Wilson had a simply fantastic season for the Washington Capitals and Team Canada this season. Yes, he still has the worst contract on the Capitals. Those are not mutually exclusive. The Capitals rewarded an aging franchise legend in 2023, giving Wilson a seven-year, $45.5 million extension that officially kicked off last season. And he’s been great since signing it, playing some of the best hockey of his career. But he’s 32 and plays a style that traditionally doesn’t age well. And, more importantly, the Capitals are well past their competitive window as they wind down towards the end of the Alex Ovechkin era.

The Capitals will be well into a rebuild long before Wilson’s contract comes to an end, and still paying him as he ages. It’s just not a good timeline fit for a player who has given a lot to the organization. And while some would argue that Pierre-Luc Dubois should occupy this spot after a disastrous season of injuries, it’s not fair to judge him on that alone, and he had a fantastic first campaign in D.C.

Winnipeg Jets: Mark Scheifele

(Five years, $8.5 million, NMC)

You can’t blame the Winnipeg Jets for wanting to keep their captain around after an extended run of very successful seasons. The problem is, Adam Lowry is not a very valuable player these days, and they just gave him a brand new five-year, $25 million contract at 32.

Lowry is probably beloved in the locker room, but that doesn’t explain dishing out that kind of money to an aging player who was never a high point producer to begin with. Even if there is a Winnipeg tax, where the Jets have to pay extra to keep certain players on board, they should be careful only to play it when they get real value in return. And five more years of Lowry at that AAV is not the kind of value the team should be interested in right now.

Spending Never Stops

If there is one constant in the NHL, it’s general managers offering contracts that their fans (and often their successors) wish they hadn’t. And that’s probably only going to accelerate with the salary cap increasing over the coming years.

Some are worse than others, but every team has a bad deal on the books. The important thing to remember is that a bad contract does not necessarily mean a bad player. But we’re curious: which contract would you like to see YOUR team get rid of? And how would you like them to deal with it? Let us know what you think!