As an NHL franchise, you never want to be known for having the worst contracts in the NHL. And, some will make the argument you can’t win the Stanley Cup without some of the best. As such, fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on how you look at things), the Toronto Maple Leafs are stuck right in the middle.
According to a pair of articles by Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic, the Maple Leafs aren’t credited with signing incredible deals, not are they guilty of signing any of the worst. He took a look at the best and worst NHL contracts in terms of their value and wrote:
In the NHL, contracts matter. For better or worse, every player is judged based on the money he makes and whether he’s worth the price….What players have already done holds no merit, this is about the future value of the deal. Contract clauses and bonus structure are important, but not considered in this assessment. Players on LTIR were not considered.
source – ‘NHL’s 10 worst contracts, 2024 edition: Jonathan Huberdeau, Darnell Nurse and more’ – Dom Luzczyszyn – 07/18.2024
Who Ranked on the List of Good and Bad?
Taking the top spot for best contract in the NHL was Gustav Forsling. Paid $5.8 million, by the model used, the Florida Panthers’ defenseman has a projected value of $11.4 million. The scribe writes, “On a team full of great deals, Forsling’s looks the best and should be for the foreseeable future. His deal is the league’s gold standard.” Ranking second and third were Jack Hughes (New Jersey) and Miro Heiskanen (Dallas).
When it comes to the worst contracts, Jonathan Huberdeau of the Calgary Flames took top spot honors. His $10.5 million cap hit has a projected actual value of $4.9 million. The article writes, ‘Jonathan Huberdeau has the worst contract in hockey. You know it. I know it. He knows it. He’s making franchise forward money for seven more seasons despite scoring like a second-liner in back-to-back seasons.” Coming in second were the recently-signed Chandler Stephenson (Seattle Kraken) and Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals.
Toronto Maple Leafs Absent From Both Lists
Luszczyszyn posted his Top 10 in both categories and no player from the Maple Leafs was on it. Despite having a core of players who are paid huge salaries, none of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, or even John Tavares was mentioned. While Luszczyszyn’s model isn’t the only one fans should follow, nor is it the bible about what a good and bad deal in the hockey world looks like, this is a positive. The Leafs are, for the most part, getting value out of the deals they’ve signed.
No, it’s not ideal that Tavares makes $11 million per season. It’s not great news that Ryan Reaves is on the books for $1.35 million and two more seasons. Chris Tanev getting a longer term because he’s what the Leafs need and his $4.5 million at his age might be concerning wasn’t a red flag either.
Not only can the Leafs potentially move one of these contracts, but they aren’t particularly hamstrung by any of the deals they’ve signed — other than to note that players have no-move clauses that dictate much of the action.
What’s The Bad News?
The downside here is that it can be argued the Leafs don’t have any super-value contracts on the books either. Where the Edmonton Oilers have Darnell Nurse ranking among the worst, they also have Zach Hyman ranking above the best. The same can be said for Dallas who has Heiskanen listed as great value and Tyler Seguin… not so much.
If you look at the teams who have contended for the Stanley Cup in recent seasons, most have one thing in common; team-friendly contracts where production vastly outweighs the cost. Florida has Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk, the New York Rangers have Adam Fox, and Colorado has Nathan MacKinnon. The Leafs avoid being lumped in with lottery teams that have terrible contracts, but they don’t necessarily have anything when it comes to the deals they’ve signed that give them a distinct advantage financially.
There is a silver lining. The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t have anyone on either list and they won the Cup in 2022-23.