This is a mini-series looking at the top 10 underpaid players from each position in the NHL, and we continue by looking at centers. Though the most elite centermen in the league often earn more, many are just breaking out and have yet to sign lucrative contracts. In determining who has a great contract, we looked at each player’s contribution and impact on their team. The stipulation is that the centers must be off of their entry-level deals.
10. Morgan Frost ($800,000 AAV)
Morgan Frost picked a good season to finally stay healthy and show what kind of player he is. His young career has been hampered by injuries, slowing his development and making it difficult for him to gain any traction at the NHL level. The Philadelphia Flyers had to use several inexperienced players this season with injuries to many of their top players.
This has allowed Frost to be the second-line center and provide a ton of value for his contract. With a cap hit of just $800,000 and as a restricted free agent at the end of the season, he should get offered a couple million bump in salary for his efforts. He had seven goals and 23 points in 77 career games before this season and 19 goals and 43 points in 77 games in 2022-23. He has consistently improved during the season as well.
9. Ryan Hartman ($1.7 million AAV)
Ryan Hartman struggled with injuries to start the season, and he didn’t match up to last season’s play. His contract was an absolute steal in 2021-22, centering the top line of the Minnesota Wild and having a breakout campaign. Although he isn’t going to score over 30 goals or produce over 60 points, he’s worked his way back to the top line.
Hartman is still well underpaid, given his importance to the team, as they really missed him in his absence early in the season. The 28-year-old has played on a few different lines this season but still managed 14 goals and 34 points in 56 games. He was the best thing the Wild had at center last season, and he provides much more value than what he is getting paid to be a top-line center.
8. Chandler Stephenson ($2.75 million AAV)
Chandler Stephenson has really been impressive this season, leading the Vegas Golden Knights in points for a long stretch. He still sits second on the team with 63, right behind Jack Eichel, but Stephenson is now centering the third line. Eichel wasn’t always healthy this season, and Stephenson was tasked with top-six duties for most of it.
He isn’t the most prolific goal-scorer, with just 15 goals on the season, but he has produced a lot for his $2.75 million AAV contract. Even better, Stephenson’s contract doesn’t expire until the end of next season. He can play up and down the lineup and be effective, making him a real asset at a cheap price for the Golden Knights.
7. Robert Thomas ($2.8 million AAV)
Robert Thomas is similar to Stephenson in that even though he is paid $50,000 more per season, they are both pass-first players. Thomas is younger, his place in the top-six is locked, and we already have an indication of his value after signing a contract extension that will kick in next season.
Thomas has 17 goals and 63 points in 70 games and was the top-line center before his recent minor injury. This isn’t a breakout season for him either, as he appeared on this list last year, with 20 goals and 77 points in 72 games in 2021-22. Thomas plays a clean game, and his ice time is up by over 30 seconds this season, proving that he is making more of an impact on the St. Louis Blues now.
6. Roope Hintz ($3.15 million AAV)
Roope Hintz is without a doubt a top-line center who really broke out during his cheap, three-year, $3.15 million AAV contract that ends after this season. We also have a very clear indication of his real value to the team, as his next contract has an AAV of $8.45 million for the next eight seasons.
Related: Top 10 Underpaid Goalies in the NHL in 2022-23
Hintz is just 26 years old and is a great two-way player with solid goal-scoring ability and point production. He received some Selke Trophy votes last season and has doubled his plus/minus in 2022-23 while scoring at an even higher rate. He’s now put up back-to-back 35-plus goal seasons and has reached the 70-point mark in 69 games in 2022-23. As a two-way, top-line center who can score goals, he is on a great contract right now.
5. Nathan MacKinnon ($6.3 million AAV)
This is the last season we’ll be able to call Nathan MacKinnon underpaid, as he will become the highest-paid player in the NHL after this season. His seven-year, $6.3 million AAV contract has been an absolute steal for the bulk of it (as his breakout season came just a bit too late). The Colorado Avalanche have been taking full advantage, having one of the best players in the world being paid like an average second-liner.
The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup thanks in large part to MacKinnon’s production. His team-friendly contract has not only allowed the team to add pieces they wouldn’t normally have been able to, but he also finally became a 100-point scorer despite injuries. He is one of the highest point-per-game players in the playoffs all-time and over these past six seasons has 204 goals and 546 points in 404 regular season games.
4. Thomas Novak ($750,000 AAV)
Thomas Novak seemingly came out of nowhere this season after spending part of 2022-23 in the American Hockey League (AHL). He just hit the rookie games played mark last season with 27 and scored one goal and seven points. His production at the AHL level was still strong, though.
This season, Novak averaged over a point per game in the AHL, with 11 goals and 26 points in 25 games, before getting the permanent promotion. His opportunity only arrived because the Nashville Predators sold several players at the deadline and also dealt with a ton of injuries to key players. The 25-year-old was able to step into a top-six role and play at nearly a point-per-game pace in the NHL. While playing under 14:30 per game, he has scored 17 goals and 41 points in 47 games on a league-minimum contract. General manager David Poile also got him locked up for another year at $800,000, avoiding arbitration. Look for him on this list again next season, but maybe not as high up, with his role likely to decrease.
3. David Krejci ($1 million AAV)
The Boston Bruins are on the cusp of making NHL history, and it has been an amazing team effort. Their success is partly thanks to the pay cuts the old core was willing to take to win. David Krejci, despite playing overseas last season, returned to the Bruins to be their second-line center. The 36-year-old has arguably improved this season, with 16 goals and 56 points in 70 games.
Though his offensive numbers are impressive, because of his age and after missing a full NHL season, the veteran has never been known for his offensive production. He has always flown under the radar as the Bruins’ second-line center and has been great on the defensive side of the game. He’s not at the level of Patrice Bergeron, but Krejci has received Selke Trophy votes throughout his career for a reason. He agreed to a $1 million contract to play for Boston this season, which means his sole focus was on helping the team win.
2. Patrice Bergeron ($2.5 million AAV)
Bergeron might be 37 years old, but nobody can say that he’s lost a step. Known as the best two-way player in NHL history, he’s been a Selke Trophy finalist for 11 consecutive seasons and will be one again in 2022-23. He has been on the ice for just 18 goals against in over 850 minutes at five-on-five this season. He also kills penalties and has one of the best faceoff percentages in the league again.
Like Krejci, Bergeron also took a big discount to come back and try to win with the Bruins. Their top-line center was under contract for eight years at $6.875 million AAV, which was an underpayment throughout, but earning $2.5 million to be the team’s top-line center and the best two-way player in the game again is on another level.
1. Tage Thompson ($1.4 million AAV)
The best deal in the NHL is Buffalo Sabres’ center Tage Thompson, who has built on his amazing breakout season in 2021-22 to record 45 goals and 92 points in 74 games this season. He won’t get in a full season since he missed a few games, but he still has the potential to reach 50 goals and 100 points with five games left in the campaign.
Thompson has been compared to Mario Lemieux because of his combination of size and skill. He is one of the best goal-scorers and ranks among the NHL’s point leaders while making just $1.4 million AAV. He has a 10-goal and 19-point lead over the next highest on his team and is rightfully getting a pay raise next season to $7.142 million AAV. That price still seems like an underpayment for the level he rising to. Although we won’t see him on this list again after his bump in salary, the Sabres still have him signed to a great contract.
Any surprises above? Let me know in the comments if you agree with the list or who should get switched around.
