Inside the NHL’s Most Shockingly Mismanaged Contracts That Defy Salary Cap Logic
And second, I do think there’s some value in looking at “bad” contracts that fall a little further down the pay scale. We all focus on the cap hits that look like eight-figure mistakes, and for obvious reasons. But while those types of misses at the top of the lineup can doom a team, so can overpaying on too many depth spots. And as we’re about to see, teams sure do seem to love to do that.
But first, a few ground rules™:
- We’re building a 20-man roster of 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies, with no spares because we won’t be able to afford it.
- We’re using the 2025-26 cap ceiling of $95.5 million. We’re worried about cap hit, not the actual dollars paid out. And as with any bad contract, term matters – a deal that’s too expensive for a long time might be worse than one that’s way too expensive for just one more year.
- We can’t get relief from LTIR, or burying deals in the minors, or retained salary, or deferred payments. We carry the full cap hit cost of every player.
- We won’t use anyone who technically has a valid contract but is no longer an active NHL player, like Carey Price or Logan Couture. Beyond that, we’ll assume everyone is healthy and ready to play.
- As always with this sort of thing, a “bad” contract means it’s bad from a team perspective, not the player. See the intro to that 2019 piece for how I feel about that, but it is what it is.
All cap and contract info in this piece comes from the fine folks at PuckPedia.
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