Washington Capitals: T.J. Oshie
Tom Wilson’s deal has not been signed yet, so this might get updated if the Washington Capitals don’t do a good job there. But this was honestly a hard one to do. Alex Ovechkin has several years left on his deal with a cap hit close to $10 million. But until the generational goal scorer proves he’s no longer a generational goal scorer, he’s worth more than what he’s getting paid.
Lots of people were angry at Evgeny Kuznetsov’s contract last summer, but he went and had an impressive regular season. He also cemented his legacy with an unforgettable Stanley Cup run. Hopefully, there’s a statue of Kuznetsov doing his bird celebration in the near future.
This leaves T.J. Oshie. Let’s make this clear – he’s a darn good player. Even when Oshie isn’t putting up points, his overall game is great. He hounds puck carriers on defense and can play on both ends of special teams. All things considered, his cap hit is pretty darn reasonable.
Related Story: 1970's All-Decade NHL Team
That said, he still has a lot of years left on his deal. And, unfortunately, Oshie has durability issues. Thanks to several concussions, he has missed time in each of the past three seasons. All of this said, does anyone really care about Oshie’s contract when he played such a huge role in the franchise’s first Stanley Cup? Probably not.