5 worst and most untradeable contracts in the NHL

5. Corey Perry

You can’t blame Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray for breaking the bank on franchise star Corey Perry, inking him to an eight-year deal worth $69 million back in 2013. Perry was only 27 years of age at the time, and the Ducks were in the midst of a Pacific Division-winning season.

Murray probably knew this contract would become a burden in the future, but he couldn’t let the 2011 Hart Trophy winner walk. Keeping Perry brought far more pros than cons, as he guided Anaheim to a playoff berth every year from 2013 to 2018 – including trips to the 2015 and 2017 Western Conference Finals.

But Perry has been slowed over the last two seasons by injuries, and his production has dipped noticeably. Perry has eight seasons of 27-plus goals on his resume, but he’s only scored 19, 17 and 6 over the last three years now.

Perry, 34, was limited to 31 games this season because he required knee surgery, and it’s clear that his prime days are way behind him now. He carries an $8.625 million cap hit for two more seasons, and there’s absolutely no way a rival team will touch that contract right now.

Anaheim’s only hope of trading Perry is to wait until next offseason. There will only be one year left on his contract, and the Ducks can probably package him with a “sweetener” to a team that needs to reach the cap floor.

But right now, there is absolutely no way the Ducks can move out the remaining two years with an albatross cap hit of nearly $8.625 million. They’ll have to hold onto Perry for at least one more season before Murray can explore a trade.