NHL free agency 2019: 5 worst contracts from Day 1
Once again, NHL general managers got too excited and threw around contracts that will go down as big mistakes. Here are the five worst that were handed out at the start of NHL free agency.
The first day of NHL free agency in 2019 was certainly adventurous, as we saw a handful of perennial All-Star players find new homes and some non-superstar players managed to come away with overly generous deals.
Artemi Panarin, the prize of this year’s free agent class, wound up joining the New York Rangers on a seven-year contract worth $81.5 million. To the surprise of nobody, Sergei Bobrovsky joined the Florida Panthers, inking a monstrous seven-year worth $70 million.
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Speaking of free agent signings that didn’t surprise us, the Nashville Predators finally landed Matt Duchene. The 28-year-old star center signed a seven-year deal worth $58 million, as he heads to his fourth team in less than two years.
Now, maybe these three mega-contracts won’t look good down the road, but in the short term, Panarin, Bobrovsky, and Duchene should all be big-time impact players for their new clubs. Simply put,, these are great signings that should help the Rangers, Panthers, and Predators improve drastically in 2019-29.
But on the other hand, we saw some general managers get too greedy and excited on players that can’t be classified as total game changers. Whether it’s a veteran goalie, a second-pairing defenseman or average top-six forward, some players wound up taking way more money than many of us expected.
Here are the five worst deals that were signed on the first day of free agency.
5. Anton Stralman
Veteran blueliner Anton Stralman decided to stay in the Sunshine State, only he left the Tampa Bay Lightning to sign with the inner-state rival Florida Panthers. The deal was for three years and worth a reported $16.5 million, according to Pierre LeBrun.
Florida’s big splash was landing the aforementioned Bobrovsky, and though they struck out on Panarin, it’s hard to dislike the Day 1 haul for general manager Dale Tallon. That said, the Stralman contract carries some risk, and this was simply a player the Panthers probably should have stayed away from.
Stralman turns 33 years of age in August, and he’s no longer that reliable stay-at-home blueliner. He had a poor Corsi For percentage of 47.4% this season, and Stralman was limited to 47 games this season due to injury. Given his physical style of play, Stralman may struggle to stay healthy — and he may not be a true top-four blueliner much longer.
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The Panthers did need to upgrade their defence here, especially with their championship window finally starting to open up. But given his age and recent injury history, Stralman comes with more risk than potential reward, and the Panthers can’t afford bad contracts as their cap space begins to dwindle.
The silver lining here is that the three-year term isn’t ginormous, and the Panthers can buy him out in two years if needed. But again, this is a player that the Panthers probably should have avoided. They could have found cheaper stay-at-home guys like Jordie Benn.
4. Anders Lee
The New York Islanders managed to retain captain Anders Lee on a seven-year deal worth $49 million, but it’s safe to say that general manager Lou Lamoriello will be regretting this one in short time.
Good on Lamoriello for managing to retain his top three UFA forwards in Lee, Jordan Eberle, and Brock Nelson. But giving Lee that many terms and All-Star player money is going to end up as a giant mistake down the road.
Lee is 29 years of age and only has so many productive years left. He put up a career-high 40 goals and 62 points last season, but a lot of that can be contributed to John Tavares. Lee fell back to earth this season with 28 goals and 51 points.
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Even if Lee can post around 25-30 goals and 50-55 points, why are the Islanders giving him $7 million a season on average here? They could have found cheaper options in free agency, such as Wayne Simmonds, who only signed a one-year deal with the New Jersey Devils. Gustav Nyquist, who had 60 points this season, would have also come cheaper (he signed a four-year, $22 million deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets).
Lee has been a key piece to the Isles’ recent success, but he’s your average Joe of a top-six forward. They may get two or three more good years out of Lee, but by 2023-24, this is going to be a major burden against their cap.
3. Semyon Varlamov
The Islanders made a questionable decision to let go of Robin Lehner, who earned a Vezina Trophy nomination after posting a 25-13-5 record with a 2.13 goals-against average and .930 save percentage. Lehner guided the Islanders to the second round of the playoffs, but that simply wasn’t enough for Lamoriello and company.
New York couldn’t reach a new deal with Lehner, and Lamoriello’s backup plan was to overpay veteran Semyon Varlamov. The latter signed a four-year contract worth $20 million, and it’s difficult to understand how and why the Islanders thought he was worth this much money.
Lehner inked a one-year pact with the Chicago Blackhawks for $5 million. The Islanders really couldn’t top that? Lamoriello couldn’t give Lehner the contract that went over to Varlamov? It just doesn’t make sense.
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Varlamov went 20-19-9 with a mere 2.87 goals against average and .909 save percentage this season for the Colorado Avalanche. He was vastly outplayed by Philipp Grubauer throughout the campaign, and general manager Joe Sakic had an easy chocie to roll with the latter from here on out.
The 31-year-old Varlamov is still a capable starter, but he’s not going to be an upgrade over Lehner — and it’s hard to envision him putting up a Vezina-caliber season of his own. The Islanders may regret this Varlamov contract, but they’re especially going to kick themselves for letting Lehner go.
2. Tyler Myers
With Erik Karlsson off the board, Tyler Myers and Jake Gardiner entered free agency as the top two blueliners. Everybody knew that both veterans would get overpaid, and sure enough, the Vancouver Canucks were overly generous to Myers.
The 6-foot-8 Myers inked a five-year deal worth $30 million, receiving an average of $6 million a season. That’s a lot of money for a blueliner who’s been a liability in his own end of the ice, and for a guy who only brings so much offensive upside.
Myers’ career-high in points is 48, set back in his 2009-10 rookie year. Myers followed it up with 37 points in his sophomore 2010-11 campaign. The most he’s put up in a season ever since? 36, and that was with the Winnipeg Jets last year.
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On top of that, Myers owns a lackluster 48.1 career Corsi For percentage, and he’s tallied 284 takeaways against a whopping 526 giveaways. The 29-year-old Myers simply isn’t good enough in his own end of the ice to justify this much money.
But the Canucks had the cap space to make a move work, and general manager Jim Benning simply had to add another top-four defenceman. Myers might be a good fit in Vancouver, and maybe he helps them get into the playoffs. But unless he somehow turns into a Norris Trophy-caliber defenceman, there’s no way he’ll live up to the entire $30 million of this deal.
1. Mats Zuccarello
The Minnesota Wild have been giving their fans mixed signals for quite some time now: Does this organization want to rebuild? Retool? Keep pushing for the playoffs even if they aren’t a true championship contender?
General manager Paul Fenton decided for the latter, inking Mats Zuccarello to a five-year contract worth $30 million. Zuccarello is now 32 years old, as Fenton made a questionable choice to add another veteran to a team full of aging forwards.
Yes, Zuccarello’s production has been fairly consistent. He has four 50-point seasons on his resume, plus a 49-point campaign in 2014-15. Despite being limited to 48 games this season, Zuccarello managed 12 goals and 40 points — and he was a big-time playmaker for the Dallas Stars in the postseason.
But Zuccarello is unlikely to score at that 2018-19 pace here in the State of Hockey, and he’s joining a Minnesota team that’s lacking speed and overall playmakers. How much longer can the likes of Zach Parise (35 later this month) and Eric Staal (35 in October) continue to play at high levels?
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The Wild don’t have enough talent up front to compete for a playoff spot in a rapidly improving Western Conference, so why would Fenton add another expensive and ageing veteran to his roster? Even if Zuccarello is able to post 40-50 points, it probably won’t be enough to help Minnesota reach the postseason.