Each NHL team’s worst contract heading into the 2019-20 season

Los Angeles Kings – Jonathan Quick

Contract: $5.8 million cap hit over the next four years

The Los Angeles Kings are an aging team who needs to rebuild. Their roster is full of long-term deals to old players. Jonathan Quick has the worst of the bunch, though. On paper, Jeff Carter’s looks worse. But when you consider a few things, Quick’s is worse.

First of all, the Kings signed a goaltender to a 10-year deal. That’s never a good idea, even for the best goalies. The Kings were smart to keep his cap hit reasonable, but still, Quick hasn’t lived up to his contract. Even with the Stanley Cup he won during it (plus an additional one he won after signing the deal but before it went into effect).

Secondly, the Kings have several cheap young goalie options. Jack Campbell has outperformed Quick over the past two seasons and he’s not even making $800,000 a year. For about roughly 12% of Quick’s cap hit, Campbell is providing more value.

Now, there is one redeeming quality about his contract – it should be relatively easy to move. First of all, Quick doesn’t have an NMC or an NTC. Secondly, his salary starts dipping after the 2019-20 season.

• 2020-21: $3.5 million
• 2021-22: $3 million
• 2022-23: $2.5 million

That could be attractive to a team looking to hit the cap floor. Quick is a great example of why signing goalies to long-term deals rarely works out in the long run. Like I said with Bobrovsky, it’s not a matter of if you will regret it one day. It’s a matter of when you will regret it.