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

San Jose Sharks – Martin Jones

Contract: $5.75 million cap hit for the next five years; three-team trade list

Back in July of 2017, the San Jose Sharks signed Martin Jones to a six-year deal at just under $6 million a year. The deal went into effect at the start of the 2018-19 season. At the time, that didn’t sound too bad. Jones would be good for the first few years, right?

If that’s what you thought, you couldn’t have been more wrong. Last season, in the first year of his deal, Jones had a woeful .896% save percentage during the regular season. Among goalies who started at least 20 games last season, that was the fifth-worst save percentage. Backup Aaron Dell was even worse. Frankly, it’s a minor miracle the Sharks made the postseason despite having such awful goaltending.

Jones has a good resume, so there’s an outside chance he could bounce back. After all, goaltending is volatile and pretty unpredictable. But still, Jones is off to the worst possible start to his new contract. The Sharks will need him to be better next season.

Dishonorable mentions: Evander Kane’s deal is fine for now, but there will be a time when the Sharks regret signing him. Erik Karlsson’s deal could go down the gutter very quickly thanks to his injury history. But in fairness, they’re gambling on one of the best defensemen in the world. They should be fine.