With this year's free agency being another frenzy, let's take a look at some of the worst contracts that were handed out so far.
1. Ivan Provorov
This extension was considered a huge part of the Blue Jackets’ offseason due to the market value of two-way defenseman and their lack of availability. But this extension might leave a sour taste across NHL fans league-wide. Provorov is a left-handed defenseman that played top-four minutes for the Jackets and posted 7 goals and 26 assists, for 33 points in 82 games. As a reward for his performance, he was granted a 7-year extension with a $8.5 million AAV, avoiding a trip to free agency.
The Blue Jackets entered this offseason with an abundance of cap space to grant their young core some reinforcements to complete last season’s playoff push. General Manager Don Waddell was reportedly looking at “impact moves,” but with the Jackets striking out on the Noah Dobson sweepstakes, this move can be seen as a sort of panic move by Waddell and his staff to solidify an unstable defensive corps with a player that doesn’t provide much defensive reliability, but has adequate puck mobility.
The main issue with this contract is that Provorov is nowhere near the value he was signed at, with his market value being at $3.8 million, indicating that the contract is at a $5.2 million excess. While the Jackets’ management is seeing this as a stabilizing move for their defense, this contract could spell various issues when the moment to pay their emerging stars in Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko inevitably arrives.
2. Tanner Jeannot
Boston had a ton of cap space this offseason to make improvements to a chaotic roster. While they went big-game hunting last year, where they signed Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov, this year they focused on restructuring their bottom six. One of their most fascinating signings was a player that should scream Boston Bruin in Tanner Jeannot.
Jeannot put up 7 goals and 6 assists for 13 points in 67 games with the Los Angeles Kings this year before being signed to a 5-year contract with a $3.4 million AAV. Jeannot’s contract is a problem for the Bruins due to his contract being worth $0.8 million at market value, which indicates a $2.6 million dollar excess for a primarily physical forward.
It is understandable that many NHL GMs are yearning for the potential that Jeannot could have, where he posted 24 goals, 17 assists, for 41 points in 81 games in the 2021-22 season for the Nashville Predators. The problem that Jeannot has, and what many of the players have on this list, is the lack of consistency and overall trajectory to contribute at his contractual value.
3. Cody Ceci
While both the Ceci and Brian Dumoulin contracts could both be on this list, Ceci is an anomaly around this league due to his statistical inconsistency but his ability to land a lucrative contract and roster spot on a competitive team. The veteran defenseman posted 4 goals and 20 assists, for 24 points between his tenures in both San Jose and Dallas. After trading Jordan Spence to the Ottawa Senators, GM Ken Holland decided to spend his cap space on a veteran defenseman to fill that third right-handed defenseman spot on his blue line.
The main issue is the contract, which is currently at four years at a $4.5 AAV. Ceci’s contract value is currently at $1 million and at a $3.5 million excess. The excess in value begs some difficult questions to be answered, such as if this defense is improved enough to face off against elite talents in the NHL. The answer to that specific question is a resounding No, a prime example would be Ceci’s recent playoff run with Dallas where they collapsed against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals.
Ceci’s contract and its impact will be consistently evaluated and analyzed as LA continues to make a bid for a competitive run at the Stanley Cup, where Ceci will play a role in providing security on its blue line.