Famously stated by former NHL GM Brian Burke, July 1st is the day which teams make the most mistakes. They see players on the unrestricted free agent market and pay too much and for too long based entirely on what they’ve already accomplished in their careers. Rarely is there a contract to a star player that accurately reflects his future value, and never does an offseason pass without someone drastically overpaying.
Last year there were immediate doubts about the long-term deals handed out to players like David Backes, Milan Lucic and Loui Eriksson, and though each had varying levels of success in their first year could all be called disappointments. Those contracts could get even uglier as they go on, and look like a ridiculous deal in a few seasons.
This year had less star power on the free agent market, and a headliner in Kevin Shattenkirk that actually took less money and term than almost anyone expected. He headed to the Rangers for just four seasons despite being arguably the most sought-after player on the market, and while he easily could start his decline it’s hard to call his contract much of an albatross. In fact, only two UFAs even received a contract of five years in what was a relatively tame free agent period. Karl Alzner and Alexander Radulov led the way, though much longer extensions were given out to players like Carey Price and Brent Burns.
Looking at just the UFA deals from this summer (which excludes things like T.J. Oshie’s contract that was signed on June 23rd), which do you think will look the worst in a year? We’ve included some of the top candidates, but don’t hesitate to list another contract in the comments below and explain why you think it will be the worst.
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Probably will be an Oiler. After locking up McDavid and Draisaitl their veterans with big deals are really going to hurt them. Lucic or Sekera contracts are going to look bad
Radulov, Marleau, and Daley signings all stand out to me. I have doubt about whether or not Radulov actually plays well for all 5 years (let alone stays committed for all 5 years). The Marleau signing wouldn’t be too bad if it was for one or two years, but his cap hit might hurt that third year (and fourth year if he’s waived via the stretch provision) when Toronto’s young players start needing extensions/their extensions start kicking in. Daley’s contract isn’t that bad imo, but Detroit had no reason to be giving that to him. They should be starting a youth movement and getting as many bad contracts out as possible. I don’t think moving Daley would be too hard in a year or two (unless he falls off a cliff in terms of being at least a serviceable defenseman) but his contract is unnecessary given Detroit’s status.
There’s just so many. Marleau, Alzner, Bonino, and Daley will all turn out bad for their teams.
NHL free agency seems like such a good idea until you look back and almost no deals end up good for their teams.
I think they all look really bad not one of these players are game changers or go to guys this was a very bad offseason