Over the weekend, we reviewed some of the best contracts handed out in free agency. Today, we’ll be looking at some of the worst. NHL teams seem to have gotten smarter in free agency, but there were still some head-scratching contracts handed out on July 1.
Cody Ceci
The Los Angeles Kings have had a busy offseason, and most of it has not been good. It began with trading Jordan Spence to the Ottawa Senators, then replacing him with Cody Ceci in free agency. Ken Holland, who’s in his first year as the Kings’ GM, signed Ceci to a four-year contract worth $4.5 million per year.
Related: 8 Best Contracts Signed in NHL Free Agency 2025
Ceci has been much-maligned throughout most of his career, but it’s not necessarily his fault. Teams continue to play him in a role that he shouldn’t be playing, and it appears the Kings have similar plans. He’d be fine as a third-pair defender, but he’s struggled to handle top-four minutes wherever he’s played. You have to look no further than his performance in the playoffs this season for the Dallas Stars.
Furthermore, Spence had terrific underlying numbers in a heavily sheltered role for the Kings. Who knows if that’ll continue in more prominent minutes with the Senators, but this is a clear loss and downgrade for the Kings.
Brad Marchand
There’s certainly some recency bias, because Brad Marchand was outstanding for the Florida Panthers in their run to their second straight Stanley Cup, but he’s shown some signs of slowing down. He finished the regular season with 23 goals and 51 points, and his production has declined steadily over the last two seasons.
Still, the Panthers rewarded him with a six-year deal that takes him to age 43, and it comes with a cap hit of $5.25 million. Will Marchand play until he’s 43? He’ll probably retire before his contract expires, and the cap hit isn’t problematic, but it’s term that’s usually the killer in these types of deals. That could give GM Bill Zito problems in a couple of years, especially if the Panthers can’t capture a third championship.
Sam Bennett
Sticking with the Panthers, they also re-upped Sam Bennett to an eight-year contract at a cap hit of $8 million. He’s a proven playoff performer and just won the Conn Smythe after totaling 15 goals en route to the Panthers’ second Stanley Cup. You can’t say he hasn’t earned it, but this contract could prove to be burdensome down the road.
Bennett had a career season in 2024-25, but he totaled just 25 goals and 51 points in 76 games. Those goal and point totals were career-highs, and it’s unlikely he suddenly becomes a 60-70 point player to justify the $8 million cap hit. It is cheaper than what Bennett would have received on the open market, but the Panthers could easily regret this contract if this is Bennett’s peak, which is possible.
Tanner Jeannot
Tanner Jeannot’s new contract with the Boston Bruins might not be the most expensive handed out this summer, but it may be the worst. For whatever reason, the Bruins signed Jeannot to a five-year deal at a cap hit of $3.4 million. I’m sure there’s some Florida Panthers Syndrome in signing a player like Jeannot, but the Bruins will almost surely come to regret it.
Jeannot had an impressive rookie season in 2021-22, totaling 24 goals and 41 points in 81 games, but he has not come close to replicating that production. He has just 20 goals and 45 points across his last 198 games, a pace of eight goals and 18 points per 82 games. Somehow, that was worth a $3.4 million cap hit to the Bruins for the next five years.
Generally, contenders will add a player like Jeannot to beef up for playoff hockey, but the problem is the Bruins don’t remotely look like a playoff team right now. They should be rebuilding, and giving Jeannot the contract they did is the last thing a retooling/rebuilding team should be doing.
Ryan Lindgren
The Seattle Kraken seem to be a bit of a rudderless ship right now. Are they trying to rebuild? Are they trying to sneak into the playoffs as the eighth seed next season? Whatever the case may be, they have not gone about it well, and signing Ryan Lindgren to a four-year contract worth $4.5 million per year is a perfect example. While he’s only 27, the physical style of hockey he plays has taken its toll on him. He was once one of the top shutdown defenders in the NHL, but his game has completely fallen off a cliff over the last two seasons.
Perhaps an easier workload would help Lindgren, but the Kraken did not pay him to play a sheltered third-pair role. They’re unlikely to get proper value for him, even at $4.5 million per year, and it wouldn’t shock me if we’re talking buyout two to three years from now. Not the best start to Jason Botterill’s tenure as general manager.
Trent Frederic
The Edmonton Oilers have the core in place to win Stanley Cups, but they could hurt their chances if they continue missing on depth players like Trent Frederic. Despite having a down season between the Bruins and Oilers, the Oilers still re-signed Frederic to an eight-year deal at a cap hit of $3.85 million.
Frederic finished with just eight goals and 15 points in 58 games between the Bruins and Oilers, though a good portion of that was due to injury. He was an 18-goal and 40-point player in 2023-24, so he’s probably better than what we saw from him this season. Still, long-term contracts for depth players rarely work out. Just ask the Colorado Avalanche, who recently traded Miles Wood two years into a six-year contract they gave him in 2023. Chances are the Oilers will be looking to get out of Frederic’s contract in a couple of years, too.
Ivan Provorov
It’s a toss-up between Jeannot and Ivan Provorov for the worst contracts signed in free agency this summer. It’s not a surprise that the Columbus Blue Jackets re-signed Provorov, but the price — $8.5 million per year for the next seven years — is well more than his play is worth.
Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell had plenty of money to spend this offseason, but that doesn’t mean spending money for the sake of spending money. Provorov is a fine enough second-pair defender and would have been perfectly acceptable at a $5-6 million cap hit. But he’s getting paid like a true No. 1 defenseman, and he is far from a true No. 1.
It’s unfortunate because the Blue Jackets were just two points out from a playoff spot last season, but they did not allocate their assets as well as they could have this offseason. Whether it was signing Provorov to the contract they did or giving up assets to acquire Miles Wood and Charlie Coyle, they could have done better.
Nicholas Hague
Nicolas Hague once looked like one of the more promising defense prospects in the NHL, but his development has flatlined and even regressed. However, that didn’t stop the Nashville Predators from acquiring him from the Vegas Golden Knights and then signing him to a four-year deal worth $5.5 million per year.
Hague defends the forecheck well, but he struggles mightily just about everywhere else. He can’t move the puck in transition, is not a particularly adept passer, and struggles to defend the rush. Overall, his impacts have been well in the red over the last three seasons:
I can’t help but feel that Predators GM Barry Trotz saw that Hague is 6-foot-6, 245 pounds and signed him to be a shutdown defender, but he’s not that all. If he were 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, he’d likely be out of the league. But the Predators are instead paying him $5.5 million per year to play a second-pair role at a minimum, and it likely won’t work out.
K’Andre Miller
I’m on the fence about whether I should include K’Andre Miller among the worst contracts signed this offseason. On one hand, he’s not a $7.5 million defenseman at this time. On the other hand, defensemen always seem to thrive in Carolina, and I’m sure the Hurricanes will make me eat crow a year from now.
There’s no doubt Miller had a tough 2024-25 season. He struggled to defend and seemed to constantly be on the wrong end of Rangers’ miscues and gaffes in their defensive zone. At the same time, you could say the same about many Rangers last season, as they struggled to play a structured game under head coach Peter Laviolette.
That’s the bet the Hurricanes are looking to make, too. That a change of scenery and playing under a more structured system like Rod Brind’Amour’s will benefit Miller. He’s already 26, so he may just be what he is, which is a fine enough second-pair defender, but that’s not a $7.5 million player. Time will tell if I eat crow on this one.
Brock Boeser
Perhaps the biggest surprise of free agency was the Vancouver Canucks finding common ground on a seven-year deal with Brock Boeser. Most insiders indicated Boeser would be signing elsewhere this summer, and it looked like that was going to be the case for a short time on July 1. But the Canucks found a way to bring back one of their homegrown players.
Still, a seven-year contract for Boeser at a cap hit of $7.25 million carries its risks. He’s one of the weaker skaters in the NHL and struggles mightily in transition. He’s far from a play driver, so he needs a strong play-driving center on his line to be successful at five-on-five. He has plenty of power-play value, and his shot is one of the better ones in the NHL, but it’s not hard to envision this contract aging poorly, even in a rising cap world.
Fewer Than Expected
While there were some puzzling contracts signed in free agency, there were fewer than I expected. NHL teams are getting smarter, but time will tell if the rising salary cap changes how free agency looks in a couple of years.
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick, Advanced Hockey Stats
