Joel Dorcas | April 4th, 2020
Thank you to everyone who checked out my Top 10 Worst Contracts. If you didn’t get the chance, you can still check them out here: Top 10 Worst Contracts in the NHL (Part One)and here: Top 10 Worst Contracts in the NHL (Part Two). Now it’s on to players that have lived up to their contracts and then some. Let’s start it off with 10th to 6th.
10 Brendan Gallagher Montreal Canadiens
Age: 27/ Annual Cap Hit: $3.75M (2015-2021)
Not sure the Habs ever envisioned Gallagher to be this productive offensively. In the beginning, Gallagher was pegged as almost a grinder, character player and at best, a 25-goal scorer. Here we are five years later and Gallagher has back-to-back 30 goal seasons(31 in 2017-’18, 33 in 2018-’19) on his resume. The solid production has continued this year as he is tied with Tomas Tatar for the team lead in goals with 22. The Canadiens will get one more year at this very affordable cap hit. Expect Gallagher to command a nice raise, somewhere in the neighborhood of $6M per season when the deal expires.
9 Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins
Age: 32/ Annual Cap Hit: $8.7M (2013-2025)
Crosby has a lot of miles on his body at this stage of his career but there doesn’t seem to be a decline happening yet. How long can he maintain this high level of play? Crosby is a machine and stays in tip-top shape so it is conceivable that we see three to five more years of vintage Crosby. As for the here and now, Sid continues to be considered elite, he was just recently voted amongst his peers as the best overall player in the league.
8 John Gibson Anaheim Ducks
Age: 26/ Annual Cap Hit: $6.4M (2019-2027)
A cap hit of just over six million for one of the league’s best netminders looks pretty good, especially when you compare it to the $10M tag the Panthers are paying Sergei Brabrovksy. The numbers clearly show that Gibson is a top-notch a netminder. Since 2015, amongst goalies who have played at least 200 games, Gibson ranks fifth in both save percentage and in goals-against average.
7 Aleksander Barkov Florida Panthers
Age: 24/ Annual Cap Hit: $5.9M (2016-2022)
Barkov is an absolute force for the Florida Panthers and has lived up to or surpassed expectations at a very young age. Barkov broke out in 2017-’18 with 78 points in 79 games. He then followed that with a monster 35 goal, 96 point campaign the year after. A top five, top ten finish in scoring over the last two years of this contract is well within the possibility.
6 Jonathan Huberdeau Florida Panthers
Age: 26/ Annual Cap Hit: $5.9M (2017-2023)
Huberdeau is a bit older than Barkov but will be locked up until 2023 during his prime years. Last season was huge for Huberdeau, 30 goals and 92 points. This season was more of the same as he was on pace for at least 90 points again, he was at 78 in just 69 games played when play was halted in mid-March.
Make sure to look out for Part Two of the Best Contracts coming out soon!
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