The NHL free agent frenzy began less than a week ago, and as is usually the case, several clubs spent money irresponsibly. That is normally the case when July 1 comes around, but in a year where the free agent class was thin and two of the prime targets (Mitch Marner and Brock Boeser) did not get to the open market, clubs got into a bidding war and signed contracts with useful middle-of-the-lineup players that will not age well.
Here are five contract signings that teams will likely regret:
Tanner Jeannot: Boston Bruins (Five Years, $3.4 Million AAV)
The bruising winger is not the player who scored 24 goals with Nashville four years ago, but after a failed stint in Tampa Bay, Jeannot became a useful crash-and-bang forward with the Los Angeles Kings, leading the club in hits until an injury ended his season in late March.
Jeannot benefited from teams looking to emulate the Florida Panthers model and parlayed that into a five-year deal, but Boston GM Don Sweeney’s desperation to make the Bruins relevant again led him to make a big mistake.
Connor Brown: New Jersey Devils (Four Years, $3 Million AAV)
After some early success in Toronto and Ottawa, Brown’s career was derailed by a serious knee injury with Washington. His first year back with Edmonton was as a fourth-line role player, and last season he was more useful (13 goals, 17 assists in the regular season, five goals in the playoffs), but the term and salary given by the Devils for a bottom-six forward were excessive.
Cody Ceci: Los Angeles Kings (Four Years, $4.5 Million AAV)
Possibly the worst deal signed on July 1, as Kings GM Ken Holland went hog wild on a spending spree (Joel Armia, Brian Dumoulin, Anton Forsberg, Corey Perry) but did not address his new club’s crying need for offense.
Ceci is, at best, a middle-pairing blueliner and better suited to bottom-pairing duty, but benefited from a dearth of right-handed defensemen in free agency. A one or two-year deal would have been understandable, but a four-year contract for someone who will play behind Drew Doughty and Brandt Clarke on the right side is absurd.
Ryan Lindgren: Seattle Kraken (Four Years, $4.5 Million AAV)
The same term and AAV as Ceci, the issue with Lindgren is not his quality as a player, but the fact that he may be the oldest 27-year-old in the NHL. After absorbing a ton of punishment as a shutdown defenseman with the Rangers playing alongside Adam Fox for five seasons, New York was fearful of signing him to a long-term deal and traded the blueliner to Colorado as a rental.
The concern over Lindgren’s durability is valid, and the deal for a defenseman who has never scored more than 20 points in a season, even with the cap going up, was a risky proposition.
Ivan Provorov: Columbus Blue Jackets (Seven Years, $8.5 Million AAV)
Provorov benefited from the Noah Dobson contract (eight years at $9.5 million), making him and former Blue Jacket Vladislav Gavrikov the most sought-after defensemen on the market. The 28-year-old is a solid top-four blueliner who normally scores in the 30-35 point range and logs major minutes, but while the Rangers got Gavrikov at a $7-million cap hit, GM Don Waddell clearly paid a “Columbus tax” for Provorov.
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