theathleticuk
This years free-agent class was one of the worst in NHL history.
There were hardly any true difference-makers available, which explains why the trade market has been so wild in recent weeks.
It also wasnt easy to find exciting discounts or under-the-radar depth players, especially at premium positions like center and right defense.
Advertisement With that in mind, we have to grade the contracts signed this offseason on a curve.
Youd use words such as reasonable and fair value to describe the best contracts on this list rather than steal or bargain.
After scouring the leagues signings, here are nine of the best contracts that teams have inked in free agency so far.
We will only look at unrestricted and restricted free agents who switched teams, so any UFAs and RFAs who re-signed with their team (e.g.
Brandt Clarke) will not be included.
Mavrik Bourque, Nashville Predators Contract: $5.5 million x 6 years The Bourque acquisition was terrific value for the Predators in both acquisition cost and the subsequent contract they signed him to.
Nashville only surrendered a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 third-round pick to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Bourque, a bargain price made possible by the Predators willingness to take on Ilya Lyubushkins contract (one year remaining at $3.25 million) as a cap dump.
That cost is peanuts to a Nashville team that has owned a massive war chest of draft picks since 2025.
Bourque is coming off a productive breakout campaign where he potted 20 goals and 41 points.
The 24-year-old is an energizer bunny with above-average speed, disruptive forechecking and decent two-way play-driving metrics.
$5.5 million profiles as third-line money with the skyrocketing cap.
Bourque, whos already a terrific middle-six contributor, will already be worth his contract in its first year, and theres upside beyond that.
If Bourque gets a full-time top-six opportunity in Nashville, youd expect his offensive production to tick up modestly.
Position will be a fascinating X-factor to monitor as well.
Bourque played on the wing for Dallas last season, but hes been a natural center his whole life, and following the trade he expressed clear interest in returning to the middle.
If Bourque can excel as a middle-six center, his value will increase significantly given how expensive centers are.
Advertisement Im not fully convinced Bourque will thrive as a center in the NHL hes a tad undersized at 5-foot-11 and really struggles in the faceoff dot but Logan Stankoven faced similar question marks and made it work, so you cant rule it out.
In any case, Bourques floor already makes this contract fair value, and Nashville has a chance to extract significant surplus value if he either breaks out as a top-six winger or can perform at center.
John Carlson, Tampa Bay Lightning Contract: $8.5 million x 2 years Carlson is an excellent replacement for Darren Raddyshs offense on a much lower-risk contract.
The 36-year-old right-shot defenseman scored 14 goals from the back end and was tied for 11th among all NHL defensemen with 60 points.
Hes a legitimate dual threat offensively with excellent playmaking vision and a heavy shot from the point that opponents have to respect.
Carlson is a skilled, experienced power-play quarterback, plus he still wins his even-strength matchups.
He posted a plus-16 goal differential during his five-on-five shifts with the Capitals this season and, after being traded to the Ducks, earned a 58 percent expected goal share.
In other words, he isnt just an empty-calorie point producer he drives offense to such a strong degree that he genuinely tilts play in the right direction.
Carlson isnt as mobile as he once was, which makes it tougher for him to escape pressure with his skating, but hes still a capable puck-mover thanks to his poise, composure and passing ability.
Hes far from perfect defensively at this stage in his career his zone entry defense microstats arent the prettiest but hes still competent enough in his own zone.
The enormous workload he still handles is also highly impressive, as he averaged over 24 minutes per night for the Ducks down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Advertisement Michael Kesselring, San Jose Sharks Contract: $4.5 million x 3 years This is similar to the Bourque situation, where both the acquisition cost (trading pick No.
20 in exchange for pick No.
27 and Kesselring) and the contract were very team-friendly.
Kesselrings 2025-26 season was crushed by injuries, which limited him to just 34 games.
He never really gained the defensive trust of Lindy Ruff, was stuck behind a stacked top-four defense in Buffalo and appeared in just one playoff game.
However, theres still a lot of intriguing upside here.
Kesselring is 6-foot-5, skates like the wind and has legitimate offensive talent.
Most importantly, he flashed top-four potential with Utah in the 2024-25 season.
With John Marino and Sean Durzi injured on the right side, Kesselring took on a much bigger role and largely excelled in it.
Kesselring averaged 19:04 of ice time through the first 48 games of the 2024-25 campaign.
He was winning those matchups, with Utah controlling about 52 percent of high-danger chances and outscoring opponents 31-18 during his five-on-five shifts.
He scored 25 five-on-five points in 2024-25, tied for 25th-most among all NHL defensemen.
Theres no doubt that his defensive game is raw, but the tools and potential are undeniable.
The market for right-shot defensemen is very expensive; mediocre players like Tony DeAngelo ($4.5 million AAV), Vincent Desharnais ($4.25 million AAV), and Trevor van Riemsdyk ($4 million AAV) all commanded cap hits in the $4-4.5 million range as UFAs.
Kesselring is in a different boat because he was an RFA, but if he pans out as a solid second-pair option, hes going to quickly make his $4.5 million AAV look like a bargain.
Mackie Samoskevich, Seattle Kraken Contract: $3.85 million x three years Florida got a strong return from Seattle in the Samoskevich trade (pick No.
25 and a 2027 second-rounder), but the contract the Kraken signed him to is almost certainly going to age well.
$3.85 million is what you pay premium bottom-six wingers in this new cap world; Samoskevich should easily clear that bar and then some.
Advertisement The 23-year-old right-winger has a lot of skill and has produced 31 and 32 points over the past two seasons despite playing 13-14 minutes per game.
Samoskevich was stuck behind Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk on a loaded right side, but in Seattle, there should be a clear pathway for him to earn a top-six opportunity.
He has meaningful breakout potential with increased usage, especially because of how young he still is.
Samoskevich is an impactful play-driver the Panthers controlled over 56 percent of scoring chances during his five-on-five shifts last season.
He needs to improve as a finisher to really establish himself as a full-time top-six threat, but even if that doesnt come to fruition, he has a high floor as a handy middle-six driver.
Im a believer in Samoskevichs upside.
Having him locked up at under $4 million for the next three years is great value, even if he wont solve the organizations big-picture need for a true star up front.
Olen Zellweger, Buffalo Sabres Contract: $3.1 million x 3 years After trading Bowen Byram and Kesselring, the Sabres needed to add some secondary skating and puck-moving to the back end.
Zellweger is an excellent budget option to fill that hole.
He isnt nearly as established as Byram yet and his ceiling is likely lower, especially as a 5-foot-10 defenseman, but the upside of his game is tantalizing.
The 22-year-old is a gifted skater, ranking fifth-best among all NHL defensemen in speed bursts exceeding 20 miles per hour this season.
That powers his terrific impact transporting the puck he ranked in the 78th percentile for defensive zone exits and 86th percentile for zone entries last season, according to Corey Sznajders tracking data.
Rank | Player | Speed Bursts 20 MPH+ | |---|---|---| 1 | 269 | | 2 | 223 | | 3 | 204 | | 4 | 174 | | 5 | 170 | | 6 | 158 | | 7 | 153 | | 8 | 142 | | 9 | 141 | | 10 | 129 | Zellweger played a fairly significant role for the Ducks, averaging 18 minutes per game over the last two seasons, but he was a healthy scratch for nine consecutive games to begin the postseason.
Advertisement He has issues in his own zone that need to be ironed out, but his dynamic puck-moving had a positive net impact as the Ducks generated more goals, shots and scoring chances than they gave up during Zellwegers five-on-five minutes.
Zellwegers $3.1 million AAV is a bargain given how rapidly salaries for young RFA defenders are rising, and hell still be an RFA at the end of this bridge deal.
Mats Zuccarello, Los Angeles Kings Contract: $1 million x 1 year (with up to $5.5 million in potential performance bonuses) Zuccarello will hit a $5 million performance bonus after he reaches the 10-game mark next season, so this is really more like a $6 million AAV than the $1 million headline figure.
(The other $500K in potential bonuses only kicks in if the team wins playoff rounds.) However, even with that context, this is a sharp signing.
Zuccarello is 38 and there are some durability concerns, but hes still a bona fide top-six player.
The undersized playmaking winger was nearly a point-per-game producer (54 points in 59 games) in 2025-26.
Hes a very smart, crafty playmaker, and his three-game absence in the middle of Round 1 was also a reminder of how impactful he still is as a first-unit power-play weapon.
Minnesotas power play was firing on all cylinders to start the series, fell off a cliff when Zuccarello got hurt, and then got back on track when he returned.
With Zuccarello, a full year of Artemi Panarin, and a healthy Kevin Fiala (who suffered a season-ending injury at the Olympics), the Kings 28th-ranked power play should get a notable boost.
The key to this Zuccarello signing was also limiting the term to one year, which significantly minimizes the risk.
Viktor Arvidsson, Detroit Red Wings Contract: $5 million x 2 years The Red Wings were anemic offensively at even strength last season, ranking 30th in the NHL in five-on-five goals scored.
Theres still a ton of work required to fix that, but Arvidsson is a smart, relatively low-risk gamble who will help in that area.
Advertisement Arvidsson scored 25 goals and 54 points in 69 games for the Bruins last season.
Crucially, nearly all of that production came at even strength; he scored 3.02 points per 60 at five-on-five, which ranked third-best among all NHL players, behind only Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon.
That said, Arvidsson is due for some regression next year his line scored on an unsustainably high 14 percent of their five-on-five shots in 2025-26 but at a modest $5 million AAV, they dont need him to keep scoring at last years rate of 64 points per 82 games to live up to his contract.
Its also noteworthy that his offensive numbers werent inflated by playing with star talent, which should increase Detroits confidence that his scoring will translate in a new environment.
He never played with David Pastrnak because theyre both right wingers; Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha were his most common linemates last year according to Natural Stat Trick.
Arvidsson is 33 and injury-prone, so this isnt to say its a completely risk-free deal, but the odds are stacked in the Red Wings favor.
Frederik Andersen, Edmonton Oilers Contract: $1 million x one year (with up to $1.8 million in performance bonuses) Andersen isnt magically going to fix the Oilers goaltending woes on his own.
At 36, hes old and injury-prone, and while he was excellent in the playoffs, he had a rough regular season, posting an .874 save percentage.
Anybody expecting him to be a no-doubt-about-it starter at this stage in his career is likely going to be let down.
However, Andersens contract is so cheap that it represents a savvy, low-risk way to add legitimate goaltending insurance.
Between Andersen and the Devon Levi trade, the Oilers goaltending depth is much steadier.
Andersen is streaky, but should pitch in with 25-40 decent games in the regular season (depending on how healthy he stays), and he offers a ton of big-game playoff experience and championship pedigree.
Thats a useful piece to add for only a $1 million base salary.
Hell pick up another $1 million in performance bonuses once he reaches 20 games played; after that, hell earn $200K for every playoff round the team wins.
Advertisement Matias Maccelli, New York Islanders Contract: $2.25 million x 1 year Its unsurprising that the demand for Maccelli was lukewarm given his player type.
Hes an undersized 5-foot-11 winger who has average speed, an unremarkable defensive reputation and mostly plays on the perimeter.
These are the kinds of players coaches and teams overlook unless they produce at an elite level.
With all that said, though, you could do a lot worse than Maccelli on an ultra-cheap one-year, $2.25 million contract.
Maccelli is a very skilled, crafty playmaker who can move up and down a teams top nine.
Hes coming off a decent year in Toronto, where he produced 39 points in 71 games, a respectable rate of 45 points per 82 games.
Its even better when you factor in that nearly all of his points were produced at even strength his 31 five-on-five points would have ranked second on the Islanders last season, behind only Mathew Barzal.
His defensive metrics dont paint the picture of a player whos a liability without the puck, either.
Maccelli should be a quality source of secondary offense, but most importantly, the contract is very low-risk and limited to only one year, unlike the clubs previous bets on Anthony Duclair and Jonathan Drouin (who they had to dump to St.
Louis in the Brayden Schenn trade).