NHL Free Agents 2011: The 11 Worst Contracts Handed out so Far This Year

The 2011 NHL free agency period isn’t even a month in, yet there's already been several big signings. While some of them were smart decisions, there are plenty that have hockey enthusiasts scratching their heads.

Just because a team has salary cap space to spend, doesn’t mean it should be poorly spent. With the league operating a under a hard salary cap, signing multiple or even one bad contract can cripple a team’s financial future.

Teams like the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes took big gambles on marquee free agents who are in their thirties.

This is a risky strategy, but for teams looking for one or two pieces to get them to the next level, signing a veteran player may be a smart move, even if it comes at a high cost. 

There are also teams who have been bad for a long time, like the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers, who will do whatever they can to give their fans a winning product.

However, throwing money at talent for the sake of improving your roster isn't a good idea in itself. The players you sign have to fit in well with your style of play and vision for the future.

Let’s look at the 11 worst signings of the summer so far, and see if your favorite team made a bad move this offseason.

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report, and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston. Follow him on Twitter for NHL news and analysis. Follow @NicholasGoss35

Florida Panthers Sign Sean Bergenheim

The Florida Panthers are one of the worst NHL teams every season, and they had to spend money this offseason to become more competitive.

However, Sean Bergenheim is not a wise choice.

The Panthers gave the former Tampa Bay Lightning forward a four-year, $11 million contract this summer, hoping he can continue his hot run from the 2011 NHL playoffs into the upcoming season.

Bergenheim is surely cashing in on his impressive playoff run, in which he scored 11 points in 16 games. 

The Panthers could have, and should have gotten more proven production for $2.75 million per season.

Dallas Stars Sign Michael Ryder

The Dallas Stars lost their offensive star, Brad Richards, to free agency this summer when he completed a deal with the New York Rangers, so they had to find some offense to replace him.

Unfortunately for the Stars, Ryder is as inconsistent as an NHL player can be.

Ryder is a pure scorer and a good skater, but he also goes long stretches without scoring.

His ability to be a No. 1 forward, but the fact that he could also look like a fourth liner for weeks at a time was frustrating for Bruins fans.

When he’s hot, Ryder is a solid player. He is certainly making the most of his 2011 postseason performance with this signing, but at $3.50 million per season, the Stars overpaid greatly.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Ville Leino

The Buffalo Sabres have signed Philadelphia Flyers forward Ville Leino to a six-year, $27 million contract in hopes that he can be a top six forward right now.

Well, Leino is not a top-six forward, and in only two real NHL seasons, he’s had just one that has been any good.

Leino played with some very good players on the Flyers, and without them he may be far less effective in Buffalo.

The Sabres are hoping Leino plays like he did in the 2010 playoffs, during which he scored 21 points in 19 games. I wouldn’t count on that happening.

Florida Panthers Sign Scottie Upshall

The Florida Panthers make the list again with the signing of former Columbus Blue Jackets forward Scottie Upshall.

Upshall has never scored more than 34 points in a season, but Panthers general manager Dave Tallon thought giving him a four-year deal worth $14 million was a good idea anyway.

Upshall has been a "bust" during his career after being the sixth overall pick in the 2002 NHL Draft, and now with a nice contract, there is even more pressure on him to prove his worth.

New York Rangers Sign Brad Richards

The New York Rangers needed offensive help this offseason, and they improved their goal-scoring ability in a big way by signing Brad Richards to a nine-year deal worth about $60 million.

While Richards will help the Rangers' offense immediately, there are some issues with this signing.

The Rangers have a history of bad signings that have hurt their salary cap health, especially to players who are older.

Richards, 31, has likely seen nearly all of his best offensive years.

The Rangers had to do something to help winger Marion Gaborik on offense, but paying a 31-year-old over $6 million isn’t the way to go.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign James Wisniewski

The Columbus Blue jackets made a big offensive move when they acquired forward Jeff Carter via trade from the Philadelphia Flyers prior to the draft, and they made a big defensive addition by signing James Wisniewski to a six-year, $33 million contract this summer.

The Blue Jackets need so much help to build a real winner that handing out over $5 million to a defenseman is not a good choice.

Wisniewski is a good player who scored an impressive 51 points last season, but he won’t be playing with the many skilled forwards in Columbus that he did in Montreal last season.

Boston Bruins Sign Benoit Pouliot

The Boston Bruins signed Benoit Pouliot to a one-year contract worth about $1 million.

Pouliot is best remembered by Bruins fans through play-by-play man Jack Edwards' rant on Pouliot during the first round of the 2011 playoffs (see video).

The Bruins are hoping that Pouliot can make the most of his potential that made him the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft.

The Bruins don't need another project on offense, and Pouliot has not shown anything that should make the Bruins believe a change of scenery will help jump-start his career.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Tomas Kaberle

Tomas Kaberle was the Boston Bruins' big mid-season trade in 2011, and while he played poorly in black and gold, the Bruins still won the Stanley Cup.

Kaberle is an offensive defenseman who was supposed to help the Bruins' power play substantially, but he actually made it worse.

The Hurricanes gave Kaberle a three-year deal worth about $4.25 million per season. This is way more than the Bruins were willing to go, especially for a 32-year-old player.

The Hurricanes needed a boost on defense, but for over $4 million per season, they could have gotten someone younger.

Kaberle's best days might be behind him, and if his 2011 season is an indication of what he'll be going forward, this is an awful signing by Carolina.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Andrei Markov

The Montreal Canadiens needed to sign a few defenseman this offseason to bolster their depth at the position, especially with the free agent departure of James Wisniewski, who signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

So, the Habs re-signed Andrei Markov to a three-year, $17.25 million contract. Markov, who missed almost all of 2011 with a knee injury, is 32 years old.

Why on Earth would you give a 32-year-old player with knee problems over $5 million per season?

Markov has never played a full season injury-free, and this move just shows how desperate Montreal was to have a respectable defensive corps heading into next season.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Ilya Bryzgalov

The Philadelphia Flyers overreacted to a terrible sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins this past postseason by going out and signing former Phoenix Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to a massive nine-year, $51 million deal.

I hate the really long-term contracts given out in the NHL; the ones that are eight to 12 years longer. That's too much longevity to give any one player. So much can happen during that time; the player can get injured, he can decline, etc.

The Flyers badly needed a legitimate goalie since there lack of one might have cost them two great chances to win a Stanley Cup, but the price was too high, here.

By signing Bryzgalov, the Flyers needed to re-work their salary cap situation, and thus sent captain Mike Richards and forward Jeff Carter out of town via trade.

The Flyers had a top-3 team in terms of talent, but to get a No. 1 goalie, they had to eliminate a lot of their offensive talent, including their captain.

New York Rangers Sign Mike Rupp

The New York Rangers continued their annual overpaying of bad players this summer by signing enforcer Mike Rupp to a three-year, $4.5 million contract.

Rupp is nothing more than a fighter, an agitator, a goon, whatever synonym you want to use.

Rangers general manager Glen Sather has made this type of signing before, but hasn't learned that paying a scrub who won't contribute in any meaningful way offensively or defensively for $1.5 million a year is a terrible idea.