Realistic Trades for the NHL's Worst Contracts
The existence of the NHL salary cap adds an extra challenge to team-building. You not only need to find the right mix of 23 players to compete for a Stanley Cup, but you also need to figure out how to piece it all together for a limited price.
Every club is looking for bargains, and they succeed much of the time in either finding an undervalued player for a team-friendly deal or at least getting stars for market value.
Sometimes, though, they fail.
Sometimes, that results in a bad contract on the wrong player, which can ruin a team's cap outlook and leave them scrambling to find a solution. Those misses can be difficult to move, but not impossible. Every contract can be moved in the right deal.
Let's take an updated look at some of our ideas to move some of those undesirable contracts.
Keep in mind: These are just our suggestions and nothing more.
Jonathan Huberdeau for Johnny Gaudreau
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Let's knock two of them out right from the start.
The Calgary Flames acquired Jonathan Huberdeau before the 2022-23 season as part of the Matthew Tkachuk trade with the hope that he could continue to be a top-line scorer and one of the best playmaking wingers in the league.
They signed him to an eight-year, $84 million contract extension that started this season.
In the same offseason, Columbus shockingly signed Johnny Gaudreau from Calgary in a seven-year, $68.2 million extension in the hopes he could become its go-to player in offensive and a superstar in its lineup.
However, neither move has worked out.
Huberdeau's offensive production has plummeted, and combined with his non-existent defensive game, it's already looking like one of the worst contracts in the league.
Gaudreau had a decent debut year in Columbus but has taken a step backward this season.
Both teams and players could use a change. So why not swap them?
Both men are 30 years old, have similar salary-cap hits ($10.5 million for Huberdeau and $9.75 million for Gaudreau) and they run for a similar length of time (Huberdeau has an extra two extra years).
Financially and from a hockey standpoint it could work, but there are two big obstacles.
The first is no-trade clauses. Secondly, Gaudreau would have to accept a trade back to Calgary. He said he left for family reasons originally, so would he be willing to go back?
Perhaps a new front office and new head coach could convince him it's worth a reunion.
Ryan McDonagh to Chicago
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The Nashville Predators have done a lot of work to shed several bad contracts over the past two years.
Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene and Mikael Granlund have been traded or bought out, leaving the Predators with a pretty low salary-cap number and few problematic deals.
However, Ryan McDonagh remains one of them at $6.75 million per year over the remainder of this season and the next two full years.
The 34-year-old was an outstanding two-way defender with the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning at his peak, but his best days are behind him. He isn't a complete liability on the ice, but it is still a contract that Nashville might like to move on from sooner rather than later.
Enter the Chicago Blackhawks.
The motivation here for the Blackhawks isn't necessarily because McDonagh is going to turn them into a playoff team overnight.
Instead, they can take advantage of the gobs of salary-cap space they have and use it to try to buy more premium draft picks. Chicago has almost no long-term commitments beyond this season and is the type of team that could take on a bad deal and keep restocking its draft-pick cupboard.
Nashville is loaded with draft selections over the next two years, including three second-round picks in 2024 and two first-rounders next year.
The proposal here is for Nashville to send McDonagh and one of those draft picks to Chicago to entice the Blackhawks to take on the remainder of his contract.
It would help Chicago easily reach the cap floor next season, still give them a strong veteran presence on the blue line and another significant draft pick for their rebuild.
The Predators get to shed another big-money deal to create cap flexibility for general manager Barry Trotz to keep adding to his roster.
John Gibson to Detroit
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Not all bad contracts belong to players with little value.
At his peak, John Gibson was one of the best goalies in the NHL and a core piece for a Ducks team that was in the playoffs regularly and fringe Stanley Cup contender.
In recent years, though, the netminder's production has plummeted as he has been run into the ground playing big minutes behind one of the league's worst teams.
His .903 save percentage this season is close to the league average, but the Ducks are on the hook for three more full seasons at a $6.4 million salary-cap hit.
That is not great value for league-average goaltending on a bad team.
But it could still have value for somebody else, such as the Detroit Red Wings.
They are desperate to get back into playoff contention and goaltending remains one of their biggest weaknesses. Gibson would be an upgrade over what they have, and Ben Chiarot could leave the Red Wings to help make the money work.
The defenseman has been one of the big free-agent misses by general manager Steve Yzerman, and his $4.75 million salary-cap figure over the next two full seasons will be a drain on the Red Wings.
A straight swap would get rejected immediately by Anaheim, but using Chiarot to help make the money work and a sweetener in the form of a decent prospect or draft pick could be manageable for both sides.
The Red Wings get an upgrade in goal, and the Ducks save significant money against the cap over the next two years and then get huge salary-cap savings after the 2025-26 season when Chiarot's deal expires.
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Erik Cernak to Arizona
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We can't talk about dumping bad contracts without including the Arizona Coyotes in the list. But this is one that could actually have some logic behind it.
In July, 2022, the Tampa Bay Lightning made the surprising decision to re-sign defenseman Erik Cernak to an eight-year, $41.6 million contract extension that started this season.
It was an eye-opener because it was a huge investment to make in a defenseman who is not known for creating offense, and it further complicated the Tampa Bay salary-cap situation.
The Lightning already have more than $75 million committed to just 11 players next season and are going to be short on cap space with some big questions to answer this offseason.
Not only do they have to figure out what they are going to do with franchise icon Steven Stamkos and his pending unrestricted free agency, but they will also need to make significant changes to an aging and declining roster that has struggled this season.
They need to shed salary before they can do any of that.
Cernak is a natural place to start, and they have an out to do so.
The 26-year-old's contract does not include any trade protection during the 2023-24 season, meaning they could deal him anywhere in the NHL without him getting involved. That all changes next season when a no-trade clause kicks in for the remainder of the deal.
If they want to get out of that contract, now is the time.
This is where the Coyotes come in.
Adding the Slovak would not be the typical Arizona salary dump where it takes on the contract of a player who is no longer going to play, Cernak could play a meaningful role on the roster, give the team a defenseman who would fit into the current core's timeframe and help fill a big roster spot.
Currently the Coyotes do not have a single defenseman under contract beyond this season (though they do have four restricted free agents) and could use more long-term help at the position. They have the cap space and the need, it would fit in with the current rebuild and give the Lightning some much-needed salary-cap relief to help fix their roster.
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