NHL Free Agency: Which Team Made the Best Long-Term Investment?

Since free agency started on July 1, the 30 NHL teams have invested over $400 million, whether it be signing an incoming free agent, or locking up their own players to long-term contracts.

If history has shown us anything, it's that some of these deals will prove to be bargains, while others will quickly lead to buyers remorse.

Let's take a look at some of the biggest contracts signed this offseason: Rick Nash, Marian Hossa, Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Marian Gaborik, Martin Havlat and the Sedin twins.

The table below shows each player's age, contract and cap hit, as well as the number of goals and points they average per 82 games played. Five of these players were unrestricted free agents, free to sign with the highest bidder, while Nash still had one year remaining on his original deal with Columbus. The Sedins were re-signed by the Canucks before free agency began.

Long-Term Contract Comparison Player Age Contract Cap Hit G/82 P/82 Rick Nash 25 8/$62.4 $7.8 36.1 66.0 Marian Gaborik 27 5/$37.5 $7.5 35.8 71.4 Henrik Sedin 28 5/$30.2 $6.1 13.8 58.3 Daniel Sedin 28 5/$30.2 $6.1 22.8 59.0 Mike Cammalleri 27 5/$30.0 $6.0 29.7 64.7 Marian Hossa 30 12/$62.8 $5.2 35.9 76.1 Brian Gionta 30 5/$25.0 $5.0 26.4 54.1 Martin Havlat 28 6/$30.0 $5.0 29.5 69.1

Obviously, players have more value than just their offensive production. Hossa, for example, is a strong two-way player that can make a positive contribution in the defensize zone to go with his offensive output. But, let's face it, when you're investing nearly $7 million per year (or more) in the salary cap era, you better be receiving goals and points.

Let's start with the good: Nash and Hossa.

Contract talks between the Blue Jackets and their franchise player, Nash, got off to a rocky start when the 25-year-old power forward sounded off about the team's initial offer, telling the Columbus Dispatch: "Things didn't line up the way I anticipated them lining up. I thought we had a solid chance of getting (a contract) done, especially with all the interest they said they had going into this. If this doesn't happen in the next week, and we can't hit a number where we're both satisfied and we both feel it's fair ... if they want me that bad, they'll get it done."

And get it done they did. Two days later, Nash signed an eight-year, $62.4 million contract, making him the highest paid player in franchise history. In terms of per-year average, it's the largest contract signed in the past week, and it's looking like it might be one of the best investments. Of all the players signed this offseason, no player has averaged more goals per 82 games than Nash, while he's still only 25 years old. He'll be 33 when the deal expires. The Blue Jackets are paying the most money, but they're also getting Nash in the prime of his career. Too often in free agency we see teams invest top dollars in players that have already played their best hockey, resulting in an albatross contract that does nothing but occupy valuable cap space (see: Redden, Wade).

He's already posted a pair of 40-goal seasons, while his overall production has increased in each of the past four seasons. The contract was enough for the folks at The Cannon, to call the summer a success for the Blue Jackets.


For the second year in a row, Marian Hossa entered the offseason as the best player available, and he ended up signing a 12-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks worth over $62 million. In terms of the cap hit, the deal has to be considered a steal for Chicago, seeing as how he's making, on average, $2 million less per year than Nash and Gaborik, and the same amount as Gionta and Havlat. Right now, he's a better player than all of them.

The only problem? While Columbus is paying Nash for his peak years, when his production should continue to rise, Chicago will be paying Hossa during his decline when his production, naturally, should be expected to drop. That's pretty much the only thing about his deal that concerns me: how productive will Hossa be at 34 (and beyond)?

Based on their career numbers, the contracts given to the Sedins look to be a bit overpriced. A $6 million cap hit for each player, while they average just under 60 points per 82 games. Decent numbers, but not great. Since the lockout, however, the twins have blossomed, averaging nearly a point per game. They're both still on the right side of 30, and the contracts are only five years in length so the Canucks likely won't be saddled with players too far into their decline.

Now, for the deals that seem questionable from the beginning.

The New York Rangers are no stranger to bold moves in free agency, and Marian Gaborik's five-year pact is pretty much the Dave Kingman of NHL contracts: it's either going to be a towering, majestic home run, or it's going to be a brutal swing-and-miss. When healthy, Gaborik has proven to be one of the best, most talented players in the league. He averages over 30 goals per season, and scored 42 as recently as 2007-08. Plus, at 27, he's still in what should be the prime of his career.

That is, of course, when he's on the ice.

Injuries limited him to just 17 games this season, while he's been limited to fewer than 70 games four times in his career. Can the Rangers get enough games out of Gaborik to make the deal worth it?

It's pretty much the same story for Martin Havlat in Minnesota. He's a gifted playmaker and goal-scorer, and there's no denying his raw talent. Unfortunately for Wild fans, he tends to miss more games per season than Gaborik. He's averaged just 58 games per season in his career, and only 47 games per season since the lockout.

And then we have Montreal. The Canadiens entered the offseason with empty cap space and open roster spots, and quickly filled both with spots with a trio of undersized forwards: Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta and Mike Cammalleri. Gionta is probably the worst player in this group (and that's not a knock against him), and while he's never repeated his 48-goal season from 2005-06, he's leveled off as a steady 20-goal, 60-point forward. Still, when you look at his contract compared to some of the other long-term deals this offseason, it seems like Montreal overpaid.