From a 50-goal campaign on a $5.5-million cap hit to 75 points on a $1.5-million cap hit, these 10 players outperformed their contracts during this past NHL season.
With record-breaking contracts becoming increasingly common in today’s NHL, GMs need value contracts if they want to be contenders. Now more than ever, having contributors on your roster who play above their pay grade is what separates the good from the great.
There have been likely bargain signings this off-season along with teams with histories of value signings that could still be active. But looking back to last season, even some players making more than $7 million arguably outplayed their contracts.
Here is this writer's perspective on the 10 best bang-for-buck contracts from last season, excluding players who were on entry-level contracts. Some of the players on this list even got rewarded for their efforts with big paydays. Let's get to it:
1. Gustav Forsling, D, Florida Panthers
2023-24 cap hit: $2.66 million
New contract: 8 years, $5.75-million per year
One of the breakout stars of the post-season, Gustav Forsling emerged as the new Cup champion Florida Panthers' No. 1 defenseman. His regular-season numbers from last season don’t jump off the page (10 goals and 39 points in 79 games), but it’s Forsling’s two-way dominance that put him on this list. Over the last three seasons, the Swedish stalwart has accumulated a plus-116 plus/minus, good for second in the NHL over that span — only behind Devon Toews of the Avalanche — and first on the Panthers.
2. Zach Hyman, LW, Edmonton Oilers
2023-24 cap hit: $5.5 million
It only makes sense to start with the best contracts from the two teams that made the Cup final. For the Oilers, that distinction definitely belongs to Zach Hyman. Connor McDavid’s new running mate potted 54 goals in the regular season, good for third in the NHL, and added a league-leading 16 more in the playoffs. That total of 70 goals ties him with the consensus best goal-scorer in the world, Auston Matthews, for combined regular season and playoff goals last year. Not bad company at all.
3. Quinn Hughes, D, Vancouver Canucks
2023-24 cap hit: $7.85 million
Quinn Hughes is the most expensive contract on this list at just under $8 million, but for the 2024 Norris Trophy winner, this still absolutely classifies as a steal. Clocking in as the No. 20 highest-paid defenseman from last year and going even further down the list this year to No. 23, Hughes is one of the biggest values in the league. His 92 points from last year are a franchise record by a defenseman in a single season.
4. Nico Hischier, C, New Jersey Devils
2023-24 cap hit: $7.25 million
One year removed from a runner-up finish for the Selke Trophy, Nico Hischier missed some time due to injury but still managed 67 points in 71 games. In those 71 games with Hischier on the ice, the Devils outscored opponents by 25 goals, meanwhile the Devils finished 22nd in goal differential at minus-17 for the year. Safe to say the Swiss center was a bright spot on an otherwise dark Devils season.
5. Adrian Kempe, RW, Los Angeles Kings
2023-24 cap hit: $5.5 million
Being top three on your team in; goals, (third), assists (first), and points (first), while being the sixth highest-paid player on your team last season will land you on this list. Kempe has flown under the radar the last couple years despite steadily growing offensively. He’s increased his point total in the last three seasons with a career high of 75 in 77 games last season and is just one year removed from a 41-goal campaign in 2022-23.
6. Jonathan Drouin, LW, Colorado Avalanche
2023-24 cap hit: $825,000
New contract: 1 year, $2.5 million
Drouin is the lone player on this list who made less than $1 million, but his play didn’t show it. Reunited with his old Halifax Mooseheads teammate Nathan MacKinnon, Drouin had the best season of his career. After a disastrous final four years in Montreal saw him score just 17 goals in 163 games, Drouin potted 19 goals and a career-high 56 points in his first season with Colorado. It seems the former No. 3 overall pick has a new home in burgundy and blue.
7. Noah Dobson, D, New York Islanders
2023-24 cap hit: $4 million
After totalling 119 points in the last two seasons, Noah Dobson was no longer under the radar as an offensive defenseman. But what he did this past year shattered his former ceiling. Racking up 70 points, 19 more than his previous career high, and sitting seventh in defenseman scoring, this was the statement season for Dobson. The Canadian not only helped push the Islanders into the playoffs but also made his case as a dark-horse candidate for Canada’s already stacked Olympic blueline.
8. Vincent Trocheck, C, New York Rangers
2023-24 cap hit: $5.625 million
The other New York team has a bit of a different build than the Islanders. The Rangers were the seventh-highest-scoring team in hockey last year, headlined by Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and more. But it was Vincent Trocheck who was second on the Rangers in scoring last season and was first in playoff scoring with a whopping 20 points in 16 games. Not bad for the seventh-highest-paid player on the team last season.
9. Brandon Hagel, LW, Tampa Bay Lightning
2023-24 cap hit: $1.5 million
New contract: 8 years, $6.5-million per year
We might be seeing the end of the Tampa Bay Lightning's run of dominance in real-time, but finding bargain contracts like Brandon Hagel will go a long way in retooling for the future of the Lightning. Hagel put up a career-high 75 points and has increased his point total every year since joining the Lightning in March 2022.
10. Gustav Nyquist, C, Nashville Predators
2023-24 cap hit: $3.185 million
The Predators were big movers in the off-season, partially because of the flexibility they have from the contract of Nyquist. Making just over $3 million and topping his career high by 21 points last season, Nyquist was one of the most surprising parts of last season. He might not be the same fleet-footed sniper as he was in Detroit, but the Swede has adapted his game and became an integral part of Filip Forsberg’s breakout campaign last season.
Honorable Mentions
Jack Hughes, C, New Jersey Devils
Bryan Rust, RW, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jesper Bratt, LW, New Jersey Devils