During the summer, The Athletic did its annual list of the 10 worst contracts in the NHL, and once again, Jonathan Huberdeau of the Calgary Flames topped that list. It isn’t the first time that Huberdeau’s contract has not only been on such a list, but topped it. The eight-year deal, which carries an AAV of $$10.5M, was signed shortly after Huberdeau was acquired from the Florida Panthers in the Matthew Tkachuk deal.
However, the ranking is more nuanced than that, especially now compared to the first few years.
“The worst contract in the NHL” and why it was justified
Poor performance
The title has been justified for Huberdeau. In his first season as a Flame, he registered 55 points, falling from 115 points the year before. The years after, Huberdeau put up 52, 62, and 25 points, with the 25 points coming in 50 games after his season was cut short due to hip surgery.
Huberdeau has not been anywhere near the same player since the trade. The once-elite, dynamic playmaker has seemingly lost that ability. Even though the talent around him isn’t close to what it was in Florida, he doesn’t make the same plays he once would. He still has that elite playmaking talent, but he can’t quite find a way to utilize it properly anymore.
Despite wishes early on from Flames fans, hoping that Huberdeau could reach his previous marks.
Taking space from young players
Having Huberdeau on the roster does take away a roster spot from a younger player, which for a rebuilding team, can be a bit of a pain. The Flames have talent in the system. Players like Aydar Suniev and Rory Kerins haven’t really gotten a proper chance with the Flames. Furthermore, as players continue their development, Huberdeau might become a bit of an inconvenience, taking up a highly contested roster spot.
That being said, there is still time before some prospects are ready for the jump. Plus, Suniev and Kerins might get opportunities with Huberdeau currently recovering from injury.
Why it no longer affects the Flames
That being said, with the situation the Flames are in right now, and the current circumstances, it’s no longer a problem.
Rising cap
The main change is the skyrocketing cap that is changing the NHL. All across the league, we have seen contracts being handed out at higher values than ever. Just yesterday, Noah Ostlund of the Buffalo Sabres signed an eight-year, $52.8M deal; Drake Batherson reportedly signed an eight-year deal with an AAV between $10.5–11M.
Because of this rising cap, Huberdeau’s contract also takes up a much lower percentage of the cap for Calgary. At the start of the contract, it took up 12.57% of the Flames’ cap space. Now it only takes up 10.10% of the cap, with that number lowering to 8.54% in two seasons’ time.
Reaching the cap floor
Additionally, because of the aforementioned rising cap, the cap floor is also rising. Calgary—who are clearly rebuilding now—need a contract like Huberdeau’s to reach that floor. They are around $$13M over the cap floor; take away that Huberdeau contract, and all of a sudden you’re awfully close to falling below it.
If you look at a team like the San Jose Sharks, you will see similar scenarios. They brought in Jacob Trouba and Darnell Nurse for the same reason; they have cap space to burn at this point. A few years ago, when Calgary was thought to be a playoff contender, that contract wouldn’t work. However, now that Craig Conroy has moved many older veterans, offloading contracts and making his team much younger, there is that need for Huberdeau’s deal.
Comparisons
The contract also doesn’t look entirely bad when you look at other comparisons across the league now. The main example is centre Elias Pettersson on the Vancouver Canucks. Pettersson is entering year three of an eight-year, $92.8M contract, and during that time, he has seen his production fall.
Now, Pettersson has still performed better than Huberdeau. He has neared a point-per-game pace during this contract; however, he hasn’t lived up to his price tag. Since hitting 102 points in the 2022–23 season, he hasn’t registered more than 68 in a season.
All of those combined make Huberdeau’s contract look better than it used to.
It can still be considered the worst contract in the league and a bad contract for the Flames. However, the pain of the contract has been alleviated, and it is now something Calgary can very much live with.
