10 worst moves of 2024 NHL offseason, including Jake DeBrusk contract

The Los Angeles Kings didn’t do much this offseason to address an offense that had the third-fewest goals among postseason teams. Their big move was signing forward Warren Foegele to a 3-year, $3.5 million AAV contract. While Foegele was a noticeable part of an Edmonton Oilers bottom six that wowed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and notched an NHL career-high 20 goals and 41 points in the regular season, it doesn’t change a lot for the Kings’ outlook offensively. He’s certainly not to the caliber of Victor Arvidsson, who departed LA to sign with Edmonton for a year less and $500,000 more annually, even despite the latter’s injury issues. The Kings reached the postseason last year but didn’t have the firepower to go far — swapping Arvidsson for Foegele doesn’t really help matters at all.

The Toronto Maple Leafs added a pair of veteran defensemen this offseason, signing Chris Tanev (6 years, $4.5 million AAV) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (4 years, $3.5 million AAV) on the opening day of free agency. The annual value for Tanev is actually a pretty solid deal, considering he’s been an elite defender into his mid-thirties, but the contract takes him through his age-40 season. He’s managed to fend off Father Time so far, but his play could decline in an instant. Meanwhile, Ekman-Larsson has already shown signs of decline and was bought out of his $66 million contract by Vancouver last offseason. He bounced back on a one-year deal with an excellent Florida Panthers team but served mainly in a bottom-pairing role as the regular season wore on and had his ice time cut in the playoffs. Toronto needed to improve their blue line, but locking themselves up with two aging D-men might not pan out well, a lesson they’ve could’ve and should’ve learned multiple times in recent years.

The free-agent market ended up being very favorable to mid-level wingers and Jake Debrusk is a prime example of that. You can never say no to more offense (particularly after losing Elias Lindholm in free agency), but the Canucks raised eyebrows by committing seven years at $5.5 million annually to the former Boston Bruins forward. Debrusk enjoyed seven solid seasons with the Bruins, but just once totaled 50 points and has never reached the 30-goal mark. He’s coming off a season when he tallied 19 goals and 40 points in 80 games. Anthony Mantha, Anthony Duclair, and Warren Foegele each scored more points last season but wound up with $2 million AAV less. With the salary cap continuing to go up each year, it shouldn’t be a back-breaking contract, but it’s still an overpay and a lengthy one at that for a good-but-not great middle-sixer.

The Bruins reached the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite never truly boasting an elite top-line center. General manager Don Sweeney hopes to fix that by bringing in Elias Lindholm on a big 7-year, $54 million free-agent contract. Lindholm was likely the best center available on the market and is a clear upgrade, but that doesn’t mean Boston didn’t take a big risk. Outside of a strong showing with the Canucks this postseason, Lindholm’s struggled to reach an elite level of play ever since former teammates Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk departed the Calgary Flames following the 2021-22 season. David Pastrnak is a game-changing superstar, but Lindholm mustered 12 points in 26 regular-season games on a Vancouver team that’s got plenty of star power in its own right. He’s a talented offensive player, but he might not be the play-driving offensive force that Boston’s paying him to be.

A massive Nashville Predators spending spree headlined by forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault also included defenseman Brady Skjei, who GM Barry Trotz inked to a seven-year, $49 million contract. Notching an NHL career-high 48 points in his final season with the Carolina Hurricanes as well as 10-plus goals in each of the past two seasons, he’s no doubt a top-four defenseman with strong defensive skills and a good shot. Still, $7 million annually is a steep price to pay for Skjei, who will be 30 next season and isn’t quite in the elite tier of defensemen. He’ll be a nice piece to have in the next few seasons as they chase a Stanley Cup, but there’s a good chance he never quite lives up to the contract.

Brandon Montour’s 7-year, $7.1 million AAV raises a similar conversation to Skjei. Montour has more upside, thanks in large part to a 2022-23 season when he registered 73 points in the regular season and was a monster in the playoffs. There’s also a lot more risk, though. Montour came back down to earth this season after missing the early portion of the season recovering from shoulder surgery. He ended the season with eight goals and 33 points in 66 games and was a bit quiet in the playoffs, making the year prior look like more of an outlier. He’s an offensive-minded D-man who struggles at times on the backend and, like Skjei, he’ll be 30 next season. While he should certainly boost a Seattle Kraken offense that finished with the fourth-fewest goals last year, Montour may not be the elite fit he’s being paid to be.

The San Jose Sharks needed to reach the cap floor and surround their young talent like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith with enough NHL talent to allow for proper development, so it makes sense why they’re in the business of overpaying. San Jose won’t make the playoffs regardless, and Alexander Wennberg’s 2-year deal won’t hinder their front office, so it shouldn’t affect the future of the franchise all that much — but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the biggest overpays of the offseason. Wennberg’s a nice defensive forward that can be used on the penalty kill, but he doesn’t shoot a ton and has a generally low offensive output. If any contender made this deal, it might be the worst move of the offseason. It’s just the Sharks so it’s less of a story, but it’s still one of the more shocking contracts from free agency.

Jakob Chychrun’s stint with the Ottawa Senators lasted only 94 games after they acquired him for a first-rounder and two seconds midway through the 2022-23 season. Chychrun tied an NHL career high with 41 points this past season but rumors about his discontent in Ottawa surfaced as early as last offseason. Despite rumors that the Senators were looking for a high-end prospect or a first- and second-round pick, they ultimately settled for none of the above, dealing him to the Washington Capitals for defenseman Nick Jensen and a third-round pick. Ottawa’s vision for this season is still unclear, particularly with their trade for Linus Ullmark, but this move did little to boost their current or future standing, despite Chychrun being a valued commodity across the League. As for the Capitals, Chychrun improves their defense but can be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

The Kings appear on this list for a second time in what ends up being another baffling swap. Los Angeles let Matt Roy, arguably one of the best defensive-defenseman in the NHL, walk in free agency, filling the gap with 31-year-old Joel Edmundson, who served a bottom-pair role with poor defensive metrics with Washington and Toronto last season. Roy signed with the Capitals for six years at $5.75 million annually, a nick over $2 million more per year than the Kings gave Edmundson for four years. Los Angeles still has over $9 million in cap space to play with and would’ve benefitted immensely from keeping Roy, a vital part of a defense that held opponents to the third-fewest goals last season. Instead, they follow up a first-round playoff exit by taking a big step backward on the blue line.

In perhaps the most eyebrow-raising move of the offseason, the Kraken pried Chandler Stephenson away from the Vegas Golden Knights with a 7-year, $6.25 million AAV contract. Stephenson was an important piece down the middle for the Vegas’ 2023 championship team and a reliable 50-60 point scorer every season. However, he graded out in the bottom one percent defensively at even strength last season and isn’t a great play-driver by himself. Seattle needed to improve offensively, but this feels like an overpay for a player who hasn’t been much more than a solid middle-six guy in his career. It’s hard to see Stephenson topping any of his best years with Vegas in Seattle, and his play is at risk of declining well before the contract expires as he enters his age-30 season.