Bargains and burdens: Best, worst value contracts of 2025-26 season

Getting value for your dollar is essential in the NHL's 32-team salary cap era.

Which players provide outsized value relative to their cap hit?

Conversely, which ones are at the other end of the spectrum, offering minimal return on investment?

We've identified the five best and five worst contracts of 2025-26, with one month left in the regular season. Two important notes. First, all players on entry-level deals were excluded from this exercise because ELCs are inherently valuable. (Sorry, Macklin Celebrini.) Second, since we're only discussing the current season, future contract years weren't factored into the analysis.

Best value contracts

Darren Raddysh, Lightning: Nobody at any position has broken out this year like Raddysh, who's making only $975,000 in his third full NHL season. The 30-year-old blue-liner's 58 points lead all pending unrestricted free agents. Among NHL defensemen, he's sixth in goals (17) and tied for 10th in five-on-five on-ice goal differential (plus-22). Raddysh's slap shot is dangerous (league-high 77 shots of 90 mph or higher), and he logs the most minutes on Tampa Bay (22:38 a night). He's due for a massive raise this offseason.

Ryan O'Reilly, Predators: One of the league's smartest forwards continues to find a way, even at 35 years old, to leave his mark on every shift. O'Reilly, a detail-oriented center with a $4.5-million cap hit, has been Nashville's tone-setter. He leads the Predators in points (61 in 66 games), five-on-five goal differential (plus-nine), and forward ice time (20:16). He remains crafty, ranking first in the NHL in takeaways and 15th in puck-battle wins while winning 55.5% of his faceoffs. This has been arguably O'Reilly's best season since he won three major trophies - Selke, Conn Smythe, Stanley Cup - in 2018-19.

Pavel Dorofeyev, Golden Knights: A rare Vegas draft pick to suit up for the team, Dorofeyev has followed up last year's 35-goal outburst with 34 tallies in 68 games to put him on pace for 41 in 82 contests as a 25-year-old. The opportunistic Russian winger is the top shooting option on the Golden Knights' first power-play unit, and he trails only Wyatt Johnston of Dallas in PP goals (18 to 22). Selected 79th overall in 2019, Dorofeyev is making $1.835 million this season and is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights.

Martin Necas, Avalanche: The speedy Czech winger won't be on this list next season after his eight-year extension carrying an $11.5-million cap hit kicks in. But, in 2025-26, Necas is a mega bargain at $6.5 million. Excluding players on entry-level contracts, he owns the lowest cap hit among the NHL's top 30 scorers. Colorado is paying Necas - who's tied for eighth in points with 81 in 64 games - just $80,247 per point ("just" is relative here). Necas has more or less replaced former Avs winger Mikko Rantanen in terms of overall nightly impact.

Jet Greaves, Blue Jackets: The soon-to-be 25-year-old goalie may be on a slightly above league-minimum salary ($812,500), but he's been wildly effective in 43 appearances. Greaves, who's in his first full NHL season, has saved 22.2 goals above expected while holding down a .909 save percentage. The pending RFA with an ultra-quick glove hand is one of the league's shortest (6-foot) and busiest goalies (28.5 shots against per game). The Blue Jackets signed him out of junior as an undrafted free agent in 2022.

Honorable mentions: Luke Evangelista (Predators), Anthony Mantha (Penguins), Kirill Marchenko (Blue Jackets), Justin Sourdif (Capitals), Scott Wedgewood (Avalanche)

Worst value contracts

Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers: The two-time Vezina Trophy winner checks off all the boxes of a low-value player. Carrying the highest cap hit on his team ($10 million), Bobrovsky is significantly underperforming, posting a cringeworthy .876 save percentage. And with the Panthers essentially out of playoff contention (0.3% odds, per MoneyPuck), there's no heroic second act coming this spring. Bobrovsky, a 37-year-old pending UFA who may re-sign in Florida, has made 971 saves in 2,677 minutes played this season - that's $10,299 per save and $3,736 per minute.

Elias Pettersson, Canucks: Once considered a star, Pettersson's now a useful top-six center. While the odds of him returning to his elite form diminish by the day, a rebound in 2026-27 can't be entirely ruled out. Right now, however, Pettersson's contributions fit more with a $5-million player than someone attached to the league's eighth-highest cap hit. The Swede is making $11.6 million but has generated only 0.68 points per game. His on-ice numbers are atrocious, too. Vancouver owns only 39.1% of scored goals and 46.6% of expected goals in Pettersson's five-on-five minutes this season.

Darnell Nurse, Oilers: The 31-year-old has logged 50 or more five-on-five minutes alongside eight Edmonton defensemen this season - an extremely high number of partners for a veteran making $9.25 million. Only two of those combinations - with No. 1 blue-liner Evan Bouchard and with No. 2 Mattias Ekholm - have led to a positive goal differential for the Oilers. Similar to Pettersson, part of the issue is that Nurse's bloated contract includes a no-move clause. The player's virtually unmovable.

Ondrej Palat, Devils: A key member of Tampa's 2020-21 Cup teams, Palat inked a lucrative five-year deal with the Devils in 2022. It was evident in the moment that his $6-million cap hit wouldn't age well, and here we are. Turning 35 next week, Palat was given plenty of ice time alongside skilled players in New Jersey but struggled to capitalize on scoring chances and keep pace. Traded to the Islanders in January, the 6-foot, 194-pound winger has recorded 14 points in 67 games - $428,571 per point.

Jordan Binnington, Blues: With Olympic performances irrelevant in this exercise, Binnington's season has been downright awful. His ghastly .871 save percentage sits last among goalies with 30 or more appearances in 2025-26. The fiery netminder has earned just 10 wins in 36 games while allowing 11.2 goals above expectation. The silver medalist makes $6 million annually.

Honorable mentions: Brendan Gallagher (Canadiens), Jonathan Huberdeau (Flames), Tristan Jarry (Oilers), Morgan Rielly (Maple Leafs), Chandler Stephenson (Kraken)

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter/X (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email ([email protected]).