Six players with contracts so bad they cannot be traded.

Not every team has one, but you can bet the teams that don’t are happy about it. It’s the untradeable contract. The over-paid, under-performing player that found a way (or at least their agent found a way) to fleece and fool an NHL GM into thinking they are worth a certain amount of money for a certain number of years. Now don’t get me wrong, there aren’t a lot of them in the league, but there are certainly a few. It’s too bad when you think about it; a player obviously has done something in their career to justify getting a massive, bloated contract so what happened to these players to make their contracts untradeable? It could be the contract itself (dollar amount, term) or it could simply be the players declined to the point where they are no longer worth the money they are earning but make no mistake about it, they do exist.

Sometimes a contract can affect players, when it comes to wanting to be moved, as much as it does teams. I am sure everyone remembers watching Roberto Luongo stand at the podium two years ago about this time as a member of the Vancouver Canucks. Luongo wanted out of Vancouver and after the deadline passed, he was asked why he wasn’t traded. His reply; “My contract sucks — that’s what’s the problem. I’d scrap it if I could now.” Now I am sure Luongo is not thinking his contract still sucks today, as he is now a happy member of the Florida Panthers, but at the time it was a big part of why he was stuck in Vancouver.

Here are some of the league’s worst contracts and the untradeable players attached to them. I am going to add some context to my list as well. These contracts are untradeable as they are. If a team has to retain salary in order to move them, then they may become more attractive to some teams. My list is based on the contract as it sits without the teams retaining salary. In no particular order:

Alexander Semin – CAR – $7M cap hit, expires 2017/18
 

After signing a five-year, $35M contract back in 2013, Semin is the be-all-end-all when it comes to terrible contracts. There is no denying that Semin is highly skilled and a proven goal scorer in the NHL, but the wheels has really fallen off the wagon for him this year and it starts with new Head Coach, Bill Peters. Peters obviously is tired of watching Semin and his lazy play and has no problem letting Semin sit in the press box on many occasions this year. Normally, a healthy scratch is a wakeup call for players to get their act together but for some reason, Semin isn’t getting the message. A career 13% shooting percentage has helped his scoring over the years, but this year he has seen it fall to a measly 5.1%. The puck isn’t going in for him this year and honestly, he isn’t shooting it enough either. 39 shots in 32 games this year just won’t get it done.

His value has plummeted and GM Ron Francis is in tough when it comes to options. His two goals in 32 games this year really take away any bargaining chips Francis has. After all, the selling point on Semin is that he’s a goal scorer. The option to waive him and send him to their AHL franchise in Charlotte is certainly a consideration, but one has to wonder if Semin would accept such an assignment. The other option is to simply buy him out, but one has to believe that Francis doesn’t want to go down that road. As it stands, I think the Hurricanes have no choice but to wait it out and hope Semin can find a way to turn this around.

David Clarkson – TOR – $5.25M cap hit, expires 2018/19

It was the summer of 2013 and David Clarkson was one of the most desirable free agents available.He had plenty of teams offering for his services but in the end Clarkson took less money to sign with the Maple Leafs. Right now, there are a few teams out there wiping the sweat from their brow and happy it went the way it did.

Clarkson appeared to be the perfect fit for Randy Carlyle’s system; a hard hitting complimentary player with some offensive upside who would slot on the second line alongside Nazim Kadri and Joffrey Lupul. Clarkson’s debut with the Leafs would be delayed ten games into the season after he was suspended for leaving the bench in a pre-season game to join an altercation. That was the start of what has been a miserable relationship between David Clarkson and the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his first season with the Leafs, Clarkson put up 11 points in 60 games for the Leafs. This year has been a bit better as he has already surpassed last year’s offensive numbers, but still far from what the Leafs thought they were getting.

The worst part about the whole thing for the Leafs, Clarkson’s contract is pretty much ironclad. He has a no-movement clause that prevents him from being sent to the minors, and a no-trade clause that limits the Leafs to 14 teams of his choice. Even buying him out is a non-starter. They could, but his contract is so ladened with 75% of his contract set up in bonuses. The only part the Leafs can really buy out is the one third of the remaining base salary (roughly eight million) and the Leafs would be carrying dead weight on its cap for years. Basically, Clarkson has the Leafs over a barrel and their only real way out is to trade him.

Clarkson is a proud guy, and obviously unhappy with his play and knows a lot of this falls back on him. His play this year, while improved from last season, is still not getting it done for interim Head Coach Peter Horachek, who has scratched Clarkson a couple times this month and is looking for more from him. I just don’t know if Clarkson has it in him to give it.

Vincent Lecavalier – PHI – $4.5M cap hit, expires 2017/18

After being a compliance buy-out by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer of 2013, Vincent Lecavalier signed a five-year, $22.5M contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. Much like Clarkson, Lecavalier was a wanted free agent by numerous teams, meeting with both the Bruins and Canadiens before choosing the Flyers offer. He was expected to come in and anchor the second line for the Flyers and take some of the scoring weight off Claude Giroux. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Vinny has become for the Flyers, an anchor, and not in the good way. Lecavalier also has a no-movement clause in his deal that allows him to nix a trade to any teams and he also is except from being placed on waivers. Basically, the Flyers can try and trade him and hope for the best.

Lecavalier has been the ire of Head Coach Craig Berube a few times and has seen his fair share of healthy scratches as well. When he has played, it’s normally on the fourth line with a bit of power-play time thrown in there.

Unfortunately for Vinny, his skills are diminishing and he has had injury issues for years now. The Flyers have been dangling him all season long, and even though they have offered to eat as much of his cap as possible, there are no takers. I think it’s safe to say Vinny isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Stephen Weiss – DET – $4.9M cap hit, expires 2017/18

After spending his entire 11-year career with the Florida Panthers, Stephen Weiss signed a five-year, $24.5M contract with the Detroit Red Wings that carries an annual cap hit of $4.9M. Coming into Detroit, Weiss looked like a perfect fit for the Wings; lots of speed, some offensive flair and a solid two-way game.  

His first season was as bad as it gets. He only played in 26 games and finished with two goals and two assists and a minus-four rating. Not quite the return on the investment the Wings were hoping for. This year has been a bit better, but Weiss is still on the wrong side of 30 and still having trouble staying healthy. Weiss also has a no-movement clause and a modified no-trade clause so the Wings will have hurdles if they want to make a move, but all things considered, I can see the Wings holding him and hoping he can eventually turn into the player they signed. The way he's playing, for the price, I don't think they have much of a choice.

Dave Bolland – FLA – $5.5M cap hit, expires 2018/19

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