Capped: Reviewing Last Year’s Free Agent Disappointments

Chris Pudsey

2015-04-30

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Names like Ales Hemsky and Dave Bolland headline last year’s free agent signing disappointments.

As you are reading this, the first round of the NHL playoffs have wrapped up and we are off to the second round. The competition is getting tougher and it will only get worse for those teams left. My prediction of the St. Louis Blues coming out of the West came back to bite me in the butt for a second year in a row. I won't make that mistake next year. Anyway, I digress, and look forward to following the remaining teams as they strive for greatness.

Speaking of greatness, or lack thereof, the offseason is the time when we can take a look back at how teams fared in regards to their free agent signings from last summer. Some GM's made some really smart signings which benefitted their teams greatly. Some GM's not so much. In this weeks Capped, I'm taking a look at some of the worst free agent deals handed out last summer. We will review the signings which may have looked good at the time and flopped, or some that just were head scratchers at the time and ended up the way we all thought they would. Anyone in a capped salary league lives and dies by the decisions made by real life GMs and the contracts they hand out. These contracts affect how we run our teams as well.

Here's a look at some of last year's failures for free agent contracts.

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Dave Bolland – FLA

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
BOLLAND, DAVE	53	6	17	23	0.43	2	48	76	89	0	5	1	21	01:21	26.4	36.6	16:21	26.8

After an injury riddled season in Toronto which saw him play in 23 games, Dave Bolland spurned the Leafs and was signed to a new five year, $27.5M contract by the Florida Panthers. Not only was the cap hit of $5.5M a ridiculous amount to pay for a third line center, the term of five years was obscene. Bolland has never been known as a big point producer; his career high for points came back in 2010/11 when he scored 15 goals and put up 37 points.

I understand he's still only 28 years old and has plenty of years left, but if the Panthers think he is ever going to ascend to the value of his contract, I truly feel sorry for them going forward. This contract is going to hurt them in a couple years when some of their kids need new deals.

My call here – head scratcher

Paul Stastny – STL

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
STASTNY, PAUL	74	16	30	46	0.62	5	40	143	22	7	15	0	30	02:22	48.0	17.1	17:38	28.9

Stastny signed one of the richer free agent contracts last summer, a new four year, $28M contract with division rivals St. Louis Blues. Make no mistake about it, Stastny was brought in to bolster the offense for the Blues but in 74 games, he managed to score 16 goals and put up 46 points. Since coming into the league, this is his worst offensive season in any season that he played in more than 70 games. At the time of the signing, it seemed like a reasonable deal for both sides. Stastny was only 28 years old and in the prime of his career so the term was shorter than many would have expected and he received a minimal raise from his previous contract where he was making $6.6M per year.

0.13

141

00:09

2.6

40.2

17:04

28.2

The 38 year old Robidas was signed to a three year, $9M contract by the Leafs back in the summer. Coming off two leg injuries the previous season with the Duck, Robidas figured into a top four role on the blue line with the Leafs. He had the ability to play a secondary power play role for the Leafs if needed as well. Unfortunately, the expectations for Robidas faded quickly.

In what could be considered his worst offensive season since coming into the league, Robidas struggled with the Leafs and even found himself in the pressbox as a healthy scratch a time or two throughout the season. His season came to an end when he went for shoulder surgery in mid-march.

Considering his age and recent injury history, to give Robidas a three year deal seems like an obvious mistake. I am sure he is a quality influence on some of the kids like Rielly and Gardiner, but as far as what he brings to the on-ice product, this is simply a bad contract.

My call here – head scratcher

Ales Hemsky – DAL

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
HEMSKY, ALES	76	11	21	32	0.42	-8	16	140	22	1	8	0	35	01:58	33.7	0.1	13:38	22.5

When Hemsky was traded from Edmonton to Ottawa in the 2013/14 season, he put up some very good numbers for the Sens in his short time there; in 20 games, Hemsky put up 17 points. When Dallas acquired center Jason Spezza, they also were quick to sign his former Sens linemate, Hemsky, to a three year, $12M contract. The 31 year old quickly turned whatever magic he had in Ottawa into fool's gold for the Stars.

There is no doubt that Hemsky isn't the same point-per-game player he was with the Oilers a few years ago but the decline was obvious due to age and his inability to stay healthy. The strange thing for Hemsky this year was he actually stayed healthy for the majority of the season. He simply was unable to produce much of anything. In fact, Hemsky found himself as a healthy scratch a few games. Head Coach Lindy Ruff would shuffle him up and down the lineup and if Ruff thought Hemsky was ineffective in the top six, he soon found out he was even worse as a third or fourth line skater.

Hemsky is a skilled player when healthy but he needs to be in an offensive role to be successful. If the Stars want to recoup any value from the remaining two years of his contract, they need to find a room for him in the top six.

My call here – flop

Mason Raymond – CGY

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
RAYMOND, MASON	57	12	11	23	0.40	-9	8	123	7	0	1	0	13	02:03	39.4	2.7	14:48	24.3

A couple seasons ago, Mason Raymond was an unrestricted free agent and was having a hard time finding a team to take him. He ended up signed a one year "show me" contract with the Leafs for $1M. He took that cheap deal and turned in his second best professional season in the NHL. Coming off that bounce back year which saw him put up 19 goals for the Leafs, the Calgary Flames stepped up and signed Raymond to a new three year deal worth $9.5M.

Looking at the numbers, this was one of Raymond's worst NHL seasons, one which saw him put up 23 points and even ended the regular season on a 17 game goal-less streak. It was pretty clear that his inconsistency and soft playing style didn't mesh well with Head Coach Bob Hartley. Ryamond was in and out of the lineup throughout the season, and found himself watching a lot of games from the pressbox as a healthy scratch.

At 29 years old, Raymond still has plenty of hockey left in him but one has to wonder if a change of scenery would help him find his way.

My call here – flop

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So as we can see, there were some dandy flops and some real head scratchers. Not that anyone should be surprised as there are both every year. The head scratchers are exactly what they are and I don't see them ever being worth their value. The flops to me are still good players who simply under-performed and have the skill and ability to find a way to turn it around and make their new deals feasible.

We are only a few months away from a new free agency season opening up where I am sure we will find a way to debate many of those new contracts.

Thanks again for reading. Stay tuned for next weeks Capped where I will focus on some of the best free agent contracts from the previous season. Also, feel free to follow me on twitter – @chrispudsey.

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