This week, we are going to look at players from each Western roster and see who is not earning their contract. We are going to avoid piling on players who were injured for much of the season, so we will draw the line at 50 GP in 2024-25.

Depending on how much term these players still have remaining, they could be on the trade block with their current team.

We are going to keep goalies out of this. We are only going to include players who are signed for 2025-26 forward.

All valuations from 2024-25 are from here. The valuations are calculated on league-average cap hits and player game ratings for 2024-25.

Anaheim Ducks

Alex Killorn (F) – $6.25 million AAV (2 years remaining) (82-19-18-37)

Trevor Zegras (F) – $5.75 million (1 year) (57-12-20-32)

Jacob Trouba (D) – $8 million (1 year) (77-1-13-14)

Killorn is now 35 years of age and played at a $3.11 million value in 2024-25, which put his deficit at around $3.24 million.

Zegras has battled some injuries over the past few seasons, and his play has dipped to a value of $2.86 million in 2024-25, which is a deficit of around $2.89 million.

Trouba was traded from the NY Rangers to Anaheim during the 2024-25 campaign and played to a level of around $5.28 million. That puts his deficit at $2.72 million.

Calgary Flames

Jonathan Huberdeau (F) – $10.5 million (6 years) (81-28-34-62)

Joel Farabee (F) – $5 million (3 years) (81-11-14-25)

Ryan Lomberg (F) – $2 million (1 year) (80-3-10-13)

Jake Bean (D) – $1.75 million (1 year) (64-2-5-7)

Huberdeau had a decent 2024-25 and played to a $6.09 million level. Unfortunately, it still gives him a deficit of $4.41 million.

Farabee was acquired from Philadelphia at the trade deadline. He played to a level of $2.6 million, which was a deficit of $2.4 million.

Lomberg was signed for two years at $2 million AAV before the 2024-25 season. His value was at $775k, and his deficit was $1.25 million in 2024-25.

Bean played at a $775k level in 2024-25 and had a deficit of $1 million.

Chicago Blackhawks

Tyler Bertuzzi (F) – $5.5 million (3 years) (82-23-23-46)

Jason Dickinson (F) – $4.25 million (1 year) (59-7-9-16)

Ilya Mikheyev (F) – $4.75 million (1 year) (80-20-14-34)

Joe Veleno (F) – $2.275 million (1 year) (74-8-10-18)

T.J. Brodie (D) – $4.275 million (1 year) (54-2-8-10)

Alex Vlasic (D) – $6 million (five years) (82-4-26-30)

Bertuzzi played at a $3.04 million level in 2024-25, which was a deficit of $2.46 million.

Dickinson played at a $1.8 million level in 2024-25, which was a deficit of 2.45 million.

Mikheyev scored 20 goals in 2024-25, which gave him a valuation of $2.45 million. That still left him with a deficit of $2.3 million.

Veleno played at a $1.1 million level, which left him with a deficit of $1.175 million.

Brodie struggled in 2024-25 and came in with a level of $775k, which was a deficit of $3.5 million. He might be a buy-out candidate.

Vlasic played well to a value of $4.4 million in 2024-25 and should continue to improve. His deficit of $1.6 million could get to the surplus side of things in future years.

Colorado Avalanche

Charlie Coyle (F) – $5.25 million (1 year) (83-17-18-35)

Devon Toews (D) – $7.25 million (six years) (76-10-34-44)

Samuel Girard (D) – $5.0 million (2 years) (73-3-21-24)

Valeri Nichushkin would be here, but he only played 43 games in 2024-25. His cap hit is $6.125 million AAV for the next five years.

Coyle was pretty good during 2024-25. Split between Boston and Colorado, he played to a level of $3.68 million. His deficit was $1.57 million.

Toews played at a $6.42 million level in 2024-25, so his deficit was $830k. The Avalanche won't mind six more years at this level of play.

I've been thinking that Colorado would move on from Girard for the past two years, but they have held onto him. His valuation in 2024-25 was $3.71 million, which gave him a deficit of $1.29 million. Perhaps, they move Girard this off-season?

Dallas Stars

Matt Dumba (D) – $3.75 million (1 year) (63-1-9-10)

Ilya Lyubushkin (D) – $3.25 million (2 years) (80-1-13-14)

Dumba played at a valuation of around $950k in 2024-25, which would give him a deficit of $2.8 million.

Lyubushkin had a value of $2.16 million in 2024-25, giving him a deficit of $1.09 million.

Edmonton Oilers

Viktor Arvidsson (F) – $4.0 million (1 year) (67-15-12-27)

Darnell Nurse (D) – $9.25 million (5 years) (76-5-28-33)

Arvidsson had a valuation of $2.97 million in 2024-25, which left him with a deficit of $1.03 million.

Players like Nurse are the reason that I wanted to come up with valuations. His salary is very high, which he will never live up to, but he is still a very good player, playing to a very high level. Nurse played to a level of $7.65 million in 2024-25, which gave him a deficit of $1.6 million. If Nurse can play to this level for the next three or four years, the Oilers should be pretty happy.

Los Angeles Kings

Drew Doughty would be here, but he only played 30 games in 2024-25. His cap hit is $11.0 million AAV for the next two seasons. His contributed value for 2024-25 was $2.43 million.

Other than that, the Kings’ roster earned its money.

Minnesota Wild

Yakov Trenin (F) – $3.5 million (3 years) (76-7-8-15)

Jonas Brodin (D) – $6.0 million (3 years) (50-4-16-20)

Jared Spurgeon (D) – $7.58 million (2 years) (66-7-25-32)

Trenin had a valuation of $1.49 million in 2024-25, which gave him a deficit of just over $2.0 million. If he doesn't improve his play, the three years remaining will not age well.

Brodin played to a $3.54 level in 2024-25, which was a deficit of $2.46 million. He should be better in 2025-26.

Spurgeon played at a $5.13 million level in 2024-25, which was a deficit of $2.45 million. The Wild were probably happy that he played 66 games in a season.

Nashville Predators

Steven Stamkos (F) – $8.0 million (3 years) (82-27-25-52)

Michael Bunting (F) – $4.5 million (1 year) (76-19-19-38)

Brady Skjei (D) – $7.0 million (6 years) (82-10-23-33)

Roman Josi (D) – $9.06 million (3 years) (53-9-29-38)

Stamkos was in the first year of his four-year deal with Nashville and struggled. His value was around $5.57 million, which was a deficit of $2.43 million. Both the team and player will hope for a better 2025-26 from him.

Bunting was acquired from Pittsburgh at the deadline in what some thought was a puzzling addition to this roster. His value in 2024-25 was around $3.35 million, which left him with a deficit of $1.15 million.

Skjei had a value of $4.55 million in 2024-25, which was a deficit of $2.45 million. It's a little concerning, as he has six more years under contract with the Predators.

Josi was on the deficit side of things for the first time in quite a few years. His value for 2024-25 was $6.06 million, which was a deficit of $3 million.

San Jose Sharks

Barclay Goodrow (F) – $3.64 million (2 years) (77-5-3-8)

Alexander Wennberg (F) – $5.0 million (1 year) (77-10-25-35)

Vincent Desharnais (F) – $2.0 million (1 year) (51-0-3-3)

Goodrow played at a level of $775k in 2024-25 for a deficit just over $2.79 million. The Sharks might be at a point where they can't roster Goodrow with his cap hit, but they aren't making the playoffs in 2025-26, so we will see.

Wennberg had a value of $3.1 million in 2024-25, which was a deficit of $1.9 million.

Desharnais had a value of $775k in 2024-25 and a deficit of $1.25 million.

Seattle Kraken

Andre Burakovsky (F) – $5.5 million (2 years) (79-10-27-37)

Chandler Stephenson (F) – $6.25 million (6 years) (78-13-38-51)

Matty Beniers (F) – $7.143 million (6 years) (82-20-23-43)

Jamie Oleksiak (D) – $4.6 million (1 year) (82-4-13-17)

Vince Dunn (D) – $7.35 million (2 years) (62-11-28-39)

Burakovsky has been disappointing in Seattle and had a $2.37 million level in 2024-25, which was a deficit of $3.13 million.

Stephenson was in his first year in Seattle after signing a seven-year deal. He had a value of $4.36 million, which was a deficit of $1.89 million. He's going to have a tough time living up to that contract for the duration.

Beniers finished 2024-25 with a value of $5.47 million, which is decent, but still left him with a deficit of $1.67 million. I think Beniers will still make this contract look like a bargain, but he did take a step back a little.

Oleksiak played at a $2.94 million level in 2024-25 and had a deficit of $1.66 million.

Dunn finished with a value of $5.48 million in 2024-25, which was a deficit of $1.87 million. Dunn might not get back to the level he had in 2022-23, but he should be better than 2024-25.

St. Louis Blues

Mathieu Joseph (F) – $2.95 million (1 year) (60-4-10-14)

Cam Fowler (D) – $6.5 million (1 year) (68-9-31-40)

The Joseph brothers both struggled in 2024-25. Mathieu played at a $1.07 million value and had a deficit of $1.88 million.

Fowler was much better in St. Louis than he was in Anaheim, and overall had a value of $4.5 million, which put him at a deficit of $2.0 million. The Blues will hope that he continues the play that he had with them (51-9-27-36).

Utah Mammoth

Matias Maccelli (F) – $3.425 million (1 year) (55-8-10-18)

Lawson Crouse (F) – $4.3 million (2 years) (81-12-6-18)

Mikhail Sergachev (D) – $8.5 million (6 years) (77-15-58-73)

Maccelli struggled in 2024-25 and had a value of just $775k, which puts him in the hot seat a little going into 2025-26. His deficit was $2.65 million.

Crouse dipped to just 12 goals and 18 points after three campaigns in a row of 20 goals. His valuation for 2024-25 was $2.28 million, which gave him a deficit of $2.02 million.

Sergachev was fairly good in 2024-25 and had a value of $7.31 million, which left him with a deficit of $1.19 million. If I were the management in Utah, I'd be pretty happy with that.

Vancouver Canucks

Elias Pettersson (F) – $11.6 million (7 years) (64-15-30-45)

Dakota Joshua (F) – $3.25 million (3 years) (57-7-7-14)

Filip Hronek (D) – $7.25 million (7 years) (61-5-28-33)

Pettersson had a terrible 2024-25 with a value of just $5.65 million, which left him with a deficit of almost $6 million. People are rightfully concerned to question whether he is still capable of living up to this contract. If he can play to a level above $8 million, it might have to be enough.

Joshua was dealt a severe health blow in the off-season leading up to 2024-25, so I think we can give him the benefit of the doubt for this campaign. His value was just $1.12 million for a deficit of $2.13 million.

Hronek finished 2024-25 with a value of $4.2 million, which was a deficit of $3.05 million. He might struggle to live up to this contract on the surface, but he is still a very good defender.

Vegas Golden Knights

Mark Stone (F) – $9.5 million (2 years) (66-19-48-67)

William Karlsson (F) – $5.9 million (2 years) (53-9-20-29)

Alex Pietrangelo (D) – $8.8 million (2 years) (71-4-29-33)

Noah Hanifin (D) – $7.35 million (7 years) (80-10-29-39)

Stone playing 66 games in a season is a successful campaign. His value for 2024-25 was $6.8 million, which gave him a deficit of $2.7 million.

Karlsson missed 29 games in 2024-25, and his value was just $4.2 million, leaving him with a deficit of $1.7 million. I'd be inclined to have a little concern for the next two years of this contract.

Pietrangelo isn't as productive as he once was, and as a result, his valuation has declined to $5.68 million in 2024-25. That left him with a deficit of $3.12 million.

Hanifin was in the first year of his $7.35 million AAV contract in 2024-25 and played well to the value of $5.65 million. It left him with a deficit of $1.7 million. With the depth on this blueline, it's going to be difficult for Hanifin to produce enough to warrant his cap hit. I doubt Vegas is too concerned at this point.

Winnipeg Jets

Alex Iafallo (F) – $3.67 million (3 years) (82-15-16-31)

Dylan DeMelo (D) – $4.9 million (3 years) (82-3-16-19)

Iafallo had a value of $2.74 million in 2024-25, which gave him a deficit of $930k.

DeMelo finished with a value of $3.4 million, leaving him a deficit of $1.5 million. $4.9 million AAV is a little rich for the role that DeMelo plays. He's still a fine defender.

Thank you very much for reading, and if you have any comments, please leave them below or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15