The 3 riskiest contract signings of the summer... so far.

Teams around the National Hockey League have been desperate to improve their respective teams this summer and that has resulted in some truly monumental contracts being handed out, some of which will not doubt look very ugly a few years down the road.

While there's no way to know for sure which deals will work out and which ones won't in the long run, today I'll be taking a look at what I believe are the 3 riskiest contracts of the summer so far.

#1 Alex Tuch - Washington Capitals. (8 years x $10.5 million)

For weeks and months we heard rumblings of a possible trade involving Alex Tuch as he seemed to be unable to reach an agreement in negotiations with the Buffalo Sabres and now we know why. Tuch signed a monster deal in what was a sign and trade between the Sabres and Capitals, and it's hard to imagine this deal working out in the long run.

Tuch is already 30 years old and will be 38 by the time this contract has expired and very few players, if any, are able to maintain their prime form that late into their careers. The Capitals are in win-now mode however so for them that is a problem for another day.

#2 Darren Raddysh - Toronto Maple Leafs (8 years x $8.5 million)

Much like the Sabres with Tuch, the Tampa Bay Lightning weren't willing to give Darren Raddysh the big money he was looking for and instead sent him to a division rival via a sign and trade. That the Lightning were willing to move him within their own division is a concerning sign to begin with and combined with the fact that, again like Tuch, Raddysh is already 30 years old and this one could be a disaster in the making.

Like the Capitals however the Maple Leafs are in win-now mode and may in fact be even more desperate to build a competitive roster around captain Auston Matthews before his contract expires at the end of the 2027-28 season.

#3 Bowen Byram - Chicago Blackhawks (6 years x $12.5 million)

The most expensive contract on this list, Byram lands here not because of his age but simply due to the massive implications attached to such a hefty contract. The Blackhawks were desperate to add a number one defenseman to their roster to help star forward Connor Bedard but the reality is that Byram has yet to prove that he is a true bonafide top pairing d-man.

Byram has been excellent it's true but has benefitted from playing behind the likes of Cale Makar during his time with the Colorado Avalanche and Rasmus Dahlin during his time with the Buffalo Sabres, truly elite NHL defensemen who were taking on the toughest matchups. While Byram may very well have the goods to be the player the Blackhawks believe he is, if he falls short of those expectations this could be an incredibly expensive mistake on the part of the Blackhawks who are trying to build a contending team around Bedard.

What do you think the riskiest contract of the summer has been so far?