The top 3 worst contracts in the National Hockey League.

It is summertime in the National Hockey League and that usually means two things, no hockey and questionable decisions all around from general managers in the National Hockey League. Although it will be many years now before we truly understand which moves from this summer will turn out to be major mistakes, we can already look back on some of the bigger mistakes that NHL general managers have made in the past. 

This summer saw a rare trade where two such mistakes, Milan Lucic's contract with the Edmonton Oilers and James Neal's contract with the Calgary Flames, swapped in a trade of bad contracts. With that in mind we wanted to take a look at the three worst contracts in the National Hockey League, and only one of the two men involved in that deal is going to make the list. 

#3 Milan Lucic.

It's hard to put into words just how bad Peter Chiarelli's tenure as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers was, but if one thing can encapsulate that tenure it's the contract he gave to Milan Lucic. Chiarelli's clearly had rose tinted glasses on when it came to Lucic, a player who did wonders for him when he was with the Boston Bruins, and the 7 year $42 million dollar contract is the proof of that. Not only was it a massive overpay from the Oilers but the bonus structure and no movement clause make him nearly untradable and buyout proof. All of that would be bad on it's own but the fact that Lucic has steadily declined since signing the deal makes it all that much worse.

#2 Andrew Ladd.

The Winnipeg Jets surprised many when they made the decision to let Andrew Ladd walk away as a free agent, but the decision from general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff now seems like a stroke of genius. Islanders general manager Garth Snow was not so wise however and he gave him a massive 7 year deal that will see Ladd earn an average annual value of $5.5 million 875 mper season. Ladd's production has dropped significantly sice signing the deal and to make matters worse he appered in just 26 games for the Islanders in the 2018 - 2019 NHL regular season due to injury. A major injury for a player who was showing signs of a steep decline at 33 years of age is never a good sign, especially not when you have 4 more years left to go on his deal.

#1 Brent Seabrook.

At the time that Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman signed Seabrook to his gigantic 8 year $55 million dollar contract it looked much better than the deals signed by the aforementioned Lucic and Ladd. Now however, heading into the 4th year of the contract, Seabrook looks like a shell of his former self and with 5 more seasons to go on his deal. Making matters worse for the Blackhawks is that for 3 of those years he has a full no movement clause which means he can not be traded and can not be sent down to the minors. 5 more years of Seabrook, a man who was legitimately among the NHL's worst regular defensemen last season, at $6.875 million per season will be a bitter pill for the Blackhawks to swallow.