Seattle Kraken striker named worst free agency transfer

July 1 was a day of fireworks in the NHL, as teams signed a record $1.12 billion in contracts on the first day of free agency alone. That amount comes with obvious risks, and the Seattle Kraken may have gotten the short end of the stick.

After missing the playoffs last season, Seattle made a big splash on the first day of free agency, signing both defenseman Brandon Montour and forward Chandler Stephenson to seven-year deals. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to agree with these signings.

According to Adam Gretz of Bleacher Report, the Stephenson signing is the worst of the entire offseason.

“Some free agent signings you just know will frustrate fans – and ultimately the team – once the deal is signed. And the seven-year, $43.25 million deal Seattle offered forward Chandler Stephenson in the offseason is one of those deals,” Getz writes.

“It's hard to understand exactly what Seattle was thinking, other than they were desperate for attacking opportunities and trying to find anyone who could fill one of the top six forward spots.”

It's not that Stephenson is a bad player. He has been a key part of the Vegas Golden Knights' recent success, scoring over 50 points in each of the last three seasons and being quite good defensively.

Stephenson isn't the problem, his contract is. Seven years at $6.25 million per year, more than double his previous salary cap hit of $2.75 million, is a very high price for a player with his skills, and he could soon become an anchor.

In Vegas, Stephenson had the advantage of playing alongside captain Mark Stone, one of the best wingers in the league who complemented his skill set perfectly. While he will play alongside some very good players in Seattle, none of them come anywhere close to the complementarity that Stone had back then. Maybe that will change over time, but that's just the current perspective.

“A seven-year deal for a 30-year-old player who is not a star and doesn't really follow his own path is just an absolutely puzzling contract for a team to hand out,” Getz writes. “Over the last three years, Chandler's teams averaged just 47 percent expected goals share when he wasn't playing alongside Stone at five-on-five, and the offense dropped by nearly half a goal per 60 minutes (from 3.28 to 2.72).

“It's very likely that within a year or two Seattle will be desperately trying to get rid of this contract.”

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