Worst Deals of 2025 NHL Free Agency

The first week of the 2025 NHL free agency period has come to a close. Nearly 200 contracts were signed, totaling over $800 million, in what were pandemonium-filled opening days. Several teams are thrilled with their performance and the haul they landed, bringing in players that can change the landscape of their organization. Others may feel that way, but time will reveal that they made the worst choices when free agency began.

Here are three examples, as I dive into the worst contracts handed out so far this summer.

1. Boston Bruins - Tanner Jeannot (5-years/$17 million)

The Boston Bruins must be gluttons for punishment, otherwise they never would have made this move. Tanner Jeannot is a gritty winger who brings value to the bottom-six, but there’s little reason to commit long-term or that much yearly salary to him. He hasn’t scored more than 10 goals in a season since his rookie year, when he netted 24 tallies. In the time since, he’s been a penalty killer, fighter, and winger that averages less than 12 minutes of ice time per game. If that’s worth over $3 million annually, then the value of every NHL player is far greater than anyone realizes.

2. Los Angeles Kings - Cody Ceci & Brian Dumoulin

You can’t just pick one of the Los Angeles Kings’ signings as the worst because Ken Holland went BOGO shopping for veteran defenders. While the team needed some reinforcements on the blue line, Holland seemed to take that to mean overhaul the defense with players on the wrong side of 30. He signed Cody Ceci to a four-year deal with an average annual salary of $4.5 million and inked Dumoulin to a three-year contract with an average annual salary of $4 million. Each player also received a 10-team modified no-trade clause, making these difficult-to-understand deals downright foolish.

3. Florida Panthers - Brad Marchand (6-years, $31.5 million)

Panthers general manager Bill Zito has received praise for getting his trio of unrestricted free agents under contract. After back-to-back Stanley Cups, the likelihood of keeping so much of the core intact was low, but Zito did the unlikely and brought everyone back.

This Brad Marchand deal is the worst of the worst, however. The 37-year-old winger should never have received a six-year contract, regardless of his impact on the team’s recent Cup run. Add in the fact that he will make an average annual salary of $5.25 million, and this is hands down one of the worst contracts signed in free agency.