"You've got to know when to hold 'emKenny Rogers, The Gambler
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done"
While Kenny Rogers isn't recreating Jackass bits on Mad TV while getting hit in the nuts, he had some wisdom about walking away. That includes walking away from gaudy NHL contracts, which have become the norm for Kelly McCrimmon. It doesn't matter if it's Jonathan Marchessault playing until he's 39 or overpaying Chandler Stephenson. He knows when it's not right to continue.
A recent article by Dom Luszczyszyn showed the 10 worst contracts currently in the NHL. Believe it or not, two former Vegas Golden Knights players made the list. Chandler Stephenson finished in third place, while Nicolas Hague was fifth.
Stephenson was given a contract worth $6.25 million AAV, while his market value was... $1.5 million. The Seattle Kraken center had a net rating of -1.9, including a -3.0 rating defensively. Stephenson's surplus value? -$29 million.
Chances of a positive value? 0%.
Meanwhile, Hague has a $5.5 million AAV contract with a market value of $1.6 million. His net rating was -5.1, with a positive value probability of 4%. Hague's surplus value was a disheartening -$16 million. That's fairly rough for a Nashville Predators team looking to contend again.
There's more to Kelly McCrimmon avoiding bad contracts than just former Vegas Golden Knights stars
One player commonly mentioned in the offseason speculation was Tanner Jeannot. The former Los Angeles Kings brute had 1,083 career hits in five seasons, including 211 last season.
Now? He's with the Boston Bruins on a five-year deal worth $3.4 million AAV. While that sounds like a meager deal, especially in the long run, the numbers tell a different story.
For example, Jeannot has a net rating of -7.3. Most of that rating comes from the offensive side (-7.0), weighing the lower-line forward down. That ranking is expected to fall to -9.6 by 2029-30, too.
His surplus value sits at -$13 million, anchoring the Bruins significantly. Yes, one will contend that the salary cap is expected to continue going up. But does that matter when you're looking to pay other players?
That's why Kelly McCrimmon ultimately passed on paying him. Why pay him $3.4 million and miss out on bringing back players like Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith? Both players are familar with Bruce Cassidy's system and bring a scoring acumen on the wing. That's something that Jeannot doesn't bring, specifically when he has 49 career goals.
Putting things in perspective, Jeannot's getting paid third-line money while Smith makes less than that. On top of that, Saad could potentially be on the second line at $2 million AAV. Talk about your bargains, eh?
The study shows McCrimmon's ability to pinpoint necessary contracts for the Golden Knights
Overall, the study shows that McCrimmon looks more like a genius than people give him credit for. When the mass exodus of forwards happened in 2024, people were worried where they'd get the scoring from. One of those players was Stephenson, who had 162 career assists with the Golden Knights.
That didn't matter, though. Vegas was fifth in goals scored last season with 3.34 goals per game, led by Tomas Hertl (32 goals) and Pavel Dorofeyev (35 goals). The goal was to bring in quality goal-scorers instead of people who merely moved the puck.
In this case, that would've applied to Jonathan Marchessault, who had 42 goals in his last season with Vegas. However, the Misfit was undersized, 34 years old, and a defensive liability. It ultimately worked after his production was cut in half the next season.
As for Hague? Well, you're not paying an offensive weak link $5.5 million per year. Sure, the defenseman is big, standing at 6'6" and weighing 245 lbs. But that money could go to bringing in Mitch Marner and extending Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev.
That's what makes McCrimmon one of the best in the business. While signing Mitch Marner to a $12 million AAV deal will be an anchor (as will Eichel's future deal), it's worth signing a player under 30 to an eight-year deal after scoring more than 100 points.
In a perfect world, McCrimmon would be running for President of the United States. Let's all agree on that.