The seventh match of the Stanley Cup has ended, the offseason has begun - the traditional time when players are shuffled between teams. On June 15, the buyout window opened, on June 21, the newcomers draft, and on July 1, the free agent market. In this ranking, we will tell you which of the famous hockey players signed the biggest NHL contracts in 2019.
10. Semyon Varlamov
Age: 31 year
Price: $ 5 million
The patriotic pride of Russians is pleasantly tickled by the fact that our compatriot opens the list of highly paid hockey players. He came to replace Robin Lehner, who signed with the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this summer.
Semyon Varlamov will be the goalkeeper for the Islanders, as he has for almost his entire sports career. By the way, Ostrovityan already has one Russian goalkeeper - Ilya Sorokin. According to theory, in a year, Ilya should change the Continental Hockey League to the National. Thus, the leadership has already prepared a mentor for him in the person of Varlamov. It is important that both hockey players have the same agent.
However, the prospects for this contract are not yet clear. Hockey fans are concerned about the health of Varlamov, who two years ago underwent several surgeries.
The manager of the Islanders, Lou Lamoriello, however, is confident that with a reasonable workload Varlamov will serve as a valuable acquisition for the team. Moreover, recently a new fashion has appeared among the NHL teams - the so-called "load control". Less and less often, we will watch the top goalkeepers of the hockey world play 60 games per season.
9. Robin Lehner
Age: 27 years
Price: $ 5 million
If not Russian, then Swede - it seems that this is the rule according to which new top NHL contracts are concluded. Lehner swapped the Islanders for the Chicago Blackhawks, but for the team, Lehner's appearance is a kind of insurance for Corey Crawford.
In recent years, Corey has been unlucky - he endured one injury after another. However, who wants to part with the two-time Stanley Cup winner? Therefore, the Hawks were ready to do a lot to keep their goalkeeper. They even signed a one-year, $ 3 million contract with Cam Ward last summer to fill in for Crofward should he fail to recover from another injury.
And in 2019, Lehner replaced Ward. The Swede is a stronger player, and if Crawford fails to play in full force (or he gets another injury), then Lehner can serve as a worthy replacement for him. And Blackhawks are willing to pay for both.
8. Gustav Nyquist
Age: 29 years
Price: $ 5.5 million
It is likely that the 2018 World Champion (as part of the Swedish national team) will become one of the leading players for the Columbus Blue Jackets, especially after Panarin leaves.
Nyquist usually played in the second row, over the past six seasons he has scored more than 20 goals and 60 points. In general, this player is versatile and can play the role of both a central striker and an extreme. Perhaps Nyquist will be put on to play together with his compatriot Alexander Vennberg in the hope that chemistry will arise between them, but not love, but play.
7. Tyler Myers
Age: 29 years
Price: $ 6 million
After Eric Karlsson renegotiated his contract in San Jose, there were two good defenders left in the hockey market - Tyler Myers and Jake Gardiner.
The Vancouver Canucks were willing to pay for a decent player who performs well both offensively and defensively. And for his impressive two-meter height, Myers is very mobile and, of course, will look very impressive in the defense line. However, alas, his statistics are poor.
6. Mats Zuccarello
Age: 31 year
Price: $ 6 million
This hockey player played in the left wing all his life, but the Minnesota Wild bought him for the right wing. The main value for the club is Zuccarello's offensive ability. He is one of those rare players who is able to play his own aggressive game, and he does it very talentedly. Yes, it happens that he gets tangled in the net with the puck, but you can close your eyes to this.
True, this year Matsu turns 32, and over the last two years of the game, his performance has slightly decreased.
5. Joe Pavelski
Age: 34 years
Price: $ 7 million
Pavelsky is a very successful acquisition for Dallas Stars. He has received over 0.8 points per game in each of the past six seasons, and scored 38 goals last season.
And let's not lose sight of the intangible reasons - anyone who has seen at least one San Hose Sharks fight with Pavelski has noticed how the hockey player literally energizes the team. He is ready to do anything to win, and this is passed on to the rest of the players.
And although the Sharks tried their best to keep him, and Pavelski himself liked California, the magic of $ 7 million was stronger. Now the California palm trees will be replaced by the beauties of Texas for Pavelski.
The only drawback of such an expensive contract may be the age of Joe, who will turn 35 on July 11. Moreover, in his entire sports career, he missed only one game in 2011. In fact, we mean that the more games - the more stress and the more likely that the health of a hockey player will expose him to an insidious bandwagon.
4. Anders Lee
Age: 28 years
Price: $ 7 million
Unlike many of the NHL's highest-paid stars, Lee did not change teams. It's just that the Islanders decided to renegotiate the contract with him.
Alas, the team did not manage to grab a valuable prize - Artemiy Panarin - but the loss of both Panarin and their own captain would have cost too much. In a few days, Anders turns 29 and is at the peak of his sports career. Over the past three seasons, he scored over 50 points and scored 102 goals. Yes, it would be difficult to replace it. All in all, a seven-year contract for $ 7 million for Lee is even rather a modest amount.
3. Matthew Duchenne
Age: 28 years
Price: $ 8 million
This Canadian hockey player fits perfectly into the Nashville Predators' top three, which also includes excellent (and, we add, expensive) players Ryan Johansen and Kyle Turris.
And while the trio is worth a lot (Johansen and Duchenne at $ 8 million a year, and Turris at $ 6 million), the Predators are desperate to form a kind of shock core and move on to a more aggressive strategy.
The leadership of the team has long planned this step. A few months ago, fans were alarmed by the fact that Duchenne had acquired a property at the Predators' headquarters in Nashville. And when the Nashville Predators parted ways with talented midfielder Subban, the signing of Matthew became a matter of course.
2.Sergey Bobrovsky
Age: 30 years
Price: $ 10 million
When it became clear that the Blue Jackets and Bobrovsky were starting to move away from each other, the goalkeeper immediately became a coveted prize for many hockey teams.
The two-time Vezina Trophy winner is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the NHL to date. And just then the Panthers changed their strategy - they switched from hibernation to activity and seriously intend to compete for the Stanley Cup.Of course, the deal would have been even better if Bobrovsky was bundled with Panarin, but even one of the former Columbia stars is already very good.
The only problem is Bobrovsky's venerable age for a sports career. Unlike wine, goalkeepers don't age so beautifully.
However, if the loads are not too heavy, the Russian NHL star will delight fans for more than one year.
Overall, sports critics point out that the $ 10 million deal is a great deal in the short term, especially if Panther strategists can win the coveted trophy.
1. Artemy Panarin
Age: 27 years
Price: $ 11.6 million
The first place in the list of the most expensive NHL contracts in 2019 went to one of the key players of the Rangers. Panarin's mere presence at the club gives hockey fans hope that the Rangers will still win the Stanley Cup before the brilliant Henrik Lundqvist ends his sporting career.
Panarin came to the Rangers at a difficult moment: the team had just completed a complete restructuring, renewed its roster and now is seriously intending to get the cup after a break of almost a quarter century. However, the purchasing tactics of the Rangers have remained unchanged - they still look for the brightest players in the sports horizon and are not afraid to spend money on them.
As a result of the deal with the Rangers, Panarin has become the most expensive hockey player from Russia, and in the world he is second only to Canadian striker Conor McDavid.