NHL analyst labels Jonathan Huberdeau's $84,000,000 contract as NHL's worst due to Flames forward's massive falloff

NHL analyst Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic has ranked Jonathan Huberdeau’s eight-year, $84 million deal with the Calgary Flames as the worst contract in the league.

Using a model based on projected future value, Luszczyszyn pointed out that Huberdeau is already falling short of the $10.5 million per year the Flames committed to him last summer.

Last season, he put up 28 goals and 62 points over 81 games—a sharp drop from the 115 points he recorded in his final year with the Panthers.

The analyst noted that Huberdeau's projected "Net Rating" for the 2025-26 season, a key metric in his contract valuation model, falls 8.5 goals below the level expected for a player earning $10.5 million.

“While it’s not impossible that Huberdeau can bounce back toward a high-end first-line level, it is very unlikely. Especially with Calgary, a team devoid of much capable offensive help."

Luszczyszyn pointed out that Huberdeau is a decent top-six forward, worth over $6 million based on performance. But as he moves into his mid-30s, the model expects his value to decline more sharply.

The analyst acknowledged that while the contract was a bit steep at the time it was signed (his market value was closer to $9.9 million), no one could have predicted such a dramatic drop-off in his play.

"For now, he’s nowhere close and, for the second straight year, carries the league’s worst contract as a result."

He noted that Huberdeau may still have the potential to be a great player in the right setting, but at $10.5 million a year, he’s far from delivering on that value.

Dom Luszczyszyn on Jonathan Huberdeau move from Florida Panthers

In July 2022, the Flames acquired Jonathan Huberdeau from the Panthers. Since then, as Dom Luszczyszyn noted, Huberdeau has had to watch his former team reach three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals and win two, while he's been left trying to make an impact on a Flames roster with little momentum.

"It's difficult not to feel bad for Jonathan Huberdeau at this point," Luszczyszyn wrote." Luszczyszyn said. "It’s a tough beat for the former superstar. He’s spent the last two seasons struggling to live up to a massive cap hit, one that expects a level of stardom that he no longer looks capable of reaching.”

For the second straight year, Huberdeau’s contract tops the list as the worst in the NHL.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash