{"id":631912,"date":"2026-07-27T14:27:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T14:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/631912\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T14:27:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T14:27:15","slug":"7-best-nhl-contracts-heading-into-the-2026-2027-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/631912\/","title":{"rendered":"7 best NHL contracts heading into the 2026-2027 season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The seven best contracts in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/category\/nhl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">NHL<\/a> are not exclusively held by the league\u2019s most prominent players, as one might initially assume. These contracts not only provide financial security for the players but also enable their respective franchises to manage their salary cap more efficiently. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This strategic allocation of cap space allows teams to invest in additional talent, enhancing their overall competitiveness in the league. As a result, these contracts play a crucial role in shaping team rosters and star power within the NHL.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/biggest-winners-and-losers-in-nhl-free-agency-day-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Biggest winners and losers in NHL free agency day 1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Lane Hutson 8x $8.9M | Canadians\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img data-od-added-loading=\"\" data-od-removed-fetchpriority=\"high\" data-od-replaced- data-od-xpath=\"\/HTML\/BODY\/DIV[@class='elementor elementor-68004 elementor-location-single post-205228 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-nhl tag-brandon-hagel tag-hockey tag-jake-sanderson tag-lane-huston tag-nhl mv-content-wrapper']\/*[3][self::DIV]\/*[1][self::DIV]\/*[2][self::DIV]\/*[2][self::DIV]\/*[1][self::DIV]\/*[5][self::FIGURE]\/*[1][self::PICTURE]\/*[2][self::IMG]\" loading=\"lazy\" data-wp-picture-wrapped=\"\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/default-1128-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson (48) skates against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at Lenovo Center\" class=\"wp-image-173291\" \/>Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson (48) skates against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lane Hutson has emerged as a highly entertaining defenseman, showcasing exceptional skating skills and actively participating in offensive plays. The Canadiens have successfully managed to secure a favorable contract in terms of both salary and duration.<\/p>\n<p>Jack Hughes 8x $8M | Devils<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jack Hughes started his NHL career slowly, dealt with injuries, but has been a point-per-game player in every season since 2021. Injuries have been the main concern, but when Hughes is healthy, he is a dangerous threat to the opposition.<\/p>\n<p>Adam Fox 7x $9.5M | Rangers<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adam Fox is starting to become underrated with how much people underestimate his true value to the Rangers. Without Fox, the Rangers were 8-16-3, and with how much some defensemen are being paid, Fox at 9.5M is great value.<\/p>\n<p>Moritz Seider 5 x $8.6M | Red Wings<\/p>\n<p><img data-od-added-loading=\"\" data-od-replaced- data-od-xpath=\"\/HTML\/BODY\/DIV[@class='elementor elementor-68004 elementor-location-single post-205228 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-nhl tag-brandon-hagel tag-hockey tag-jake-sanderson tag-lane-huston tag-nhl mv-content-wrapper']\/*[3][self::DIV]\/*[1][self::DIV]\/*[2][self::DIV]\/*[2][self::DIV]\/*[1][self::DIV]\/*[12][self::FIGURE]\/*[1][self::IMG]\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/USATSI_28737598-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-149854\" \/>Apr 15, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (53) moves the puck against the Florida Panthers during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moritz Seider brings a physical element to his game and brought a new level of offense, with his game tallying 50 assists. First time he has hit 50 assists since his rookie season.<\/p>\n<p>Brandon Hagel 6 x $6.5M | Lightning<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brandon Hagel is not getting the recognition he deserves down in Tampa Bay. Ever since joining Tampa, his game has emerged, with three out of four seasons with 30+ goals and putting together a 90-point season in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Logan Thompson 5 x 5.9M | Capitals<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Logan Thompson was one of the best goalies in the league last season. He led all goalies in goals saved above expected and shined. Goalies are being paid lots of money, and only at 5.9M for Washington is a steal.<\/p>\n<p>Jackson Blake 8 x 5.1M | Hurricanes<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carolina excels at securing their young talent swiftly. Jackson Blake made a significant impact during this year\u2019s playoffs, averaging a point per game and playing a crucial role in the Hurricanes\u2019 Stanley Cup victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Enjoy free coverage of the top news &amp; trending stories on The Big Lead\u00a0<\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The seven best contracts in the NHL are not exclusively held by the league\u2019s most prominent players, as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631913,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5105],"tags":[97,5,1338,25258,189,4,540,92,5168,5167],"class_list":["post-631912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa-bay-lightning","tag-brandon-hagel","tag-hockey","tag-jake-sanderson","tag-lane-huston","tag-lightning","tag-nhl","tag-tampa-bay","tag-tampa-bay-lightning","tag-tampabay","tag-tampabaylightning"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116992412773420233","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}