NHL Power Rankings: Best Bargain Players Edition

When the salary cap is flat, the importance of finding value players is enhanced.

Having productive all-stars making piles of cash is nice for the top of the roster, but what about the bottom six, or the third pair? What about your backup goalie, who is probably playing more often this year? You can’t just throw away those pieces and expect to compete.

Depth is the name of the game.

This week’s Power Rankings focuses on the best value player in each organization — and yes, we know we’re only a month in, but we are close to the quarter mark of the 56-game schedule now. Some of these teams have young players on entry-level deals who are top-tier performers, while others have depth players in key minutes on bargain contracts.

As always, the teams in our list are ordered on what they are doing in the standings, with a bit of a recency bias. They are not ordered by the players we talk about.

Without further ado, here are the best value players around the league.

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1. Tampa Bay Lightning: Mathieu Joseph
Minutes are not easy to get for emerging players within Tampa Bay’s forward group, but count me among those who believes if Joseph were to get more opportunities, numbers would follow. In a depth role again this season, he has four goals and five points in 11 games. When you look at his rates, though: Joseph leads the Lightning in goals per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play and fifth in points by that measure — two years ago he was top 10 in both categories on the team. Still, he plays less than 10 minutes from the fourth line more often than not and even moving up to the third line won’t be easy to do here. Critical to the Lightning is that such a productive player makes just $737,500 this season and next.

2. Boston Bruins: Jeremy Lauzon
He hasn’t scored a goal yet this season, but the 23-year-old making $850,000 (for another year past 2021!) averages the second-most overall minutes, and most PK minutes on the Cup contending Bruins. He’s stepped into a big role and fits in it well after some off-season losses on the blue line.

3. Vegas Golden Knights: Chandler Stephenson
There aren’t a lot of truly “value” contracts in Vegas as most of the key pieces of their lineup have signed second, third or big money veteran contracts. So let’s take a moment to shine a little light on Stephenson, Vegas’ top line centre making $2.75 million against the cap through 2023-24. He has seven points in 10 games and leads Vegas forwards in average even strength ice time.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs: Jason Spezza
At 36 he’s by far the oldest player on this list, but at just $700,000 Spezza has been important to these Leafs for a few reasons. One is that he can move through waivers if necessary and not be claimed, since he’d just retire anyway. Two, he’s one of the key veteran leaders in the room. And three, he’s been surprisingly productive with four goals and eight points in 13 games so far. He doesn’t play a lot, averaging under 10 minutes a game, but what he’s giving the fourth line is exactly what the top-heavy team needs.

5. Colorado Avalanche: Cale Makar
An electric talent, Makar might be making an early Norris Trophy case as a 22-year-old. He’s third among all NHL defencemen with 12 points in 11 games, and when Makar is on the ice at 5-on-5 Colorado has outshot its opponents 100-65 and outscored them 13-5. He tilts the ice in a dynamic and fun way, which is a great bargain right now, but will lead to a big raise in the off-season.

6. Montreal Canadiens: Nick Suzuki
Some are already comparing him to a young Patrice Bergeron (we’ll see) but whatever Suzuki becomes as an NHLer in the long run, he is a leading piece of a dynamic forward group. With 12 points in 13 games, making $863,333 this season and next, Suzuki is a central player in Marc Bergevin’s re-tool from a couple years ago that is proving him right today.

7. Carolina Hurricanes: Andrei Svechnikov
Who other than…

FROM BARNAUL, RUSSIAAAA pic.twitter.com/bW1y4faecb

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 5, 2021

Leading the Canes with six goals and 10 points in 10 games, he’s one of the premiere snipers in the game for a team on the rise. Svechnikov won’t be a bargain much longer though, with a contract expiring this coming off-season. But he’ll be worth every penny.

8. Philadelphia Flyers: Joel Farabee
His season started with a four-point night, then he went five scoreless in a row, and now he has been better than a point per game player in his past seven games. He’s a third-liner in a deep group of forwards and will be a luxury at his ELC price point for another year.

9. Dallas Stars: Miro Heiskanen
There are lots of exciting up-and-coming young defencemen in this league, and Heiskanen ranks in the top tier of them. The 21-year-old has seven assists so far, but no goals and he hasn’t yet sustained a level we got used to seeing him at last season. Still, his best is still to come this season and he’s on an entry-level deal for one last season.

10. St. Louis Blues: Jordan Kyrou
Breakout szn! A second-rounder from 2016, Kyrou had shown flashes here and there but, as is usually the case with the best teams, a deep forward group never allowed an easy path to minutes for him. And maybe that worked for him. Kyrou has five goals and 12 points in 13 games and, even more impressive, 11 of them have come at even strength — tied for the seventh-most in the league.

11. Florida Panthers: Carter Verhaeghe
What a great start for the 25-year-old. He finally arrived in the NHL just last season, playing 52 games but never able to carve a bigger role for himself on the stacked Tampa Bay Lightning. But in Florida, where he signed as a free agent for $1 million, he’s become a top line player who’s so far been able to convert solid 5-on-5 scoring rates from last season into impressive scoring numbers with greater opportunity.

12. Washington Capitals: Vitek Vanecek
He wasn’t supposed to be on the NHL roster before the season started, but when Henrik Lundqvist had to step away, Vanecek was moved to the backup job. Ilya Samsonov had two rocky starts at the beginning of the season and then was put on the COVID list, meaning Vanecek has been thrust into the starter’s job. He’s not been outstanding — and has lost three in a row — but he’s been sturdy enough to hold the fort with a 5-2-2 record. The 25-year-old makes $716,667 this season and next.

13. Winnipeg Jets: Mason Appleton
The Jets always seem to have more forwards, don’t they? Appleton is the latest taking an interesting step, sitting with seven points in 12 games, nearly equaling all of last season’s production in 34 fewer games. A sixth-round pick from 2015, Appleton has been productive at every level and in a pinch, he can slide into the top six.

14. Edmonton Oilers: Kailer Yamamoto
Riding shotgun next to Leon Draisaitl is a pretty sweet thing, but to stick there as a consistent producer is a more difficult job. Yamamoto, the 22nd overall pick in 2017, is not near the point-per-game level he was at in 27 games last season, but he is third in primary assists on the team and in the final year of his ELC.

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15. New York Islanders: Noah Dobson
Usage is a little sporadic still and he gets most of his starts in the offensive zone, but that leans into Dobson’s strength at 21 years old. He’s the highest-scoring Isles defenceman with six points and his role will only get bigger from here, playing on an ELC for this season and next.

16. Minnesota Wild: Kirill Kaprizov
The game-changing rookie has lived up to every expectation so far, from an electrifying overtime winner in his debut to a sustained hot start in which he’s scored nine points in 11 games. Kaprizov has found consistency early, too, and hasn’t been held pointless in back-to-back games yet.

17. Calgary Flames: Dillon Dube
Finding a home on Calgary’s new top line with Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm, Dube has five points in nine games and leads the Flames early in primary assists per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. If he holds this place in the depth chart, he’s well on his way to a career season while making $778,333.

18. Arizona Coyotes: Conor Garland
A heck of a player, Garland arrived as a part-timer two years ago, broke out last season and is on track to take another significant step in 2021. Making just $775,000 against the cap, the 2015 fifth-rounder is seventh in the league with 47 shots and leads the Coyotes with 10 even strength points. For context, Garland averages as many points per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play as Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers.

19. New Jersey Devils: Jack Hughes
Shame on you if you gave up on the 2019 first round pick after a tough rookie season. In 2021, Hughes is a much improved player with eight points in nine games and though the Devils are minus-3 as a team overall, when Hughes is on the ice at 5-on-5 New Jersey is outscoring opponents 9-6.

Jack Hughes from the New Jersey Devils gonna be a TOP10 center in the NHL one day barring injures. He has been one of the best players at transition since he came to this league. This year he's playing like an elite talent finally. We don't doubt about him. pic.twitter.com/isnkmHojF3

— Andy & Rono (@HockeyStatsCZ) February 9, 2021

20. Chicago Blackhawks: Kevin Lankinen
It’s not as though the Blackhawks have gotten so much better on defence. They still leak shots and high danger chances against and, on paper, should be near the bottom of the league again. But here comes Lankinen, an undrafted 25-year-old who has been an AHL backup for two years, to save them. Lankinen is among the league’s best with a .933 save percentage and 2.17 GAA and in nine starts he’s lost a single game in regulation.

Is Kevin Lankinen the real deal?

The #Blackhawks goalie is keeping them in contention & has been the most valuable rookie goalie so far.@NHL Fantasy on Ice podcast:
https://t.co/0mObST8m4O
https://t.co/w4BFYU5GyA pic.twitter.com/avntu3f2AR

— NHL Fantasy on Ice (@NHLFantasy) February 10, 2021

21. Columbus Blue Jackets: Alexandre Texier
A work in progress at centre, and shown time on the wing too, Texier has eight points in 14 games and leads the Blue Jackets with four goals at 5-on-5.

22. Pittsburgh Penguins: Pierre-Olivier Joseph
The Pens really need young blood to come along these days, and with it, productive players on inexpensive contracts. Joseph is ahead of schedule, arriving to the NHL as a 21-year-old after a single AHL season. He’s had five points in seven games, including a three assist night, and his shots for percentage at 5-on-5 is the highest of all Pens defenders. A first round pick of Arizona’s, Joseph was acquired in the Phil Kessel deal and has another season left on his ELC.

Did You Know? Pierre-Olivier Joseph (@POJoseph15) is one of five rookies since 2005-06 to record 3+ assists in a game for the @penguins, doing so one week ago against the Rangers.

: PIT vs. NYI at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+, ATTSN-PT, MSG+#NHLStats: https://t.co/iArnzWEXhY pic.twitter.com/I5Q78KArpu

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 6, 2021

23. New York Rangers: Adam Fox
The third-highest scoring Ranger with seven points in 12 games, Fox is building off a really good rookie season that was overshadowed by other, younger defencemen. He’s an all-situations player and as the Rangers work their way out of a rebuild, they’ll be helped by the fact Fox will only cost $925,000 this season and next.

This pass from Adam Fox pic.twitter.com/8cIasxrJLn

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) February 11, 2021

24. Buffalo Sabres: Rasmus Dahlin
In a slow start that was beginning to turn around before their games had to be postponed. Dahlin has three points in his past four games. Though he’s been on the ice for far too many 5-on-5 goals, underlying numbers suggest Buffalo’s offence has also been cooler than it should be with him, making his plus-minus look terrible. It’ll come. Honourable mention to Dylan Cozens.

25. San Jose Sharks: Ryan Donato
At 24 years old and making $1.9 million against the cap, Donato is actually one of the more expensive players on our list, but he’s been a nice add to the Sharks and only cost a third-round pick in a trade to Minnesota. He has seven points in 11 games, and has added value in the shootout, where he’s gone 3-for-5 this season.

26. Anaheim Ducks: Max Comtois
The Ducks don’t score a whole heck of a lot — averaging just 2.00 per game — but Comtois has already equaled his goal total from last season in half as many games played. In the last year of his entry-level contract, Comtois has a couple of two-goal games and leads every Duck… with seven points in 14 games.

27. Nashville Predators: Nick Cousins
It has been a tough year in Nashville where, kind of like Vancouver, there’s something that just isn’t working with the group anymore. With five points in 12 games, Cousins has been one of the brighter spots. But change might be needed here and Cousins’ $1.5 million contract could be attractive to other teams.

28. Vancouver Canucks: Elias Pettersson
It hasn’t been the smoothest of starts for Pettersson, or anyone on the Canucks for that matter, but the scoring chances have started coming around and he’d look better if not for some posts along the way. He could still stand to shoot it some more, but Pettersson has 11 points in 16 games, 10 of which have come in his past 10 games, and his upcoming contract negotiation will be very interesting.

29. Los Angeles Kings: Calvin Petersen
The 1-4-1 record may be ugly, but make no mistake the 26-year-old Petersen has been Los Angeles’ better goalie this year. He’s allowed more than three goals only once and has a .925 save percentage to Jonathan Quick’s .867. He’s making just $858,333 this season and next and the starts should begin tilting in his direction.

30. Detroit Red Wings: Filip Zadina
He’s shown flashes of what made him the sixth overall pick in 2018. We’ve seen a few instances of his quick release shot that will make him such a deadly scorer in the long run. His first goal of the season on Tuesday might have been one Sergei Bobrovsky would like back, but it was also a nifty play by Zadina, who’s playing on an ELC this season and next.

31. Ottawa Senators: Brady Tkachuk
There haven’t been a lot of pluses for the Sens this season, though some of the younger players have been bright spots. Tkachuk has shone the brightest with a team-leading eight points in 14 games and he brings the same kind of edge his brother in Calgary does. While Brady has taken 20 PIMs, he’s drawn 15 penalties, per Natural Stat Trick, giving his team a PP edge. That combination of production and sandpaper will do the Sens well in the long run.

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