THN Writer's Poll votes Darnell Nurse the most overpaid player

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Is this the new Battle of Alberta?

Wait. There is a vote for Shesterkin, but none for Josh Anderson or Brendan Gallagher?

Hockey writers man ...

 

[WarriorofTime]

I think Huberdeau is worse but Nurse is the most actively harmful right now given where the teams are at.

 

[TheDoldrums]

Not really. He's produced 6 points in 50 games with a -13. Anything over $0 for him is an overpayment.

I hated the contract and am no fan of him playing but the vast majority can be buried in the AHL. Feels personal to honestly think that’s a worse contract than ones like the top two here.

 

[The Nuge]

I have a hard time taking anyone serious when they actually try and claim Nurse is the most overpaid player in the league. Like, sure, it’s turned into a not great deal. But Zadorov makes 5 million, Severson makes 6.25, Ristolainen makes 5.1, Faulk makes 6.5, etc. That puts him in the 7+ per range still. So are we really trying to argue that no player is overpaid by more than 2 million per, when Huberdeau makes 10.5, Dubois makes 8.5, and Vlasic makes 7? Heck, even guys like Anderson at 5.5 or Copp at 5.63 are probably more overpaid. This is reminiscent of when Lucic was on Edmonton and everyone claimed he was literally the worst player in the entire NHL, just because he was overpaid. People too often just look for reasons to try and justify their ridiculous hatred of Edmonton & Toronto

 

[FlyguyOX]

Very confused by the shesterkin vote

 

[Community]

I have a hard time taking anyone serious when they actually try and claim Nurse is the most overpaid player in the league. Like, sure, it’s turned into a not great deal. But Zadorov makes 5 million, Severson makes 6.25, Ristolainen makes 5.1, Faulk makes 6.5, etc. That puts him in the 7+ per range still. So are we really trying to argue that no player is overpaid by more than 2 million per, when Huberdeau makes 10.5, Dubois makes 8.5, and Vlasic makes 7? Heck, even guys like Anderson at 5.5 or Copp at 5.63 are probably more overpaid. This is reminiscent of when Lucic was on Edmonton and everyone claimed he was literally the worst player in the entire NHL, just because he was overpaid. People too often just look for reasons to try and justify their ridiculous hatred of Edmonton & Toronto

You just used multiple guys that aren't considered to be on good deals to try and make it look like Nurse wasn't as overpaid as he is and you still came to the conclusion he's overpaid by 2.25m... That shows you how much he's overpaid.

Edit: I can see the argument that Huberdeaus deal is worse, but Nurse is at minimum #2 on this list. Nurse is also by far the worst contract on a contending team.

 

[Community]

Shesterkin and Reaves votes are trolling for sure. I don't like Reaves and think he shouldn't be starting for the Leafs, but the top 10 worst contracts in the league have to be overpaid by like 3m+

 

[banks]

It's semantics. But "most overpaid" isn't quite the same as "worst contract".

For being "overpaid" you should just look at dollars vs NHL performance for this coming season. Based on that I'd say Cal Petersen, who gets 3.8 million to not be in the NHL at all. It's not so bad because it's the last year, unlike Nurse or Huberdeau. But he's more overpaid, in my opinion.

Huberdeau at 6.65 is maybe passable.
Nurse at 5.4 is maybe passable.

 

[SensontheRush]

I have a hard time taking anyone serious when they actually try and claim Nurse is the most overpaid player in the league. Like, sure, it’s turned into a not great deal. But Zadorov makes 5 million, Severson makes 6.25, Ristolainen makes 5.1, Faulk makes 6.5, etc. That puts him in the 7+ per range still. So are we really trying to argue that no player is overpaid by more than 2 million per, when Huberdeau makes 10.5, Dubois makes 8.5, and Vlasic makes 7? Heck, even guys like Anderson at 5.5 or Copp at 5.63 are probably more overpaid. This is reminiscent of when Lucic was on Edmonton and everyone claimed he was literally the worst player in the entire NHL, just because he was overpaid. People too often just look for reasons to try and justify their ridiculous hatred of Edmonton & Toronto

Nurse is worse than these bolded players.

He is really getting most of his mileage now from the "sunk-cost" fallacy. EDM are forced to prop him up to make the contract even resemble looking serviceable. Having him on the payroll further turns into a chance for EDM fans to gaslight themselves into thinking they have better defenders than they really do. You guys have Ekholm and Bouchard, and then mostly scraps with Kulak being the best of the bunch.

He's honestly at best a low 4D at this point. You plop him on another team and you think he's going to get significant playtime simply based on his own merits? I don't think so. You take Nurse out of EDM and it's likely he retires in a couple of years.

The most he should be making is something like $3.5m. So, technically, he isn't the most overpaid, because Vlasic shouldn't be in the league anymore, but no way is Nurse worth $7m.

 

[Three On Zero]

I have a hard time taking anyone serious when they actually try and claim Nurse is the most overpaid player in the league. Like, sure, it’s turned into a not great deal. But Zadorov makes 5 million, Severson makes 6.25, Ristolainen makes 5.1, Faulk makes 6.5, etc. That puts him in the 7+ per range still. So are we really trying to argue that no player is overpaid by more than 2 million per, when Huberdeau makes 10.5, Dubois makes 8.5, and Vlasic makes 7? Heck, even guys like Anderson at 5.5 or Copp at 5.63 are probably more overpaid. This is reminiscent of when Lucic was on Edmonton and everyone claimed he was literally the worst player in the entire NHL, just because he was overpaid. People too often just look for reasons to try and justify their ridiculous hatred of Edmonton & Toronto

Or it’s simply because he is the most overpaid player in the league. The contract was a train wreck before the ink dried

 

[Ghost of Murph]

Hockey writers in general are a fairly stupid bunch. They got this one right, though. Funny thing is that it was an obvious dumb overpaid contract from the get-go. Nurse has delivered in that respect.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Nurse is easily the worst. Huberdeau is bad too but it doesn’t hurt Calgary nearly as much as they’re not competing.
The Nurse contract is pretty much buyout proof.

 

[The Nuge]

You just used multiple guys that aren't considered to be on good deals to try and make it look like Nurse wasn't as overpaid as he is and you still came to the conclusion he's overpaid by 2.25m... That shows you how much he's overpaid.

Edit: I can see the argument that Huberdeaus deal is worse, but Nurse is at minimum #2 on this list. Nurse is also by far the worst contract on a contending team.

I’m simply pointing out that when you look at what other guys around the league are getting, Nurse is a 7+ million dollar defenseman. We’ve reached a point where there are bottom pairing dmen making 4-5 per, and pretty much any legit top 4 dman signing a new deal is getting 6+.

Vlasic is basically a bottom pairing dman at this point and makes 7 million. How do you figure Nurse is more overpaid?

 

[Idiot Stick]

Nice to not see Bob there anymore

 

[Romang67]

Vlasic is basically a bottom pairing dman at this point and makes 7 million. How do you figure Nurse is more overpaid?

Vlasic isn't basically a bottom pairing D-man. He's a defensive D-man who was a healthy scratch on a team that allowed over 4 goals per game last season. Now he's one year older, one year slower, and one year more injured.

 

[Three On Zero]

Vlasic isn't basically a bottom pairing D-man. He's a defensive D-man who was a healthy scratch on a team that allowed over 4 goals per game last season. Now he's one year older, one year slower, and one year more injured.

Vlasic is not good but he’s also old. Nurse is a 3rd pairing defender still in his prime making 9.25 when he should be making around 5 million, who’s signed until 2030

 

[Romang67]

Vlasic is not good but he’s also old. Nurse is a 3rd pairing defender still in his prime making 9.25 when he should be making around 5 million, who’s signed until 2030

Yes, he is old. That's not a positive for the contract. He's providing sub replacement level value on his $7M contract for two more years.

How is Nurse the more overpaid player? Are people just ignoring the next two seasons?

 

[The Nuge]

Vlasic isn't basically a bottom pairing D-man. He's a defensive D-man who was a healthy scratch on a team that allowed over 4 goals per game last season. Now he's one year older, one year slower, and one year more injured.

I was trying to be generous. Point being, he’s overpaid by 5+ million

 

[Three On Zero]

Yes, he is old. That's not a positive for the contract. He's providing sub replacement level value on his $7M contract for two more years.

How is Nurse the more overpaid player? Are people just ignoring the next two seasons?

Total remaining.

Vlasic although bad is expiring in two years and helping what would be a cap floor team.

Nurse, still a long term left at 9.25 while hampering a team trying to contend.

Both offer replacement levels skills. But hamper the team in very different ways.


Age, contract term, contract value, teams current position and players ability all have factors.

You can make an argument that Vlasic is worse if you solely look at this season and next, but when you take into account the entirety of their contracts. Nurse is a far more overpaid player.

 

[thekernel]

I don't think Ryan Reaves is "more overpaid" than your Nurse/Jones/Huberdeau, just because those are on a different tier, but I do think he deserves to be mentioned. He has not been able to perform at the NHL level for years, and yet he has a job. Like damn strap a pair of skates on me and I'll go flying into guys while being an absolute liability in all 3 zones, I'll do it for free let alone NHL money...

 

[Romang67]

I understand it's easy to dunk on the Oilers. Fun too. But this is just nonsense, and just serves to show how bad of a publication THN has become.

Total remaining.

Vlasic although bad is expiring in two years and helping what would be a cap floor team.

Nurse, still a long term left at 9.25 while hampering a team trying to contend.

Both offer replacement levels skills. But hamper the team in very different ways.


Age, contract term, contract value, teams current position and players ability all have factors.

You can make an argument that Vlasic is worse if you solely look at this season and next, but when you take into account the entirety of their contracts. Nurse is a far more overpaid player.

Nurse has a positive xGF% when on the ice away from McDavid and Draisaitl 3 seasons in a row. Vlasic was a healthy scratch on the worst defensive team in modern NHL history. They aren't both on replacement level.

If we're taking contracts 5 years from now into account, we're speculating wildly on what kind of player Nurse will be in addition to where the cap would be. Talking about who will be overpaid years into the future is just bad process. Though I suppose it could explain why one schmuck wrote in Shesterkin as most overpaid.

Nurse's hampering a contending team vs. Vlasic's awful contract not affecting the dreadful Sharks have no relevance in a discussion about who's overpaid.

 

[Three On Zero]

I understand it's easy to dunk on the Oilers. Fun too. But this is just nonsense.

Nurse has a positive xGF% when on the ice away from McDavid and Draisaitl 3 seasons in a row. Vlasic was a healthy scratch on the worst defensive team in modern NHL history. They aren't both on replacement level.

If we're taking contracts 5 years from now into account, we're speculating wildly on what kind of player Nurse will be in addition to where the cap would be. Talking about who will be overpaid years into the future is just bad process.

Nurse's hampering a contending team vs. Vlasic's awful contract not affecting the dreadful Sharks have no relevance in a discussion about who's overpaid.

It has huge relevance and implications to how a player is perceived and his worth.

 

[Romang67]

It has huge relevance and implications to how a player is perceived and his worth.

It has 0 relevance to the question about how overpaid someone is. Vlasic wouldn't have been more overpaid on the Panthers last year than he was on the Sharks (discounting taxes).

 

[matt trick]

I wouldn’t trade Vlasic for Nurse. Vlasic sucks, but with only one more year after this one (and a not crazy buyout- both off the books before Celebrini/Smith/Askarov contracts are up, we can deal). Nurse would be an improvement on our D, but he’s likely to get worse and no use having a $9M boat anchor.

Huberdeau we could use but again his contract is just too damn long. When Grier started he had $54M in Karlsson, Burns, Vlasic, Couture, Hertl, Labanc, and Kane. Meier also was due for a new contract with a $10M qualifying offer. That’ll all be down to $12M soon enough, and $8M of it (Couture) will likely be on LTIR. The rest will be the retention of Karlsson and Meier.

I’d love to rob a team blind by taking their worst contracts, particularly for players of some ability like Huberdeau or Nurse, however they must have a max of 3 years left. You got to think EDM would pay through the nose to rid themselves of Nurse- imagine what they could do with $10M across two top 4 dmen, but unfortunately Nurse is just too damn long.

 

[Three On Zero]

It has 0 relevance to the question about how overpaid someone is. Vlasic wouldn't have been more overpaid on the Panthers last year than he was on the Sharks (discounting taxes).

In a simplified mathematical way, no it wouldn’t. But that’s not how most people look at it, you need to see the bigger picture and overall impact.

Bobrovsky is a prime example of this. The guys gone through a rollercoaster with how fans/media have rated him.