Analysis: These players are truly the NHL's MVPs

The 2021-22 Hart Trophy discussion is once again dominated by players in the NHL’s upper salary echelon, as you would expect. There is a reason that the likes of Connor McDavid, Alex Ovechkin and Auston Matthews make the money they do. 

However, there is another group of players that merits some consideration as the most valuable in the league. It’s the group of 20 or so NHL regulars with a cap hit that falls below the league’s minimum salary threshold. 

Sure, every team has at least one (and sometimes a few) players signed for the current $750,000 USD league minimum, but in a flat-cap era, is there anything more valuable to a team than a player who hits the books at an amount less than the salary floor? These players deserve their day in the sun.

How does a player have a cap hit less than the league minimum?

Players with a cap hit less than the league minimum are anomalies resulting from the CBA increase in league minimum salary from $700,000 USD in prior seasons, to $750,000 USD commencing with the 2021-22 season. 

In order to accomplish that, players would have needed to sign a multi-year minimum salary deal that began in 2020-21, so the average annual value of that deal, or salary cap hit, falls below the minimum that could be paid now. For example: A two-year deal signed in 2020-21 for $700,000 and $750,000 averages out to $725,000 for this season’s cap hit, which is below the league minimum of $750,000.

With so many teams feeling the crunch of the league’s salary cap, which was frozen at $81.5 million for this season instead of seeing its usual escalation tied to revenue growth, these types of contracts can make NHL GMs salivate.

There has arguably been no more valuable bargain basement player than Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud. Just a few days after the pandemic began in 2020, with just 17 NHL games under Whitecloud's belt, the Golden Knights signed him to a two-year deal for the league minimum.

Whitecloud has been worth his weight in, well, gold. The 25-year-old is logging close to 20 minutes of ice time per night and has scored a career-high 0.4 points per game. Because of the pandemic-shortened seasons, Whitecloud has played in just 96 career regular-season games, but all 39 Vegas playoff games.

And he’s doing all of this for a team that will be desperate to find enough cap space to add Jack Eichel and his $10 million cap hit to the roster once he is healthy. With Alec Martinez out of the lineup recently due to injury, the four Vegas defensemen not named Alex Pietrangelo or Shea Theodore were making just a combined $4.75 million.

Whitecloud’s surplus value is undeniable. So much so that his importance has already been recognized by the Knights, who signed him to a six-year extension at the beginning of the season.

That extension will carry a cap of hit $2.75 million starting in 2021-22, but for now, he is the NHL equivalent of finding money in the pocket of jeans you haven’t worn in a while.

The Nashville Predators, who may be one of the league’s biggest surprises this season, have mined gold with two players whose cap hits fall under the league minimum. Russian forward Yakov Trenin has enjoyed a breakthrough season with the Predators, with 10 goals already through 40 games played. Meanwhile, blue liner Alex Carrier is enjoying a very productive season with the Preds, regularly playing north of 20 minutes per night while chipping in 15 points. 

Carrier signed a three-year deal in 2020, meaning he will still have another year after this season with a cap hit below the league minimum. That’s money. David Poile is no doubt still grinning about that signing.

The Minnesota Wild similarly have two players below the minimum bar. Forward Nico Sturm has contributed 12 points through 35 games played, while goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen has turned his season around over the last six weeks, supporting Cam Talbot with a 3-1-1 mark and .937 save percentage in his last six appearances.

There are plenty of other bargain contributors around the league. Daniel Sprong in Washington, Logan O’Connor in Colorado, Steven Lorentz in Carolina and Ryan Lomberg in Florida are all having successful campaigns while their $725,000 cap hits provide much-needed relief to teams poised to battle for the Presidents’ Trophy. Each of those teams is already above $81.5 million and using the flexibility provided by the Long-Term Injured Reserve mechanics of the CBA in order to stay compliant with the salary cap. 

The utility of players who hit the cap so cheaply cannot be understated.

Other players offering corner store contract value include Matthew Highmore in Vancouver and Colin Blackwell in Seattle, both limited this season by injuries, but now playing important roles, as well as energy players Karson Kuhlman (just claimed by Seattle on waivers) and Jansen Harkins in Winnipeg. Add to that list emerging young forward Alex Formenton in Ottawa and you have a pretty good selection of players who are doing more than their part to keep their teams’ salary-cap structure in check. 

The distinction of truly being the player of ‘most value,’ a contributor with a cap hit under the league minimum, isn’t likely one these players relish. No one is clamoring for a membership card in that club.

However, there is no doubt that this unique group of players has a special place in the hearts of their team’s managers and owners. Teams need to take advantage of these valuable players while they can. 

As Whitecloud’s extension proves, players who perform well while on sub-minimum contracts won’t stay bargains for long.

Chris Gear joined Daily Faceoff in Jan. 2022 after a 12-year run with the Vancouver Canucks, most recently as the club’s Assistant General Manager and Chief Legal Officer. Before migrating over to the hockey operations department, where his responsibilities included contract negotiations, CBA compliance, assisting with roster and salary cap management and governance for the AHL franchise, Gear was the Canucks’ vice president and general counsel.

Click here to read Gear’s other Daily Faceoff stories.