Nicklas Backstrom has quietly been one of the best forwards in the NHL for years. Almost 10 years in fact.
It might be longer than that, but we say almost 10 years, because that’s how long his current contract was signed for the Washington Captials. He signed a 10-year, $67 million deal for with the Caps, and we’d say the Capitals have been happy about every penny. Which is rare. As a redditor on /r/hockey pointed out, he might be the first player to finish a 10+ year deal with the team that he signed it with.
As you can see with most of those contracts, the reason that they didn’t finish with the team they signed it with is because either their play fell off significantly and they were bought out, they didn’t fit with the team’s plan anymore or there was some kind of injury that ended their playing career.
Of course, this will likely never happen again, because the longest contract teams can currently give out are 8 years. Still, as you see a bunch of big 7-year deals handed out during free-agent frenzy, you have to wonder how many of them will work out well in the end.
For example, paying a goalie that will be 31 years old to start the season $10 million per season for seven years might not be the best idea. But who can turn down dance moves like these.
