The NHL's biggest bargain players

NHL general managers are always looking to get bang for their buck, but who are the five biggest bargains in hockey? Let's break it down below and highlight players who are filling out the scoresheet on team friendly deals.

5. Alex DeBrincat

The Blackhawks are probably not making the playoffs again, but it won’t be the fault of sensational forward Alex DeBrincat. The diminutive winger (5-foot-7, 165 pounds) trails only Patrick Kane and Johnathan Toews for the team lead in points (30) and carries a modest $778,333 cap hit in the final year of his entry-level contract. That translates to just $25,944 per point for Chicago.

4. Mathew Barzal

The winner of the 2018 Calder Trophy, Mathew Barzal has continued his cost-efficient play for the Islanders in the final year of his entry-level contract that carries an average annual value of $863,333. The Isles center leads his team is both goals (16) and assists (18) halfway through the campaign and has cost his club just $25,392 per point.

3. Cale Makar

Since he made his debut in last year’s playoffs, Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has committed just one penalty in 51 games. He’s averaged more than 20 minutes per game this year, so it’s testament to his talent and discipline. The Colorado blueliner has notched 32 points through 35 contests and costs the Avs just $27,526 per point. Makar is in year two of a three-year contract that carries an average annual value of $880,833.

2. Andrei Svechnikov

At the tender age of 19, Andrei Svechnikov has established himself as a force to be reckoned wit. He showed promise when he notched 20 goals and 17 assists last season but has taken his game to new heights in the second year of his three-year, $2.775 million entry-level deal. The Carolina winger has 41 points through 42 games this year, costing his club just $22,561 per point.

1. Elias Pettersson

Per capfriendly.com, Canucks forward Elias Pettersson is the most cost-efficient skater in the NHL. In the second year of his three-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract, Pettersson has produced 44 points through 42 games this season, which means Vancouver has paid him just $21,023 per point.

The Swedish sniper is on pace to eclipse his 66-point effort in his rookie season (71 games). The Canucks have won seven straight games, and Pettersson has nine points in that span.

Honorable Mention: Victor Olofsson

Victor Olofsson, the Sabres’ sensational rookie winger, would have made this list but for the lower-body injury he suffered Thursday, which will cost him the next five to six weeks.

The late-blooming seventh-round selection from the 2014 draft has cost Buffalo just $21,929 per point (35 through 42 games) this year, second only to Pettersson.

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