Chicago Blackhawks' 3 Worst Contracts of 2023-24

The Chicago Blackhawks are very bad this season and it didn't help that some of their best players have spent time on the injured reserve. They are a collection of veterans on larger deals and young players

Nikita Zaitsev

Nikita Zaitev was a cap dump by the Ottawa Senators last season and he is nearing the end of his career. He will be 33 at the start of the next season and wouldn't even be a seventh defenseman on most teams. He plays 16 minutes per game on a very weak and depleted Blackhawks roster on the third pairing, but has also only gotten into 33 games this season. His cap hit is $4.5 million AAV for the remainder of the season until he becomes a UFA in the offseason and it was a bad contract from the moment it was signed all the way back when he was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Seth Jones

Most people know that Seth Jones is overpaid, but on a Blackhawks team that has a very low team salary, it's fine. This doesn't mean it isn't one of the worst contracts on the team though. Sure, he is a top defenseman and plays 25 minutes a night, but his offense isn't where it was advertised to be and his defensive game isn't great. Having a cap hit of $9.5 million AAV as a defenseman puts him among the elite in the game and he can't compare to them.

Andreas Athanasiou

Andreas Athanasiou has been injured for the majority of the season and it has taken him time to get back into the swing of things. As a player being paid $4.25 million AAV, he should be able to score a goal, but he has yet to do so through 16 games and has just six assists. His contract extends through to next season, so hopefully for the Blackhawks and for him in a contract year, he can get it going and score the way he used to.