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Are the RHL agents a**holes?
2025-07-01Are the RHL agents a**holes?
RHL Agents Audit - 2024
Data sources : RHL 2024 Player agent sheet, Capwages signings - July 1st 2024 to June 30th 2025
Every year come the end of June, the RHL Agents go through the gigantic task of negotiating close to 300 RFA and UFA re-signs with the RHL GMs
In 2024, 280 players inked new contracts in this process.
Of these 280, 114 have also signed a new contract in the NHL since then. That gives us 114 case studies to evaluate the work of our RHL Agents which have the unpopular task of trying to land a contract as close as possible as what players would get on the open market in the NHL
Lets deep into how they’re doing.
SAME TERM
Those are the easiest to compare, the players signed in the RHL for the exact same number of years as they signed in the NHL.
Out of 46 comparables, our agents missed by more than 250k AAV on only 8 occasions. Call that eye of the tiger.
Kevin Stenlund got a sizeable bargain in the RHL while Martin Necas and Nils Hoglander got a small break. On the other end, Ilya Samsonov and Charlie Lindgren, two average goalies, much prefer their RHL paycheque. Thomas Harley, Parker Kelly and Erik Brannstrom complete the list of players for which there has been some statistically significant discrepancies.
Getting bullseye on so many major deals is truly a remarkable feat by the agents. Sam Steel, Peyton Krebs and Steven Stamkos are among the most successful deals inked by the agents this year.
|
RHL TEAM |
PLAYER |
NHL TERM |
NHL AAV |
DATE |
RHL TERM |
RHL AAV |
YEARS DIFF |
AAV DIFF |
|
PIT |
Kevin Stenlund |
2 |
$2,000,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$1,000,000 |
0 |
-$1,000,000 |
|
COL |
Martin Necas |
2 |
$6,500,000 |
Jul. 29, 2024 |
2 |
$5,800,000 |
0 |
-$700,000 |
|
LAK |
Nils Hoglander |
3 |
$3,000,000 |
Oct. 6, 2024 |
3 |
$2,500,000 |
0 |
-$500,000 |
|
MIN |
Jack Drury |
2 |
$1,725,000 |
Jul. 17, 2024 |
2 |
$1,500,000 |
0 |
-$225,000 |
|
CBJ |
Tyler Tucker |
2 |
$925,000 |
Feb. 28, 2025 |
2 |
$800,000 |
0 |
-$125,000 |
|
COL |
Marc McLaughlin |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 16, 2024 |
1 |
$775,000 |
0 |
$0 |
|
CBJ |
Tyce Thompson |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 10, 2024 |
1 |
$775,000 |
0 |
$0 |
|
DAL |
Dylan Ferguson |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jan. 7, 2025 |
1 |
$775,000 |
0 |
$0 |
|
MIN |
Alec Regula |
2 |
$775,000 |
May. 2, 2025 |
2 |
$775,000 |
0 |
$0 |
|
NJD |
Sam Steel |
2 |
$2,100,000 |
Feb. 14, 2025 |
2 |
$2,100,000 |
0 |
$0 |
|
NYR |
Declan Chisholm |
1 |
$1,000,000 |
Jul. 6, 2024 |
1 |
$1,000,000 |
0 |
$0 |
|
SEA |
Keaton Middleton |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jan. 2, 2025 |
2 |
$775,000 |
0 |
$0 |
|
VGK |
Nathan Smith |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
1 |
$775,000 |
0 |
$0 |
|
FLA |
Jansen Harkins |
2 |
$787,500 |
Jul. 2, 2024 |
2 |
$800,000 |
0 |
$12,500 |
|
EDM |
Ilya Solovyov |
2 |
$775,000 |
Sep. 18, 2024 |
2 |
$800,000 |
0 |
$25,000 |
|
FLA |
Cameron Hughes |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jun. 20, 2025 |
2 |
$800,000 |
0 |
$25,000 |
|
MIN |
Glenn Gawdin |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$800,000 |
0 |
$25,000 |
|
MIN |
Mike Hardman |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$800,000 |
0 |
$25,000 |
|
TOR |
Jaxson Stauber |
2 |
$775,000 |
Apr. 29, 2025 |
2 |
$800,000 |
0 |
$25,000 |
|
WPG |
Callahan Burke |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 4, 2024 |
1 |
$800,000 |
0 |
$25,000 |
|
WPG |
Josiah Slavin |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 7, 2024 |
2 |
$800,000 |
0 |
$25,000 |
|
DET |
Peyton Krebs |
2 |
$1,450,000 |
Sep. 17, 2024 |
2 |
$1,500,000 |
0 |
$50,000 |
|
DET |
Andre Lee |
2 |
$775,000 |
Mar. 10, 2025 |
2 |
$850,000 |
0 |
$75,000 |
|
LAK |
Jack Rathbone |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
1 |
$850,000 |
0 |
$75,000 |
|
SEA |
Devin Cooley |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$850,000 |
0 |
$75,000 |
|
NYR |
Jacob Bryson |
1 |
$900,000 |
Mar. 20, 2025 |
1 |
$1,000,000 |
0 |
$100,000 |
|
SEA |
Guillaume Brisebois |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jun. 30, 2025 |
1 |
$875,000 |
0 |
$100,000 |
|
NSH |
Nolan Foote |
1 |
$825,000 |
Aug. 9, 2024 |
1 |
$950,000 |
0 |
$125,000 |
|
NSH |
Pavel Dorofeyev |
2 |
$1,835,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$2,000,000 |
0 |
$165,000 |
|
ANA |
Adam Beckman |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 15, 2024 |
1 |
$950,000 |
0 |
$175,000 |
|
CAR |
Tanner Laczynski |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 6, 2024 |
2 |
$950,000 |
0 |
$175,000 |
|
COL |
Philip Tomasino |
1 |
$825,000 |
Sep. 18, 2024 |
1 |
$1,000,000 |
0 |
$175,000 |
|
NSH |
Jan Jenik |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 5, 2024 |
1 |
$950,000 |
0 |
$175,000 |
|
NSH |
Raphael Lavoie |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 8, 2024 |
1 |
$950,000 |
0 |
$175,000 |
|
NYI |
Riley Tufte |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
1 |
$950,000 |
0 |
$175,000 |
|
NYR |
Garrett Pilon |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$975,000 |
0 |
$200,000 |
|
CHI |
Nikita Alexandrov |
1 |
$775,000 |
Sep. 30, 2024 |
1 |
$1,000,000 |
0 |
$225,000 |
|
NJD |
Mads Sogaard |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 15, 2024 |
2 |
$1,000,000 |
0 |
$225,000 |
|
OTT |
Ben Meyers |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jun. 3, 2025 |
1 |
$1,000,000 |
0 |
$225,000 |
|
TOR |
Steven Stamkos |
4 |
$8,000,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
4 |
$8,250,000 |
0 |
$250,000 |
|
UTA |
Max Jones |
2 |
$1,000,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$1,250,000 |
0 |
$250,000 |
|
TBL |
Erik Brannstrom |
1 |
$900,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
1 |
$1,250,000 |
0 |
$350,000 |
|
WSH |
Parker Kelly |
2 |
$825,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$1,250,000 |
0 |
$425,000 |
|
VAN |
Thomas Harley |
2 |
$4,000,000 |
Sep. 17, 2024 |
2 |
$4,500,000 |
0 |
$500,000 |
|
TBL |
Charlie Lindgren |
3 |
$3,000,000 |
Mar. 3, 2025 |
3 |
$3,700,000 |
0 |
$700,000 |
|
DET |
Ilya Samsonov |
1 |
$1,800,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
1 |
$3,000,000 |
0 |
$1,200,000 |
SIGNED TO SHORTER DEALS IN RHL
As you’d expect, all players inking shorter deals than their NHL counterparts got a pretty sizeable discount on the AAV. Only exception are Yanni Gourde and John Tavares who everyone will agree left a ton of money on the table signing with their alma matter. Looking closer at the bargained contracts, seems like Kevin Bahl, Lucas Raymond, Joey Daccord, Yakov Trenin and more ended up with what we could define as clear GM-friendly deals.
|
STATUS |
RHL TEAM |
PLAYER |
NHL TERM |
NHL AAV |
DATE |
RHL TERM |
RHL AAV |
YEARS DIFF |
AAV DIFF |
|
RFA |
MIN |
Alexander Romanov |
8 |
$6,250,000 |
Jun. 30, 2025 |
2 |
$2,750,000 |
-6 |
-$3,500,000 |
|
RFA |
CGY |
Kevin Bahl |
6 |
$5,350,000 |
Jun. 29, 2025 |
3 |
$2,200,000 |
-3 |
-$3,150,000 |
|
RFA |
TBL |
Johnathan Kovacevic |
5 |
$4,000,000 |
Mar. 7, 2025 |
1 |
$1,200,000 |
-4 |
-$2,800,000 |
|
RFA |
NSH |
Alexis Lafrenière |
7 |
$7,450,000 |
Oct. 25, 2024 |
2 |
$4,800,000 |
-5 |
-$2,650,000 |
|
RFA |
NSH |
Joseph Woll |
3 |
$3,666,667 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
1 |
$1,500,000 |
-2 |
-$2,166,667 |
|
RFA |
TOR |
Noah Cates |
4 |
$4,000,000 |
Jun. 3, 2025 |
2 |
$2,000,000 |
-2 |
-$2,000,000 |
|
RFA |
SEA |
Will Borgen |
5 |
$4,100,000 |
Jan. 27, 2025 |
2 |
$2,750,000 |
-3 |
-$1,350,000 |
|
RFA |
COL |
Lucas Raymond |
8 |
$8,075,000 |
Sep. 16, 2024 |
5 |
$6,750,000 |
-3 |
-$1,325,000 |
|
RFA |
ANA |
Joey Daccord |
5 |
$5,000,000 |
Oct. 9, 2024 |
3 |
$3,750,000 |
-2 |
-$1,250,000 |
|
RFA |
COL |
Yakov Trenin |
4 |
$3,500,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
3 |
$2,300,000 |
-1 |
-$1,200,000 |
|
RFA |
UTA |
Keegan Kolesar |
3 |
$2,500,000 |
Dec. 13, 2024 |
2 |
$1,500,000 |
-1 |
-$1,000,000 |
|
UFA |
CGY |
Chandler Stephenson |
7 |
$6,250,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
4 |
$5,500,000 |
-3 |
-$750,000 |
|
RFA |
NYI |
Mark Kastelic |
3 |
$1,566,667 |
Jan. 3, 2025 |
2 |
$1,000,000 |
-1 |
-$566,667 |
|
UFA |
BUF |
Elias Lindholm |
7 |
$7,750,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
6 |
$7,200,000 |
-1 |
-$550,000 |
|
RFA |
SJS |
Jake DeBrusk |
7 |
$5,500,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
4 |
$5,000,000 |
-3 |
-$500,000 |
|
RFA |
FLA |
Ty Emberson |
2 |
$1,300,000 |
Apr. 19, 2025 |
1 |
$1,000,000 |
-1 |
-$300,000 |
|
UFA |
OTT |
Jake McCabe |
5 |
$4,491,898 |
Oct. 28, 2024 |
4 |
$4,400,000 |
-1 |
-$91,898 |
|
UFA |
CBJ |
Frank Vatrano |
3 |
$4,571,189 |
Jan. 6, 2025 |
2 |
$4,500,000 |
-1 |
-$71,189 |
|
RFA |
CBJ |
James Hamblin |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
1 |
$775,000 |
-1 |
$0 |
|
RFA |
DAL |
Logan O'Connor |
6 |
$2,500,000 |
Sep. 23, 2024 |
3 |
$2,500,000 |
-3 |
$0 |
|
RFA |
SEA |
Curtis Douglas |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 7, 2024 |
1 |
$775,000 |
-1 |
$0 |
|
RFA |
NYI |
Cale Fleury |
2 |
$890,000 |
Jun. 20, 2025 |
1 |
$900,000 |
-1 |
$10,000 |
|
RFA |
OTT |
Marshall Rifai |
2 |
$775,000 |
Sep. 5, 2024 |
1 |
$800,000 |
-1 |
$25,000 |
|
RFA |
NSH |
Egor Zamula |
2 |
$1,700,000 |
Jul. 7, 2024 |
1 |
$1,750,000 |
-1 |
$50,000 |
|
RFA |
WSH |
Justin Barron |
2 |
$1,150,000 |
Jul. 30, 2024 |
1 |
$1,250,000 |
-1 |
$100,000 |
|
RFA |
TBL |
Joey Anderson |
2 |
$800,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
1 |
$950,000 |
-1 |
$150,000 |
|
RFA |
CHI |
Filip Hallander |
2 |
$775,000 |
Apr. 28, 2025 |
1 |
$950,000 |
-1 |
$175,000 |
|
UFA |
PIT |
Yanni Gourde |
6 |
$2,333,333 |
Jun. 2, 2025 |
2 |
$4,000,000 |
-4 |
$1,666,667 |
|
UFA |
MTL |
John Tavares |
4 |
$4,380,000 |
Jun. 27, 2025 |
3 |
$7,000,000 |
-1 |
$2,620,000 |
SIGNED TO LONGER DEALS IN RHL
“If you want to lock them up, you better pay” up sums up both the mentality and the analysis of players that got inked for longer in the RHL than their NHL counterpart. Interestingly, only one real long-term deal got even longer for it’s RHL counterpart, and it was all to the advantage of the GM as the LA Kings can now enjoy 8 years of Moritz Seider at a discounted rate. The players that cashed on a longer RHL contract are also for the most part players that decided to bet on themselves with one-year prove-it deals. A notable example of that is Jonathan Drouin who successfully turned his career around by accepting to join his junior buddy Nathan Mackinnon in Colorado. He signed for 1 x 2.5M then, but just watch him go the bank in the upcoming hours…
|
RHL TEAM |
PLAYER |
NHL TERM |
NHL AAV |
DATE |
RHL TERM |
RHL AAV |
YEARS DIFF |
AAV DIFF |
|
LAK |
Moritz Seider |
7 |
$8,550,000 |
Sep. 19, 2024 |
8 |
$8,000,000 |
1 |
-$550,000 |
|
BUF |
J.J. Moser |
2 |
$3,375,000 |
Jul. 11, 2024 |
3 |
$2,900,000 |
1 |
-$475,000 |
|
CGY |
Joel Hofer |
2 |
$3,400,000 |
Jun. 28, 2025 |
3 |
$3,000,000 |
1 |
-$400,000 |
|
COL |
Eetu Makiniemi |
1 |
$775,000 |
Sep. 25, 2024 |
2 |
$800,000 |
1 |
$25,000 |
|
DAL |
Mason Shaw |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 3, 2024 |
2 |
$800,000 |
1 |
$25,000 |
|
FLA |
Dennis Cholowski |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 25, 2024 |
3 |
$800,000 |
2 |
$25,000 |
|
SEA |
Felix Sandstrom |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$800,000 |
1 |
$25,000 |
|
TBL |
Sammy Walker |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 11, 2024 |
2 |
$800,000 |
1 |
$25,000 |
|
TOR |
Filip Roos |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$800,000 |
1 |
$25,000 |
|
COL |
Jonathan Quick |
1 |
$1,550,000 |
Mar. 12, 2025 |
2 |
$1,600,000 |
1 |
$50,000 |
|
WSH |
Tyler Madden |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$825,000 |
1 |
$50,000 |
|
ANA |
Michael Callahan |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 12, 2024 |
2 |
$850,000 |
1 |
$75,000 |
|
COL |
Jeremy Davies |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
4 |
$850,000 |
3 |
$75,000 |
|
VAN |
Kole Lind |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jun. 23, 2025 |
2 |
$850,000 |
1 |
$75,000 |
|
TBL |
Philippe Myers |
2 |
$850,000 |
Jan. 3, 2025 |
3 |
$950,000 |
1 |
$100,000 |
|
VGK |
Liam Foudy |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 10, 2024 |
2 |
$875,000 |
1 |
$100,000 |
|
WPG |
Cole Schwindt |
1 |
$800,000 |
Sep. 18, 2024 |
2 |
$900,000 |
1 |
$100,000 |
|
UTA |
Christian Fischer |
1 |
$1,125,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$1,250,000 |
1 |
$125,000 |
|
ANA |
Graeme Clarke |
1 |
$800,000 |
Jul. 23, 2024 |
2 |
$950,000 |
1 |
$150,000 |
|
OTT |
Milos Kelemen |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 3, 2024 |
2 |
$925,000 |
1 |
$150,000 |
|
NJD |
David Gustafsson |
2 |
$835,000 |
Jul. 6, 2024 |
3 |
$1,000,000 |
1 |
$165,000 |
|
CGY |
Egor Sokolov |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 9, 2024 |
2 |
$950,000 |
1 |
$175,000 |
|
LAK |
Jonatan Berggren |
1 |
$825,000 |
Sep. 16, 2024 |
2 |
$1,000,000 |
1 |
$175,000 |
|
UTA |
Kevin Mandolese |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 16, 2024 |
3 |
$975,000 |
2 |
$200,000 |
|
UTA |
Lassi Thomson |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jun. 16, 2025 |
2 |
$975,000 |
1 |
$200,000 |
|
FLA |
Anthony Richard |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 2, 2024 |
3 |
$1,000,000 |
1 |
$225,000 |
|
NYI |
Mitchell Stephens |
2 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
4 |
$1,000,000 |
2 |
$225,000 |
|
BOS |
Kieffer Bellows |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 3, 2024 |
3 |
$1,100,000 |
2 |
$325,000 |
|
NYR |
Travis Dermott |
1 |
$775,000 |
Oct. 8, 2024 |
2 |
$1,150,000 |
1 |
$375,000 |
|
ANA |
Connor McMichael |
2 |
$2,100,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
3 |
$2,500,000 |
1 |
$400,000 |
|
SEA |
Caleb Jones |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jul. 5, 2024 |
3 |
$1,200,000 |
2 |
$425,000 |
|
WSH |
Alexey Toropchenko |
1 |
$1,700,000 |
Oct. 29, 2024 |
2 |
$2,150,000 |
1 |
$450,000 |
|
CAR |
Victor Soderstrom |
1 |
$775,000 |
Jun. 14, 2025 |
3 |
$1,250,000 |
2 |
$475,000 |
|
LAK |
Nicholas Robertson |
1 |
$875,000 |
Sep. 10, 2024 |
2 |
$1,500,000 |
1 |
$625,000 |
|
WSH |
Blake Lizotte |
2 |
$1,850,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
4 |
$2,750,000 |
2 |
$900,000 |
|
BUF |
Nils Lundkvist |
1 |
$1,250,000 |
Jun. 20, 2025 |
3 |
$2,300,000 |
2 |
$1,050,000 |
|
BUF |
Arthur Kaliyev |
1 |
$825,000 |
Sep. 17, 2024 |
3 |
$2,000,000 |
2 |
$1,175,000 |
|
CHI |
Jonathan Drouin |
1 |
$2,500,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
2 |
$4,000,000 |
1 |
$1,500,000 |
|
BUF |
Kaapo Kahkonen |
1 |
$1,000,000 |
Jul. 1, 2024 |
3 |
$4,300,000 |
2 |
$3,300,000 |
THE BOTTOM LINE
The RHL Agents are doing a great job at NHL agenting, they're not too warsh, nor too gentle. We could perhaps even argue the contracts they hand out iron out the weird anomalies of hometown discounts, tax heavens and 37 year old players signing for 6 years.
Wanna crunch some numbers and find out more, like which teams are getting consistently screwed by the agents ? Here’s the leaked database for your analysis :
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W5Rh3Gfbf1wFInrEo0lw_Nly3-s5mxA7RFWwH5LE6bs/edit?usp=sharing