This week, The Athletic released its 2026-27 NHL contract efficiency list. Every year, author and analyst Dom Luszczyszyn uses his advanced analytics model to grade out contract efficiency based on results, salary and term in order to grade out the most efficient teams.
The Detroit Red Wings finished 16th out of 32 teams, earning a B grade:
The Red Wings get a B in Dom's ranking as the 16th most efficient team in the NHL.
High marks for Raymond and Seider's deal with obvious knocks from the Compher and Chiarot contracts.
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The most efficient contracts on the Red Wings
It should come as no surprise that Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider's exceptionally team-friendly contracts are the highest-graded deals on the team, both earning an A+ grade. Together, the two players combine for over $70M in surplus value as the saving grace from some of the team's most egregious deals.
Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin's deals, both coming in under $9M a season, provide handy value, as well. John Gibson's deal provides an additional $2M in surplus value, adding another B to the roster.
The biggest surprise, though, comes from the B+ grade of Jacob Bernard-Docker. The young defenseman fought his way onto the bottom pair last season, earning himself a two year, $1.6M per year deal. It might be that his safe deployment alongside Albert Johansson earned him higher marks with the model, but that doesn't answer the question of Johansson's grade.
Some bad marks understandable, others confusing
On the flip side of things, it's not a shock to see J.T. Compher and Ben Chiarot's contracts as the team's lowest grades. Both players earn D+ grades for their low efficiency as well as poor overall production. Compher has two years left on his deal, while Chiarot has three. The next general manager will need to decide what to do with both of them moving forward.
Two players that earned low grades despite solid seasons are Daniil Tarasov and Albert Johansson. To be fair, Tarasov's counting stats were a little underwhelming; he had to play extended minutes as a de facto starter on an extremely injured Florida Panthers team. Johansson, on the other hand, is a little confusing. The defenseman had a great season by all accounts, even pitching in a little above his weight at times.
Perhaps it has to do with his low offensive output. After all, Johansson finished off the season with just three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 82 games. The Athletic's model does tend to lean itself towards offensive output, which could explain the C+ grade.
Also, for some reason, the model lists recent acquisition Keegan Kolesar with four years remaining on his deal despite it only having two left. Perhaps adding the correct information would increase his grade beyond a C-.
Ultimately, these grades show the tragedies (and triumphs) of the Steve Yzerman administration. Success is apparent in the marks for Seider and Raymond and failure is evidenced through Chiarot and Compher.
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