Canucks' Chiasson is one of the NHL's best bargain contracts

Everybody loves a good bargain.

That’s especially true among NHL squads.

The salary cap world has forced teams to find players who can perform well while coming in at a low acquisition cost.

Enter, Alex Chiasson.

Players who earn contracts based on professional tryouts are never perfect. Chiasson has his flaws, but overall he’s provided solid value for the Vancouver Canucks.

And right now, he’s really stepping up at an important time.

Not only are the Canucks fighting for their playoff lives, but they’re missing two forwards, Tanner Pearson and Brock Boeser, out of their top six.

Vasily Podkolzin and Alex Chiasson have recently been asked to fill in the void.

Despite combining for only 20 goals and 39 points on the season, the two bottom-six forwards have filled in admirably on the Canucks’ second line alongside Bo Horvat.

“It’s two big guys where they can play that kind of game where they forecheck really well and are pretty responsible,” Boudreau said about Chiasson and Podkolzin after Saturday night’s contest.

Chiasson in particular is one of the hottest Canucks right now. He’s on a two-game goal streak and has points in three straight.

Over the last five games, Chiasson has four goals and seven points.

“Feels good at this time of the year to feel good about your game,” Chiasson said after scoring the game-winning goal against the San Jose Sharks. “It’s a nice opportunity for myself to showcase what I can do.

“I’ve found a way to stay resilient and believe in myself. There are a lot of ups and downs in this league and just, if you can find a way to stay more grounded, more neutral, the rest will take care of itself.

“You want to have an impact at this time of the year.”

Who's getting the belt tonight??? pic.twitter.com/1cdoVnxxuv

— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) April 10, 2022

Chiasson is making an impact, and he’s doing so on a league-minimum $750,000 salary.

Based on his current streak, he’s climbing the list among the NHL’s best bargains.

Where Chiasson ranks among NHL’s best bargains

One of the best ways to determine which NHL players provide the best value based on their contract is through CapFriendly’s “Cost Per Point” tool.

The Cost Per Point tool accounts for all skaters who have played more than five NHL games this season.

This is where Chiasson ranks among 865 NHL skaters in terms of his “bargain value.”

• Chiasson’s cost per point: $41,666. (72nd overall, 8th percentile of players)
• Chiasson’s cost per goal: $75,000 (59th overall, 6th percentile of players)

While not at the top of the league, Chiasson is firmly in the upper echelon of the best value players in the league.

His performance looks even better when removing all skaters on entry-level contracts.

Young players on their first NHL contracts who can make an impact are a goldmine in today’s NHL.

Among the cost per point leaders, four of the top five, seven of the top 10, and 13 of the top 20 are players on entry-level deals.

Here’s where Chiasson ranks among the 708 eligible NHL skaters who aren’t on an entry-level contract.

• Chiasson’s cost per point ranking: 43rd (6th percentile of players)
• Chiasson’s cost per goal ranking: 25th (3rd percentile of players)

Although the burly winger has just 10 goals and 18 points on the season, that’s excellent value considering the fact that he’s a 31-year-old veteran making the league minimum.

Canucks need more bargain players

It shouldn’t be a surprise that among Canucks players, Chiasson ranks first in terms of both cost per point and cost per goal.

His spot at the top of the list shouldn’t be a surprise, but what’s troubling is that the Canucks cap inefficiencies are highlighted by their lack of bargain players.

The Canucks have 37% of their team, or 10 of their 27 skaters, in the bottom 25th percentile of the cost per point rankings. They also have 16 of 27 players (or 59% of their team) rank in the bottom half of the rankings.

Because the Canucks lack players on entry-level contracts, they have to find more players, dare I say, like Chiasson, on deals that can be considered bargains.