Free agency is in full gear as the worst season for NHL fans, Summer, continues on. There have been a lot of new contracts given out over the past couple of weeks, by free agent signings and trades. So, with contracts on the minds of every NHL fan right now, let’s take a look at the top 10 biggest contracts for next year according to Hockey’s Cap. Are these players worth the massive cap hit they will cost their teams next year?

1. Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks ($10.5 million cap hit)

Toews was great during the Blackhawks Stanley Cup run. He showed why he is called “Captain Clutch,” scoring 10 goals to go along with 21 points and was the Blackhawks best player for much of the post season. His victory in the Stanley Cup was the third in his career, more than Pavel Datsyuk, Sidney Crosby, Anze Kopitar or Patrice Bergeron. It is this success in the post season that makes him worthy of being one of the best-paid players in the league. Grade: A

2. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks ($10.5 million cap hit)

On a team of impressive snipers, Kane is the one the Blackhawks can count on the most. He again scored the close out goal to win the Stanley Cup, a feat he has accomplished on each of the Blackhawks three Stanley Cup victories. In the last three post seasons alone he has notched 29 goals and has solidified himself as the sniper of choice for the Blackhawks when the stakes are at their highest. The one knock against Kane is that even though he is known as a sniper, he has not reached the 30-goal plateau since the 2009-2010 season. It is strange that such a prolific scorer is never one of the regular season’s the top goal scorers. Grade: A-

3. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals ($9.5 million cap hit)

On the other end of the spectrum is Ovechkin, a regular season star who has scored 50 or more goals in the last two seasons, but has no Stanley Cups to show for it. Ovechkin came along with Crosby as the two most hyped prospects to come to the NHL in some time. It did not take Ovechkin long to live up to the hype, scoring 52 goals and 106 points in his rookie season. He continued to have major success, having 40 or more goals the next four seasons. He was at his best in the 2007-2008 season, scoring 65 goals and 112 points on his way to the Hart trophy for NHL MVP. Yet even to this day he has not managed to get out of the second round of the playoffs, which leaves some asking if he is hurting his team with his huge contract. Nonetheless, Ovechkin is one of the best and most explosive forwards in the game. Grade: A-

4. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins ($9.5 million cap hit)

Malkin and Crosby have been the best one-two punch in the league for close to a decade. Malkin scored 85 points in his rookie year, and helped bring the Penguins back to the post season. In the 2008-2009 season, he would win the Stanley Cup. Malkin won the Conn Smythe award by scoring 36 points in the 24 games he played.  Since then, he has been hampered by injuries and has only managed to break the 100-point plateau once. In this postseason he was held scoreless as the Penguins looked helpless against the New York Rangers. Grade: B

5. P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadians ($9 million cap hit)

The Canadians 26 year old star defender is one of the better two-way defenders in the league. He has scored 50 or more points in his last two seasons and won the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2013-2013. In the 2013-2014 season, he led the Canadians to the Eastern Conference finals, where they fell to the New York Rangers. He is a talented defender, but does he deserve to be the highest paid defender? Duncan Keith won the Conn Smythe this year after winning his third Stanley Cup, and Shea Weber logs more minutes than Subban and is the heart and soul of the Predators. Not only that, but his teammate Carey Price won the Hart Trophy as a goalie! The question isn’t just if Subban deserves to be the highest paid defenseman, but does Subban deserve to be the highest paid player on his team. Grade: C-

6. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins ($8.75 million cap hit)

Sid the Kid has won almost everything there is to win in the NHL. He has two Hart Trophies, Two Art Ross Trophies, one Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and has been named to three NHL First All-Star Teams. He won a Stanley Cup in 2009 and his resume will easily put him in the Hall of Fame. While all this is true, he is somehow sixth on the list of highest paid NHL players. Crosby has decided to play for less than he is worth to give his team extra cap to try to bring in better talent, such as Phil Kessel. Grade: A+

7. Corey Perry, Los Angeles Ducks ($8.5 million cap hit)

A part of the three headed monster in Anaheim, along with Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler, Perry is one of the best snipers in the game. He won the Hart Trophy in 2010-20111 by putting up a league leading 50 goals. He was arguably the Ducks best player in this post season, scoring 10 goals and 18 points in 16 games. Perry also won a Stanley Cup early in his career, but only scored 17 goals during that season. Perry, unlike most of the forwards around him on this list, has never had a 100 point season, and does seem a little out of place. He fell to Toews and Kane in the post season, and just does not have the insane numbers that Crosby, Ovechkin and Malkin have. Grade: B-

8. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers ($8.5 million cap hit)

The king of goaltenders, Lundqvist has long been considered one of, if not the, best goaltenders in the NHL. He has received five Vezina Trophy nominations, one of which he won in 2011-2012 thanks to an amazing 1.97 GAA and 93 save percentage. Despite incredible regular season career stats, his post-season career has been even more spectacular. During that same season, he posted a 1.82 GAA and a 93.4 save percentage to give the often-outmatched Rangers a fighting chance. In 2013-2014, he led the way towards a Rangers Stanley Cup appearance against the Kings. While the Kings won, Lundqvist’s spectacular 40 saves in a Game 4 2-1 victory was the only reason the Rangers won a game against the Kings. Lundqvist will need to continue his heroics for the Rangers to return to the Stanley Cup. Grade: A-

9. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers ($8.25 million cap hit)

The future of the Flyers rests on the captain Giroux. He won over all of the Philly fateful when he played a key role in knocking out the Penguins and finally vanquishing the Crosby curse the Flyers had against him in the post season. He has had a couple close calls with the Hart and Art Ross trophies, but has not managed to get either. He has had a couple close calls with getting 100 points, but fell short with 93 and 86 point seasons. He also had a close call with winning the Stanley Cup in 2010, but fell short against the Blackhawks. Giroux, Crosby and Malkin are the only active players averaging a point a game in the playoffs or better, and he seems close to getting on their level. Giroux has the potential to become the best playmaker in the league, but just has not reached it yet. Grade: B

10A. Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes ($8.25 million cap hit)

Staal is the heart and soul of the Carolina Hurricanes. His only 100-point season came in 2005-2006 when he won the only Stanley Cup in Hurricane history. Since then he has had four 30 or more goal seasons playing on some terrible Hurricane teams. With a better supporting cast, Staal could have a lot more success scoring. Still though, he has 312 career NHL goals and has 43 points in 43 post-season games. He may not be the best player on this list, but it is hard to imagine how awful the Hurricanes would be if he was not slugging it out for them each year with close to no help. Grade: B+

10B. Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks ($8.25 million cap hit) 

The captain of the Ducks is a 6’4’’ power forward with excellent passing abilities. In 2013-2014, he was second only to Crosby with 87 points. In this post season he grabbed 18 assists and 20 points and was the centerpiece of a Ducks team that pushed the Blackhawks to six games in the Western Conference finals. He is only six points away from getting 100 career post-season points, which he is likely to reach next post-season. Grade: B+