NHL All-Overpaid Team

One of the things I like most about the NHL is that it hasn't been commercialized to the extent that the NFL, NBA, and even the MLB have. You won't see any hockey players inking ridiculous contracts for $200+ million any time soon.

However, that is not to say that there aren't plenty of overpaid players in the National Hockey League. It seems to be that GM's don't learn from the mistakes of their colleagues and keep dishing out lengthy deals for too much money.

I've a little research and I put together the most overpaid players at each position to make the official All-Overpaid team. Not to say that these aren't good- or even great- players, but they haven't played at a high enough level to earn the amount of money they're making.

Note- this is all based off current salaries. I'm not basing it off of horrible contracts (I'm looking at you, Scott Gomez).

Center:
Brad Richards, New York Rangers
Richards is in a tough situation. He was a major reason that Tampa won the cup in 2004 and has twice been a 90 point player. However, he signed a ridiculous deal with the Rangers in 2011 for 9 years with an AAV of $9 million and hasn't even come close to earning it.

Since signing the deal, he has put up 141 points in 176 games which is nothing to scoff at but he has not been the blockbuster player the Rangers thought they were signing. And when he's not scoring, he doesn't bring much else to the table. He's not a penalty killer and he produced a measly 1 point during the playoffs last year. Good player but overpaid.

Makes more than: Stamkos, Malkin, Toews

Left Wing:
Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
I was actually a big Parise fan, despite him being one of the most "boring" stars out there in that he isn't as flashy as Kane or Stamkos but still produces like them. Or at least he did. He really came onto the scene in '08-'09 with 94 points then followed it up with an 82 point campaign.

Then he hit free agency and the Wild inked him to a 13 year, $12 million deal that made him the highest paid player in the league. That's right. Since then, he's produced well under a point-per-game pace with just 73 in 91 games. Again, not terrible. But he's not even close to the best player in the league despite being paid like it.

Makes more than: Ovechkin, Zetterberg, Nash

Right Wing:
Alex Semin, Carolina Hurricanes
This Russian sniper thrived in Washington with the run-and-gun offense, especially since he was able to lurk in the shadows behind Alex Ovechkin and often got the bonus of not having to skate against the opponents' top d-pair. However, when I say this is a 1-dimensional player, I mean this guy offers nothing but scoring. He doesn't back check, he can't fight (but he can slap), and he won't battle in the corners.

He's signed for a 5 year, $7 million contract with Carolina. He's been solid- 62 points in 87 games since, but this is just a classic example of teams having to overpay for the best free agents on the market.

Makes more than: Kane, St. Louis, Kessel

Defense:
Brian Campbell, Florida Panthers
Far and away the favorite here. He's had a great career so far and despite being undersized he can play physical, produce offensively at a top level, and can skate as well as any d-men. But his 8 year, $7.1 million dollar contract is just absurd.

The sad thing is, if it weren't for his contract he would have been dealt by now. Lots of teams covet what he offers, especially playoff teams at the trade deadline, but nobody is going to be willing to get stuck with that kind of contract. Unless, of course, Florida agreed to eat part of it which they can't afford to. It's a tough situation for a very good defenseman.

Makes more than: Doughty, Kronwall, Karlsson

Defense:
Jason Garrison, Vancouver Canucks
Who? This gun-slinging blue-liner ranks among league leaders in goals among defenseman over the past several years, but his contract at 6 years, $6.5 million is comical. His best statistical year came at the age of 27 in 2011-2012 and he had 33 points. He's a powerplay asset and won't hurt you defensively, but I'm not sure how he got this kind of money.

Makes more than: Subban, Yandle, Pietrangelo

Goalie:
Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes
How the mighty have fallen. Once a top-5 goalie in the league and Conn Smythe winner after leading the 'Canes to a Staney Cup in 2006, he has been a shell of himself recently. He's making $6 million a year until 2016, but he hasn't managed to stay healthy the last 2 years and when he has been well enough to play he hasn't produced like a top 10 goaltender despite being paid like it.

There actually aren't too many bad goalie contracts out there, but we'll give this one to Cam. Sorry buddy. Rick DiPietro thanks you.