Name: Mirtle: Ranking the NHL’s top 22 buyout candidates
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Mirtle: Ranking the NHL’s top 22 buyout candidates

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Sep 22, 2020The buyouts are coming.The ’s buyout window opens on Friday, Sept. 25, and runs for two weeks until Oct. 8, the day before free agency begins. With a flat salary cap and a lot of teams feeling squeezed by the results of the pandemic – and the prospect of a fan-less season next year – this could be the league’s busiest buyout period yet.Not every team has a buyout candidate. But most do, with more than half of the league making our list below.Keep in mind that teams are not permitted to buy out injured players, so and others who spent a lot of time on LTIR are not listed here. And players who are on age 35-plus contracts will have their full salaries count against the cap, making their buyouts much less useful.Not every player here is going to be bought out, but it’s worth at least having a conversation for the teams involved given the player’s performance, cap hit and their team’s cap situation.This will be the big one if, , it happens. King Henrik has been the face of the franchise for the entire salary cap era, going back to his rookie season in 2005-06. But he’s 38 years old and his $8.5 million cap hit is a serious impediment to the Rangers rise in the standings, given his mediocre play the past few years. New York also has two top young goaltenders in and to find starts for and the old guy has been blocking the crease. If Lundqvist does the franchise a huge favor, he will retire and walk away from the final year of his deal. But that’s $5.5 million out of pocket, which doesn’t feel reasonable. And he may well want to try and be a backup or a tandem goaltender elsewhere, for a swan song. If Martin Brodeur can be a St. Louis Blue, why not Lundqvist in another team’s colors? Even if his jersey is going up to the rafters soon, regardless of what comes next.Existing cap hit: $8.5 million for next seasonBuyout cap hit: $5.5 million next season and $1.5 million for 2021-22The Rangers are on the precipice of something potentially really big. Their prospect pool is strong and they’re about to add in two weeks with the first overall pick. They’ve got some great young players in goal, on D and up front. If they play their next few moves right, they could become the next powerhouse in the Eastern Conference. Both Smith and are seldom-used but high-paid veterans on a back end that needs a rethink. Dumping Smith opens up almost $1.6 million that they can reallocate elsewhere. Adding Staal to the buyout pile would give them an additional $2 million. Combined with a Lundqvist buyout, it could leave New York GM Jeff Gorton with another $8 million or so to spend in free agency or trades this offseason.Existing cap hit: $4.35 million next seasonBuyout cap hit: $2.78 million next season and $783,333 in 2021-22The are another team that needs cap space and has some overpriced veterans. If they re-sign captain , things definitely get very uncomfortable against the cap. Steen has been a good soldier for them for a long time, but he’s 36 years old and had only 17 points this past season in a depth role. His contract is the most likely one to dump as part of the solution to the Petro problem.Existing cap hit: $5.75 million next seasonBuyout cap hit: $3.42 million next season and $1.17 million in 2021-22The are another team that clearly needs some cap room, with the contracts they need to sign their young players to and with how much money their veterans make. This is not going to be an easy offseason for them. Moving on from Smith, who had four goals and played less than 12 minutes a game, should not be one of their harder decisions.Existing cap hit: $3.25 million next seasonBuyout cap hit: $1.08 million for the next two seasonsThe are rebuilding, sort of. Except they’ve got some pretty strong pieces, like netminder , who are in their prime. They’re extremely tight to the cap due to ’s buyout eating up $6.6 million so finding ways to add to a roster that struggled this past season won’t be easy. Moving on from Backes, whose body has taken a beating in his career, slowing him down, makes a lot of sense.Existing cap hit: $4.5 million next season (not including the 25 percent of the deal Boston is retaining)Buyout cap hit: $3 million next season and $750,000 in 2021-22Onto some more goalies. The had a brutal year last year and they’re pretty tight against the cap if they want to make any additions. Jones has played poorly for two seasons now, has a big contract, and the buyout isn’t egregious. It’s definitely worth thinking about, given their window to win has to be right now with all their veterans on big deals. They can’t afford a nearly $6 million black hole in goal.Existing cap hit: $5.75 million for the next four seasonsBuyout cap hit: $2.875 million for next season and Year 4 of the buyout; between $1.6 and $2.4 million the remaining six yearsThe need to find some life again, and that’s going to mean wholesale roster changes. Hutton is almost 35 and had an .898 save percentage last year. If you can find a trade partner for him, you do it. If not, this could be the best case, as it’ll allow the Sabres to go for an upgrade in free agency.Existing cap hit: $2.75 million next seasonBuyout cap hit: $916,667 for the next two seasonsDubnyk has played a lot of good games for the , but last season was tough. He had , which was obviously a key factor. And the team in front of him struggled, too. Dubnyk could bounce back next season, and there’s only one year left on his deal, but new GM Bill Guerin also seems hellbent on overhauling his roster. Changing the long-time starter would certainly fit. (And Dubnyk’s name is out there in trade talks.)Existing cap hit: $4.33 million next seasonBuyout cap hit: $2.67 million next season and $833,333 in 2021-22The had to pick up Santini’s contract as part of the PK Subban trade with New Jersey. He spent almost the entire season in the AHL last year with Milwaukee, as one of the highest-paid defensemen in the league. The small-market Preds can save $1.1 million in real dollars by buying him out. It would be shocking if they did not.Existing cap hit: $1.42 million next season (when in NHL)Buyout cap hit: $41,667 next season and $275,000 in 2021-22Abdelkader had no goals and three points in 49 games last season while getting decent depth minutes. The may be rebuilding and, as such, may not put a premium on having extra cap space right away, but surely there has to be a better use for these extra dollars they could free up than having him on the ice. Maybe they can take on some other bad contracts in exchange for getting assets? That would make sense. Unlike this deal.Existing cap hit: $4.25 million for the next three yearsBuyout cap hit: $1.81 million next season, $2.31 million the following two years and $1.06 million the subsequent three yearsIt’s an inspirational story he’s back playing at all, given some of the health issues he’s had. But Okposo clearly isn’t the player he was earlier in his carer and he has a big ticket to live up to. The Sabres need to completely rethink their roster and this might be one area to start. Or, if they buyout Hutton, to carry on with the makeover. There’s some buyout protection in his deal, so that limits the savings, but it may not matter at this point given how little production he’s providing.Existing cap hit: $6 million the next three seasonsBuyout cap hit: $4 million next season, $5 million the year after, $3 million in 2022-23 and then $1 million a season for three more yearsWhy put together a big write-up when Jonathan Willis has already done the work for you? Check out .Existing cap hit: $5.75 million the next three seasonsBuyout cap hit: $1.917 million the next six seasonsI know they may lose . And it appears very likely they’ll lose , too. So the need defencemen. But I’m not sure they need ones making as much as Moore who has played as little as he has the past year. And Boston is the kind of team that could do real damage in free agency with some more money to spend, given how many players will want to play there to try and win. Dumping Moore gives them about $8 million to be aggressive, assuming Chara and Krug don’t return. Plus, this buyout would free up $2 million in 2021-22, which could be key given some of the players who will need new contracts.Existing cap hit: $2.75 million for three more yearsBuyout cap hit: $1.3 million next season and in Year 3 of buyout; $805,556 in 2021-22 and 2023-26The Predators gave up good assets for Turris three years ago, dealing two of their top prospects and a second-round pick to the Avs. The deal hasn’t worked out the way they hoped, as Turris has produced only 54 points over the past two seasons combined. His defensive play has become a significant issue, too. With no buyout protection, it’s not a bad penalty here, either, if they decide to go this direction.Existing cap hit: $6 million for the next four seasonsBuyout cap hit: $2 million for the next eight seasonsThe need to shed payroll and Stralman, while still dependable, is overpriced. They can also afford to shed a defenseman and still have a solid top four, given the rise of .Existing cap hit: $5.5 million for the next two seasonsBuyout cap hit: $2.5 million for the next two seasons and $1.5 million for two seasons after that(Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)Desperate times, yadda yadda. Maatta’s once-prominent star has faded the past couple of years and now he’s kind of just “a guy” on the blue line. Chicago desperately needs to free up space, so this could be an avenue they go down. Maatta would catch on elsewhere in the league; his problem is his salary is just too high for what he brings. His buyout is also dirt cheap given it’s less costly to buy players out at a young age.Existing cap hit: $4.083 million for the next two yearsBuyout cap hit: $680,600 for the next four yearsThe have way too much money tied up in their depth forwards. Everyone knows this. But what’s less clear is which players they should try to punt — and how they should do the punting. Beagle’s buyout isn’t great, given there’s a little bit of buyout protection built-in for 2021-22 with a small signing bonus, but he’s also proven to be less useful than some of his contemporaries in Vancouver. Maybe they find a taker in trade in the next two weeks. But maybe not.Existing cap hit: $3 million for the next two yearsBuyout cap hit: $1.37 million next year, $2.37 million in 2021-22 and $566,667 for two additional seasonsBaertschi has been buried for most of the past year and his contract isn’t insignificant. The only question is if it’s better to leave him in the AHL or going this route, given the savings aren’t that different. And the fact that Vancouver’s cap crunch could be most significant in 2021-22.Existing cap hit: $3.37 million for one more yearBuyout cap hit: $1.77 million for next season and $800,000 for 2021-22This contract is probably indestructible, like some of the others we’ll get into below. The Canucks would save more by sending Eriksson to the minors than buying him out, at least for next season. Perhaps a buyout in the offseason of 2021 might make more sense, as the cap hit will be $4 million for the following year, saving them $2 million on the cap. Or why not a trade, if anyone will take him at half salary. They’ll even throw in Beagle.Existing cap hit: $6 million for the next two seasonsBuyout cap hit: $5.67 million next season, $3.67 million in 2021-22 and $666,667 for two years after thatIt’s hard to know what the will do with their considerable cap crunch this offseason given they’re still, you know, playing to win a Stanley Cup. Coburn’s contract isn’t cost-prohibitive, but it’s more than you can bury in the minors, so they might want to look at different ways to move it. He hasn’t played a lot and, at 35, isn’t getting any more spry. We folks in our late 30s all know what that’s like.Existing cap hit: $1.7 million for next seasonBuyout cap hit: $633,333 for next season and $533,333 for 2021-22This one feels like a no-brainer at first glance — although it’s really not. Alzner has played just 13 games for the over the past two seasons combined and he’s making $4.625 million on the cap for another two years. But he has some buyout protection in his deal in the form of a signing bonus that means the Habs will actually get more cap relief this year by putting him in the minors again (a $1.075 million deduction) rather than wiping out his contract entirely. So he probably stays in Laval and gets the payout to disappear in offseason 2021.Existing cap hit: $4.625 million for the next two seasonsBuyout cap hit: $3.958 million for next season, $1.96 million in 2021-22 and $833,333 in the two subsequent seasonsAgain, on the face of it, Ladd would seem to be the perfect candidate. But this is another deeply buyout-protected contract. And another team that really needs some cap space. Ladd has hardly played in the NHL of late, so burying him is going to be the better option, from a cap standpoint. Lou Lamoriello might have to try and find a way to disappear half of his salary to another team by including another asset in a deal. ( is in a similar situation, albeit with more NHL games played recently.) Lamoriello did a nice job with all the bad money the had when he was GM; he now has another tall task here this offseason.Existing cap hit: $5.5 million a season for the next three seasonsBuyout cap hit: $4.83 million for the next three years then $333,333 for three yearsHonourable mentions: , Los Angeles; , Vancouver; , Winnipeg(Top photo: Elsa/Getty Images)

Sep 22, 2020The buyouts are coming.The ’s buyout window opens on Friday, Sept. 25, and runs for two weeks until Oct. 8, the day before free agency begins. With a flat salary cap and a lot of teams feeling squeezed by the results of the pandemic – and the prospect of a fan-less season next year – this could be the league’s busiest buyout period yet.Not every team has a buyout candidate. But most do, with more than half of the league making our list below.Keep in mind that teams are not permitted to buy out injured players, so and others who spent a lot of time on LTIR are not listed here....

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James Mirtle

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Mirtle: Ranking the NHL’s top 22 buyout candidates

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