Buyout Period (Aug 2)

On Thursday, the Calgary Flames put forward Troy Brouwer on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying out the remainder of his contract, with the expectation that he will clear and the paperwork will be done on Friday. Brouwer had two years remaining on his current deal, which carried a cap hit of $4.5 million each year and now the Flames will save $3 million on the next two seasons and carry an extra cap hit of $1.5 million in years three and four.

Brouwer, 32, has been anything but a hockey pool worthy player for the Flames, only picking up 6 goals and 22 points in 76 games for the team last season, not exactly producing at what his cap hit suggested he should be doing.

The extra cap space will go a long ways into finishing the RFA deal that is awaiting recently acquired defenseman Noah Hanifin, who has yet to ink a new deal with his new team.  With Brouwer out and Spencer Foo moving back into the projected lineup, I am showing the Flames with $4.6 million left in cap space.

Buyout Period (Jun 30)

The last day for the first buyout period of the summer is technically today, where teams can put players on waivers to buy them out on July 1st, making them a free agent and two teams took advantage of that on Saturday. The Minnesota Wild placed forward Tyler Ennis on waivers for the purpose of a buyout, out to remove the last year of his deal from the books.  The 28-year old was due $4.6 million in the 2019 season, but the buyout will save the Wild over $2.4 million this season.

Ennis only had 8 goals and 22 points in 72 games for the Wild last year, far from where his expectations would have been at the start of the season.  He'll try and find himself a new home, starting tomorrow.

As expected by many this morning, the Montreal Canadiens have indeed bought out newly-acquired goaltender Steve Mason, relieving themselves of the full hit of his final year of his current contract, worth $4.1 million.  The Canadiens acquired forward Joel Armia for the added cost of the buyout of Mason, which isn't a terrible add to do so, especially since the Canadiens are rocking a lot of cap space, heading into this silly season.  Mason's buyout will cost the Canadiens under $1.4 million for both seasons, not a terrible load on their overall spending.

Mason was ranked 59th among all goalies in hockey pool points, registering 13 points in 13 appearances for the Jets, eventually losing out the number one job to Connor Hellebuyck.

Buyout Period (Jun 27)

The shake-up in Ottawa continued this week, as Tuesday, the Senators placed forward Alex Burrows on waivers for the purpose of buying him out and on Wednesday morning, he had cleared, paving the way to get the job done.  The buyout will mean that he'll count as $833,333 against the cap over the next two season, instead of the $2.5 million he would have counted on their roster this season.

The 37-year old only had 14 points in 71 games for the Senators in the 2018 season, which had him well out of the hockey pool conversation.  One would begin to wonder if that's it for him and his NHL career now.

Another missed over the last couple of days, the Detroit Red Wings bought out defenseman Xavier Ouellet on the weekend, terminating the last year of his deal, which was going to carry a cap hit of $1.25 million.  The buyout will only cost the Wings about $217,000 over the next couple of seasons, making for some very good savings there.

In 2018, the 24-year old appeared in only 45 games and registered only 7 assists.

Buyout Period (Jun 23)

Okay, so the Colorado Avalanche are not going to keep Brooks Orpik around to be a mentor to the young defensemen on the team, as the team has placed the veteran rearguard on waivers on Saturday for the purpose of buying out his contract.  Orpik had one year left on his current deal, which was going to carry a cap hit of $5.5 million, but the Avalanche will absorb a $2.5 million cap hit this season and a $1.5 million hit in the 2020 season, while opening up a roster spot.

The Avalanche have a lot of cap space still to use, before they even make it to the cap floor, as I'm showing $6.1 million to go and they have a 22-man projected roster at the moment.  I'm sure they will fill a good deal of that with Philipp Grubauer's upcoming deal, but it likely won't be quite enough to do the trick.

Buyout Period (Jun 22)

A couple of quick notes, more relating to team's salary cap numbers than anything else, but the buyouts are coming and Edmonton struck first, as defenseman Eric Gryba cleared unconditional waivers on Friday, paving the way for his buyout. Once the final paperwork is done, he will count $300,000 against the cap over the next two seasons, instead of the $900,000 he would have cost for the coming season.

Gryba hasn't really been a hockey pool player in his career and last season was a good indication of that, finishing the 2018 season with 2 points in 21 games with the Oilers. 

The San Jose Sharks, also in need of some cap space, if they are going to be in on John Tavares here in July, they placed defenseman Paul Martin on waivers on Friday for the purpose of buying out the last year of his deal, which is worth $4.85 million against the cap.  Buying out the contract will save the Sharks a bit over $2.8 million this season and I currently have a 20-man projected roster for the Sharks coming in with $17.9 million in cap space, but they'll still need a couple of forwards and a defenseman to fill out that 23-man roster.

In 14 games last season, the 37-year old only had 2 assists, not providing nearly the bang for the buck that anyone would have preferred.

Buyout Period (Jun 30)

The last day to put players on waivers for the purposes of a buyout saw a good number of players dropped, so we'll quickly go through the list, which starts in Boston, where the Bruins placed Jimmy Hayes on the wire to start proceedings.

Hayes, a $2.3 million cap hit for the 2018 season, only had 2 goals and 5 points in 58 games for the Bruins and those numbers didn't jive.  Hayes was hovering around as a possible hockey pool possibility, but he never really panned out.  His buyout cap hit will be under $600,000 this year and $866,667 next season.

The Flames remained significantly active, adding two players to this list on Friday, as forward Lance Bouma and newly-acquired defenseman Ryan Murphy were both let go for buyouts.

Bouma, much like Hayes, was not giving the team value for their cap hit, scoring 3 goals and 7 points in 61 games for $2.2 million next season.  His cap hit for the buyout will be $666,667 this season and $766,667 the next season.

Murphy was obviously not in the plans for the Flames, nor was he in the plans for the Hurricanes and taking on the buyout was certainly a part of getting Eddie Lack on the cheap last night.  Murphy will cost the Flames $100,000 this year and $137,500 next.

The Florida Panthers joined in on the fun by giving Jussi Jokinen his walking papers on Friday.

The 34-year old Finn was scheduled to make $4 million in the coming season, but with only 11 goals and 28 points in 69 games last season and no signs of recovery, the Panthers opted for the cap space instead.  The cap hit on Jokinen for the next two seasons will be $1.333 million, which bumps up their available cap space for the start of free agency to $15.2 million.

The New Jersey Devils were the only other team to turf two contracts on the final day of the buyouts, as they decided against moving forward with forwards Mike Cammalleri and Devante Smith-Pelly.

Cammalleri is the only one of the bunch today that had any pool value to his name, having 10 goals and 31 points in 61 points, good enough for 190th among all forwards in scoring, but with two years at $5 million per, the Devils appear to want to start fresh with their franchise and this is a good chunk of change to let go of.  The Devils will be on the hook for four years with this buyout at a rate of $1.667 million per year.

Smith-Pelly hasn't panned out as an offensive threat in the NHL yet in his career and that has now cost the 25-year old his last year of a deal that carried a cap hit of $1.3 million.  Last season, he scored 4 goals and 9 points in 53 games and he'll be out looking for a new deal this summer.

The Devils now sit below the cap floor with a projected 20-man roster, but are in the rumour mill as one of the teams bidding on Kevin Shattenkirk's services, which should sort that problem out quickly.

Finally, in Winnipeg, veteran defenseman Mark Stuart was made expendable by the emergence of both Josh Morrissey and Ben Chiarot as regulars, and since he wasn't scooped up by Vegas at the expansion draft, the Jets were left with the buyout option, ahead of free agency.

Stuart carried a cap hit of $2.625 million on the last year of his deal, which will turn into cap hits of $1.458 million this year and then $583,333 in the 2019 season.

The shutdown defender should be able to find some work this summer, just at a discounted rate.

Buyout Period (Jun 29)

The Columbus Blue Jackets must have been humming and hawing about this decision, but on Thursday, they finally pulled the trigger and played the buyout card on forward Scott Hartnell. Since Hartnell had a no-move clause on his deal, he did not require waivers for the buyout, so the deed is done.

In the 2017 season, the 35-year old finished the year with 13 goals and 37 points in 78 games, good enough to be pool worthy at 155th among all forwards in scoring.  Sadly for him, that wasn't worth $4.75 million against the cap and the quickest way out was the buyout.

According to CapFriendly, the buyout cap hit will then be $1.5 million this year, $3 million next year and then $1.25 million for the remaining two seasons.  With the addition of Hartnell's buyout, the Jackets now have over $4 million in buyout cap hits this season, but still have $11.9 million in cap space with a 22-man projected roster.

The Edmonton Oilers had to go the waiver route on Thursday, placing forward Benoit Pouliot on the wire for the purposes of the buyout process.

Unlike Hartnell, Pouliot was not pool worthy in the 2017 season, having only 8 goals and 14 points in 67 games, only good enough for 307th among all forwards.  He was scheduled to be a $4 million cap hit in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, if it wasn't for this buyout process.

Again, we head back to CapFriendly to see that his buyout will be an even one across the board, as the cap hit for the four years will be $1.333 million.  The 30-year old will join the ranks of the unrestricted free agent market on Saturday, where he will probably get some calls, but for a much more discounted annual rate.

The Oilers are starting free agency with all kinds of room underneath the cap ceiling, as their current 22-man projected roster is still over $1 million below the cap floor.  Of course, they still have to deal with Leon Draisaitl and that will take up a huge chunk of change.

Buyout Period (Jun 26)

The Dallas Stars were out to solve the goaltending issues on Monday, placing Antti Niemi on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout, as they were likely unable to facilitate a trade for Niemi to move him out of town for something in return.

Niemi had one year remaining on his current deal at $4.5 million, but with the acquisition of Ben Bishop in the off-season, he became the third goalie on the depth chart and at that kind of cap hit, it wasn't going to last, clearly.

As per CapFriendly, Niemi's buyout will last for the next two seasons on the salary cap, at a hit of $1.5 million per season, which isn't too bad, considering what he'd be worth in the minors, assuming he'd make it down there.

The 33-year old Finn will now be an unrestricted free agent, who posted 12 wins and 24 points in 37 appearances for the Stars, but I wouldn't hold Niemi completely accountable for his poor numbers, as the Stars had no defense in front of him and I think he would be a very cost-efficient keeper on most teams with a reasonable defense corps.  I would pay close attention to where he lands, as he is a pool worthy goalie.

Buyout Period (Jun 16)

The Anaheim Ducks have reportedly put defenseman Simon Despres on waivers for the purposes of buying him out on Friday and with four years left on his current deal, this is going to be a sizable buyout, in terms of length (eight years).  The cap hit on Despres' deal is $3.7 million and that will be reduced to $1.262 million for the coming season and it will fluctuate for the first four years and will be a steady $662,500 for the remaining four years.

Despres, 25, will become an unrestricted free agent, upon the buyout.  Despres missed all but one game in the 2017 season, due to a concussion, and must have been cleared medically for the team to proceed with this buyout.

The former 1st round pick in 2009 has been known to have some offensive upside, so he could be a name to watch for the 2018 season, depending if he lands on another team, which will more than likely be at a discounted rate.

Buyout Period (Jun 15)

The first day of the buyout period, technically, got started with a bit of a bang, as the Colorado Avalanche announced that they would be buying out the final year of Francois Beauchemin's contract, which was set to have a cap hit of $4.5 million.

Because of having a no-movement clause on the deal, the 37-year old defenseman did not have to pass through waivers and therefore becomes an unrestricted free agent straight away.  Since the Avalanche signed him to a 35+ contract as well, they will have to suffer the full cap hit in the 2018 season, but they will pay him according to the regular buyout schedule.

Beauchemin was still a pool worthy defenseman in the 2017 season, ranking 92nd among all blueliners with 5 goals and 18 points in 81 games.  He'd be considered a very late pick, but he was still better than a lot of other players out there.

There is also the suggestion out there, that buying out Beauchemin will also take away a mandatory protection spot for the Avalanche, which would likely switch the focus from 4F/4D/1G to the 7F/3D/1G scenario.

To a lesser amount of fanfare, the Los Angeles Kings activated defenseman Matt Greene from the Injured Reserve on Wednesday and informed him that he will be among those being bought out in this window, buying out the last year of his current 4-year deal, which will cost the Kings $833,333 over the next two seasons, as his cap hit was $2.5 million.

Greene hasn't ever been a pool worthy player, last season only playing 26 games due to injury, scoring 1 goal and picking up 2 points.

The Kings are in dire need of a real makeover and the blueline is where they will need to put a lot of their focus, when they gussy up this pig of a lineup.  The buyout of Greene should help that quite a bit.

Buyout Period (Jun 14)

The New York Rangers announced on Wednesday afternoon, that when the buyout period officially opens on Thursday, the paperwork will be filed for defenseman Dan Girardi, making him a free agent for this current off-season.

Girardi, considered to be fringe defenseman, by pool standards in 2017, still had three years left on his current deal, which carried a cap hit of $5.5 million.  According to CapFriendly, the Rangers cap hit for the first year of his buyout will be $2.61 million and will last for five more seasons after that.

In the 2017 campaign, Girardi played in 63 games, scored 4 goals and 15 points, ranking him 115th among all defensemen.  It wasn't a strong year for him, but the 33-year old should still have some good years left and maybe one or two pool seasons left in him.

Buyout Period (Aug 2)

The Arizona Coyotes opted to buyout centre Antoine Vermette, a year after returning to the team from his championship turn with the Chicago Blackhawks. The buyout, made official on Tuesday, will take care of the last year of his deal, which was for $3.75 million.  The cap hit for the two years will be $1.25 million, saving the team a cool $2.5 million this season against the cap.

Vermette, 34, was a solid contributor for the Coyotes last season, finishing with 17 goals and 38 points in 76 games, ranking 148th among all forwards and was right in the middle of the pack, when it comes to the hockey pool worthiness.  He now becomes an unrestricted free agent and teams will be able to get him at a better rate, which should make him more attractive on the market.  I don't think it will be long before we see his name on the blog again.

Buyout Period (Jun 30)

With the signings yesterday, the other shoe was likely to drop and a buyout was likely to take place to help the cap situation for the Blue Jackets and indeed it happened, as Fedor Tyutin was indeed bought out of the last two years of his contract.  Tyutin had a no-movement clause, so he didn't need to spend any time on the waiver wire and the buyout was complete right away.

The buyout will last for four years against the cap, as his $4.5 million cap hit will be taken down to about $1.2 million, saving $3.3 million this season and about $2.4 million next season.  The cap hit in the final two years will be $1.458 million and then they will be clear of him.  Details here.

Last season, Tyutin had 1 goal and 3 points in 61 games for the Blue Jackets, making him into an easy option for the buyout.

There were a total of six players placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of the buyout and one of the headliners in that group was Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who had two years left on his deal, each carrying a cap hit of $4 million.  With this buyout, the Bruins will have his hit on the books for the next four seasons, will save a bit more than $2.8 million this season and $1.8 million next season, while a $1.2 million cap hit will weigh in for years three and four.

In the 2016 season, the 34-year old German only scored 1 goal and 12 points in 61 games with the Bruins, but should still have a good year or two left in him.  He should be an attractive pick-up this Summer.

A player taken in last season's draft, but didn't have a particularly good season, was Tampa Bay's Matt Carle, as the 31-year old defenseman only picked up 2 goals and 9 points in 64 games.  The last two years of his deal will be bought out on Friday, as he was one of the six placed on waivers on Thursday morning.  He has two years left on his deal and a cap hit of $5.5 million each.  The cap hit for all four years of his buyout comes in at $1.83 million, which means there is some significant savings in those first two seasons.

With the pending contract for Steven Stamkos on the horizon, the Lightning gain a little bit more flexibility to tinker with their lineup with this buyout.

Another notable defenseman was on waivers today, as Barret Jackman was notified of his impending buyout on Friday from the Nashville Predators.  His deal only had one year left on it and it carried a $2 million cap hit.  The cap hit for the two years of the buyout will only be $666,667, so there isn't a great deal of savings, but it does open up another roster spot for some of the Predators youth or a new free agent.

Jackman, not necessarily known for his offense, didn't really have any in 2016, scoring 1 goal and 5 points in 73 games.  He would be a steady add for some team that could use his physical, veteran presence.

The last major buyout of the period came in the afternoon on Thursday, as the Carolina Hurricanes officially bought out defenseman James Wisniewski, who had one year left on his deal at $5.5 million against the cap. A knee injury ended his season before the first game was even over, so he really didn't get to show off his wares at all in 2016. His knee injury must have been sufficiently healed, as the Hurricanes would not have been able to buy him out otherwise.

The Hurricanes will only save about $2 million this season and will carry a cap hit of $1 million next season.  His details are right here.  The Hurricanes are still $9.43 million away from the cap floor, heading into free agency tomorrow, so they will definitely be spenders, one would assume.

Buyout Period (Jun 29)

With only a couple more days for buyouts, the Calgary Flames announced that they were joining in by placing Mason Raymond on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying him out. Cap savings on this move will be $2.1 million, but will carry a cap hit of $1.05 million, both this year and next.  His buyout deals are here, posted on CapFriendly.

Raymond only played in 29 games for the Flames in 2016, spending the rest of the season down in the minors or was a healthy scratch, so the big cap hit wasn't feasible for that kind of player, who wasn't in the long-term plans.

The Nashville Predators were also looking ahead, placing forward Eric Nystrom on the same unconditional waivers, as they are in a cap-saving mode as well.  Nystrom was scheduled to be a $2.5 million cap hit for the 2016 season, but his buyout tomorrow will mean that the team saves $2 million this season, while being a $500,000 cap hit this year and a $1 million cap hit next season.  All of his details are here.

In 46 games last season, the 33-year old forward scored 7 goals and no assists.

Buyout Period (Jun 27)

On Monday, the Vancouver Canucks announced that they have placed forward Chris Higgins on waivers for the purpose of buying out the remaining year of his contract.  As per the CapFriendly buyout calculator, the Canucks stand to save $1.67 million from this buyout this year with the move, which should be completed on Tuesday.

Higgins wasn't pool worthy last season, spending a good deal of the season in the minors, but he will become an unrestricted free agent and if he does find a new home, he could be certainly considered a fringe player, assuming he can find a place that can give him regular minutes.  In 2015, he had 36 points and in 2014, he had 39 points, but the 33-year old has struggled for consistency.

Buyout Period (Jun 24)

Prior to the opening round of the entry draft, it was reported that the Minnesota Wild informed forward Thomas Vanek of his impending buyout, removing his remaining year on his current contract from the active roster.  With Vanek owning a no-movement clause in his contract, he can avoid the waiver process and go directly to unrestricted free agency.  Just hours before the draft commenced, the buyout occurred and you can add Vanek to the list of available free agents.

The move makes for some considerable savings for Minnesota's cap budget, in the neighbourhood of $5 million for the coming season, as the team's hit for the buyout in 2017 would be $1.5 million, against his $6.5 million cap hit he would have, if he stayed with the club.

Vanek still has some hockey pool value to him, as he finished 126th in forwards scoring last season, picking up 18 goals and 41 points in 74 games with the Wild, but he might not have the same value he once had.  Be sure to consider your options carefully here.

Buyout Period (Jun 17)

On Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers confirmed that they have bought out R.J. Umberger, which was a decision that didn't need waivers, as Umberger had a no-movement clause in his contract, which allowed him to skip the wire altogether.

The 2016 season for the 34-year old was mired in the press box as a healthy scratch (with a dash of injury), as he only played in 39 games in total, scoring 2 goals and 11 points and was not relevant to the pool at all.  It would seem like a long shot that he would have much relevance in the pool again, if he was to even find a job in the NHL again.

The Flyers are set to save $3 million in cap space with this move, as the buyout cap hit will only work out to be $1.6 million from his $4.6 million cap hit, if he was to remain on the roster.  Simple math, right?

Buyout Period (Jun 16)

On Wednesday, the buyout period opened up and will run until the end of the month and teams will be able to clean up some of their poor contracts up for a cost, of course.  The Maple Leafs were quick on the draw, placing defenseman Jared Cowen (and his $3.1 million cap hit) on waivers yesterday, solely for the purpose of buying him out today.  With the way the math works out, Cowen will be a credit this season, but a minor hit in the 2018 season.

Cowen had a lot of upside when he came into the league with Ottawa, but his potential wasn't realized and a big contract made him a difficult player to have around on a daily basis.  It will be interesting to see if he can land a job elsewhere and possibly become a fringe defenseman for us poolies.

Buyout Period (July 1)

It was confirmed, just prior to the 5pm ET deadline, that the Detroit Red Wings exercised their right to waive Stephen Weiss for the purpose of buying him out, just prior to the open markets opening up.

Last season, Weiss played in 52 games, scored 9 goals and 25 points, ranking 233rd among all forwards in scoring.  His $4.9 million cap hit was certainly not justified with those numbers and with three years remaining at that large hit, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Wings wanted to do away with it.

According to the buyout calculator, his cap hit for the buyout in 2016 will be under $1.1 million, a substantial savings.  His buyout will run out after the 2021 season is over.

Buyout Period (June 30)

Today was the last day to put players on unconditional waivers for the process of being bought out and the Carolina Hurricanes dropped a big bomb on their roster, putting forward Alex Semin on it.  Semin was exceptionally poor in 2015, scoring only 6 goals and 19 points in 57 games with the Hurricanes, while carrying a cap hit of $7 million for the year.  It's no wonder his contract is being bought out.

The math on this buyout appears to be very easy, as the Hurricanes will have $2.333 million on their budget for the next six seasons, as he had three years left on his deal.  That is a pretty solid cap savings thought, $4.667 million for the first few years of this buyout.

It really was no wonder that the Washington Capitals were never comfortable signing him to anything longer than one year.

Maybe in somewhat of a surprising move, the Florida Panthers added forward Brad Boyes to the list of players to be bought out, as he was still pool worthy last season, picking up 14 goals and 38 points in 78 games with the Cats last season, ranking 137th among forwards.  He could be a sought after player, when free agency hits tomorrow, as he can put the puck in the net.

Buying out Boyes will cost the Panthers under $1 million for each season, this season and next, according to the calculator.