NHL Insider reveals the 10 most likely players to be bought out
The salary cap is an issue for any team, just ask the Minnesota Wild and infamous general manager, Chuck Fletcher responsible for hamstringing Bill Guerin currently.
So, it's buy-out season, and there are ten players who will present some solutions for these teams if they get bought out.
The Edmonton Oilers, had a good showing against the Colorado Avalanche, but they're going to need real help in goal-tending and defensive areas, so allocating the cap after buying out Zack Kassian, would be smart as a 6 goal scorer, 4th liner would save $2.5 million if bought out in July, spreading the $3.2 million hit over 3 seasons would be smart.
Here's what it would look like:
Also on the buy-out tree is former Stanley Cup Champion, Matt Murray who could save the Senators $5 million for a goalie that is lower-ranked in save percentage this year.
In buy-outs who will hurt, there is Marc-Eduardo Vlasic, who currently has a $7 million dollar cap hit, which will ultimately hurt the San Jose Sharks' long-term prospects, he will be on the books until he's 39 unless something is done.
Marco Scandella, Jason Dickinson, and Philippe Myers are not unique in this scenario either. Scandella is a third-pairing defenseman, who is currently on the books for 2 more seasons at an AAV of $3.275 million, of which Doug Armstrong could save $2.7 million by sending him on his way alone.
Dickinson is not aligned with the Canucks goals, as Rutherford seems to be tearing everything down to the studs and as someone who netted 11 points this season, his contract would save money for more assets in the future:
Buyout Cap Charges: $942k (2022-23), $391k (2023-24), $992k (2024-25), $992k (2025-26)
Tyler Johnson, Patrik Nemeth, Jason Zucker, and Nick Foligno are the last of the top ten candidates for the 2022 buy-out season. The buy-out cap charges will cost between $1 million to $2.7 million for each other these players to be bought out. Nemeth's season certainly doesn't lend well to his continued rostering, and Nick Foligno's season ended early unfortunately due to injury.
If I were a GM, 2 players who I'd buy out would be Andrew Ladd of the Arizona Coyotes, who spent some time in Bridgeport recently, not currently where he used to be. The cost would be $666,667 and that would free up space to move more contracts in Arizona and take on more assets for the current rebuild.
Lastly, I'd buy out Petr Mrazek, who was successful in Carolina, hasn't panned out in Toronto, even after returning from waivers. His buyout cost would be: $2,933,333 and given he has a 10 team NTC, this would also save time on having to trade him too, ultimately giving Kyle Dubas a chance at finding a better goalie tandem.
| POLL | ||
How many of the top 10 players will be bought out? | ||
| 0 | 19 | 10.8 % |
| 1-3 | 67 | 38.1 % |
| 4-6 | 61 | 34.7 % |
| 7-10 | 29 | 16.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
