As the current Coronavirus crisis wears on, it seems more and more likely that the NHL will not be able to complete the full remaining regular season schedule and talk of an expanded playoff field might indicate that there will be no return to the regular season at all. That lost revenue is expected to impact the 2020-21 salary cap, likely keeping the current $81.5MM upper limit in place. Given that teams expected an increase, initially projected to be between $84-88.2MM, this stagnation could have a harsh impact on a number of clubs’ cap situations. As such, many expect that compliance buyouts will return in some form or fashion to ease that pain. These buyouts, which do not count against the salary cap, would allow for teams to open up space that they otherwise expected from a cap increase.
After taking a look at teams 1-10, then 11-20, here is a breakdown of the names that the final 11 clubs could use a compliance buyout on, if they opt to use one at all:
Ottawa Senators: Bobby Ryan
While the oncoming cap crunch caused by COVID-19 will not impact the Senators, who have sat at or near the bottom of the league’s salary ranks in recent years, owner Eugene Melnyk is not one to miss out on an opportunity to save money. In the case of Ryan, that would mean casting off a player who has overcome the adversity of addiction to resume his career, but don’t expect that to stop the Senators from moving on. Ryan’s remaining two years and $15MM in actual salary represents a large chunk of what Ottawa owes its current roster. Ryan has not played at a level becoming of a $7.25MM player at any point over the course of his time with the Senators, but especially over the past four years in which he has failed to crack 50 points in any season. At 33 years old, Ryan’s best days are behind him and Ottawa won’t hesitate to but him out and face the potential public relations backlash.
Philadelphia Flyers: Shayne Gostisbehere
The Flyers are right up against the salary cap and will have to create some space if the upper limit does not move this off-season as had been expected. The team has been trying to trade Gostisbehere in the midst of a down year, but to no avail. It may seem counter-intuitive for a contender to give away a 27-year-old regular defenseman for free via buyout, but Gostisbehere is trending in the wrong direction and has three years at $4.5MM AAV remaining on his deal. If Philly cannot find a trade, which obviously would be the more ideal solution, they may not have a better alternative to clear space without buying out a more impactful player. Some may point to last summer’s Kevin Hayes mega-contract as a worse deal to consider moving, but it seems highly unlikely that the team would move on from Hayes this soon after signing him, especially since his production this season has been on par with his career numbers.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Jack Johnson
It was pretty obvious right from the start that Johnson was not going to be a value player for the Penguins. Many were skeptical of his 2018 signing right from the start and he has done little to prove those critics wrong. A minus player whose offensive ceiling now sits in the mid-teens, Johnson is 33 and his best days are well behind him. The Penguins are another team that needs as much cap space as they can create to keep their roster together. Can they really afford to pay Johnson $9.75MM against the cap over the next three years to be a bottom pair defenseman who is more often a liability than an asset? Pittsburgh has the depth on defense to make up for the loss and could desperately use the cap flexibility elsewhere.
San Jose Sharks: Martin Jones
Entering an off-season with a deep goalie market, which could grow even deeper with compliance buyouts, few teams would be happier to have a get-out-of-jail-free card than the Sharks. Goaltending, and their starter Jones in particular, has been at the heart of San Jose’s struggles over the past two years. Once seen as a safe bet to be a solid long-term starter, Jones has been unable to produce even passable numbers in the past couple of seasons. However, with four years and $23MM remaining on Jones’ deal – a $5.75MM AAV, it seemed hopeless for the team improve in net without either an expensive buyout, a painful trade, or a very overpriced backup. This scenario would be exactly what the team needed and there is little doubt that they would move on swiftly from Jones, re-focusing his cap space on improving the roster, most important of which would be finding his replacement(s).
St. Louis Blues: Alex Steen
Steen may be a respected veteran coming off of a championship season, but he is also one of the Blues’ few reasonable candidates for a buyout. St. Louis does not have many long-term contracts and has arguably no bad long-term contracts. Steen, 36, is also one of only three players over 31 signed through this season. Without many bad deals or regressing veterans to compete with, Steen’s final year at $5.75MM looks ugly, especially since his production has dropped off immensely in each of the past two seasons to just 17 points this year. Perhaps the only other buyout option for St. Louis would be backup goaltender Jake Allen if the determine that Steen’s experience and versatility is of greater value. However, Allen is younger and cheaper and coming off a bounce-back season in which he was one of the best backups in the NHL. Steen seems like the more reasonable selection.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Tyler Johnson
Tampa Bay was always going to have to blow up its core to accommodate its young players. However, a flat cap not only ensures that this time has come this off-season, it also makes the situation much worse. In order to sign a number of key restricted free agents, the Bolts must move out a considerable amount of salary this summer. Normally, players like Johnson, Yanni Gourde, and Ondrej Palat would have enough value to garner a nice trade return rather than needing a buyout. However, in an off-season where most teams could be up against the cap, acquiring a $5MM+ player will be easier said than done. Making it even harder is that all three hold No-Trade clauses and may not be willing to accept a deal to the types of team that can afford to acquire them. Of this trio, the Lightning are most likely to keep Palat; although he is the most expensive, he is also the most valuable. Gourde is slightly more expensive than Johnson’s $5MM AAV, but is also slightly younger and has largely outplayed Johnson over the past few years. Gourde is a more valuable asset than Johnson, which could mean he is easier to trade or it could mean that Tampa tries to find a way to keep him. Johnson seems like the odd man out. An undersized forward whose numbers fell off considerably this season to just 31 points and who is signed for four more years, Johnson is a trade risk, especially in a cap-strapped market. The odds are that some team would find a way to take him via trade – if he agrees – but if the Lightning get desperate they may have to buy him out. He’s their most reasonable candidate if it comes to that.
Toronto Maple Leafs: None
The Toronto Maple Leafs really don’t have any need for a compliance buyout at this point in time. The team is very young, many players have been extended recently, and arguably none have fallen so short of expectations that they warrant a buyout. Unless the Leafs trade for a bad contract simply to use their compliance buyout, it would be a surprise to see the club get in on the action this off-season.
Vancouver Canucks: Loui Eriksson
The Canucks have wanted to get rid of Eriksson for some time and with a compliance buyout they would be free to do so. The veteran forward has been one of Vancouver’s highest paid players since he joined the club in 2016, yet he has never recorded more than 30 points in a year through four seasons with the Canucks. At odds with coaches and severely underperforming relative to his $6MM AAV, Eriksson has worn out his welcome in Vancouver. However, he still has two years remaining on his contract. The team would be quick to erase that from the books. This buyout is a no-brainer; what is more interesting is whether Eriksson can return to his status as a valuable two-way forward with another team.
Vegas Golden Knights: None
Like the Maple Leafs, the Golden Knights simply don’t have any obvious candidate for a buyout. They have done well with their long-term contracts and have a roster constructed of players who they want in the lineup, including several who they have recently re-signed. That includes Nick Holden, who may be the only player who could have been considered an odd man out but recently took a pay cut to re-sign for two more years with Vegas. No one else jumps out as a player that the club would entertain giving up for free.
Washington Capitals: Nick Jensen
As good as the Capitals are and have been, this one is a toss-up because there are a number of players who could go. T.J. Oshie was brought in to win a Stanley Cup and has accomplished that task. He is still producing at a high level, but could the team cut ties with the 33-year-old while they have the chance rather than face the remaining five years and $28.75MM left on his contract? Lars Eller and Carl Hagelin, both on the wrong side of 30 and both signed for three more years, are in a similar boat. Their scoring is fine relative to their cap hit, but will it continue to be through the length of their contracts? Depending on how much room the Capitals may need to clear, any of these three could be a candidate for a buyout. However, Washington can impact their performance and their locker room far less by opting for Jensen instead. In his first full season with the team, Jensen has not been bad, but he has drawn his fair share of criticism. Jensen’s offense, though not typically a hallmark of his game, has been non-existent and he has been prone to turnovers and blown assignments. If the Capitals need to use a compliance buyout, they can likely find a better use for $7.5MM over the next three years.
Winnipeg Jets: Mathieu Perreault
The Jets have great depth at forward an nearly everyone carries the weight of their contracts. Perreault is an exception. The 32-year-old’s point totals have fallen in each of the past three seasons to just 15 points in 49 games this year. At a cap hit of $4.125, Perreault is not doing enough. He’s not the answer at second-line center and he’s overpaid to play in the bottom-six. There’s no place for Perreault and the team would likely be willing to move on a year early. While Bryan Little has also shown signs of slowing down and his signed for far longer and for more than Perreault, his lack of impact in 2019-20 is tied to injury. Even if injury issues persist, Little’s cap hit does not cause a problem when he is not active, so Perreault still makes more sense a buyout candidate.
DarkSide830
no way they buy out Ghost. id never forgive them and its just not a good idea.
ericl
If the Flyers want to move on from Ghost, they should be able to find a trading partner. He is still young enough that a team would think a chance of scenery would do him good. The question then becomes what do the Flyers want in return. The get will likely be less than what the Flyers could’ve expected a year ago
Afk711
Martin Jones will not be bought out. If that actually happens Doug Wilson should be fired, although that should have already happened.
ericl
Jones has been brutal the past two seasons. That poor play & his contract make him almost untradeable. The Sharks need an upgrade in goal, but don’t have the cap space to do it. Buying out Jones makes sense in this view. Also, he is far more likely to be bought out than any of the other big contracts the Sharks have. They aren’t buying out Meier, Couture, Burns, Karlsson or Kane. The only other candidate is Vlasic & I think the Sharks value Vlasic more than they do Jones. So, if the Sharks buy a player out, Jones makes the most sense
bigdaddyt
Ottawa literally can’t afford to buy out Ryan. Although if they did have an owner who was willing to spend some money then they could buy him out and acquire other teams expensive players to get back to the cap floor and beyond they might get some picks and prospects along with couple decent players (like Tyler Johnson)
Elite-Finnish
This is a real rare opportunity for teams to get rid of players with basically no penalties, so I’m thinking every team will for sure be buying out someone. The Leafs are right at the cap and will have to move someone, I’m thinking Muzzin is the type of guy they’re going to have to get rid of. Half of their top 6 defense is RFA/UFA. Ceci/Barrie are both UFA, Dermott is RFA. I think dropping Muzzin and trying to resign Barrie would be their best bet, plus picking up a defender or two on the open market. Muzzin on a 5.625 million dollar deal for the next four seasons and that doesn’t make sense to keep, especially when he’s 31 and had injury issues this year.
SuperSinker
Seriously.. Muzzin signed his new deal like 2 months ago.. think again.
jdgoat
Muzzling is so much better and reliable than Barrie. They’d be better off going with rookies or waiver fodder than locking Barrie or Ceci up long term if it meant losing Muzzin.
bigdaddyt
If the leafs resign ceci even at league min Im gonna lose it. Might as well resign the pylon himself 2x the player ceci is
Elite-Finnish
Best case scenario: He gets injured in a few seasons and they can move him to IR.
Worst case: He has to get bought out and the team bites the bullet on his contract.
He’s a 31 year old defensemen under contract for 4 more seasons. It was a stupid deal to begin with. I don’t get why you’d keep someone who’s been only a decent pairing defensemen, but next season will be making more money than any defender on the roster.
Anderson is declining hard. Defense has been sloppy.
Fortarnold
Mentioning Kevin Hayes is silly.
ericl
I agree. The Flyers will buy out JVR before they buy out Hayes
brucebochyisthemarlboroman
Regardless they need to find the space to keep Niskanen with Provy. They’ve become an incredible D pairing.
bigdaddyt
2nd this. Even though Hayes hasn’t had the best numbers this year he is a major piece to that team. He brings a bunch to the table other than just his offence abilities. JVR on the other hand brings nothing to the table if he isn’t scoring like he did in leaf land
Fortarnold
This is so true and the reason I made this comment. If the author watched the majority of Flyers games this year, he would see Hayes has brought so much to the table with his all around game. I was very worried about this contract and will probably not be thrilled with it towards the end but he has been worth every penny to this point. He is a big part of this teams turnaround.
manos
Johnson, Gostisbehere and Jensen are not getting bought out. All three are tradeable. Kesler, Backes, Lucic, Neal, Zack Smith, Nielsen, Dubinsky, Parise, Schneider, Marc Staal and Brendan Smith are all fat better and far more likely buyout candidates.
Hannibal8us
You must have missed when they went over the other teams awhile back.
ericl
Johnson doesn’t have much trade value at this point. He has 11 points this season & that isn’t much production for a player with a $3.25 million cap hit for the next 3 seasons. A team can get that production from a younger player in their organization or a cheap free agent. Jensen doesn’t provide much for his $2.5 million cap hit, but he could be saved by the fact that he is a right handed defenseman. Aside from Jensen, the Caps have 2 right handed defenseman, Carlson & Siegenthaler, signed for next season & that includes the minors.
bigdaddyt
Here’s a crazy thought Tampa keeps Johnson and TRADES a couple of the other players mentioned in the article. There will be teams very interested in guys like Palat and Gourde even if they’re pricy not every team will be right up against the cap if it’s a frozen cap
ericl
Palat & Gourde have full no-trade clauses, as does Johnson. You can’t just move them to a team with cap space. They would have to agree to a move & doing so really doesn’t benefit any of those three because Florida has no state income tax & they’d be losing money by agreeing to a trade. This is why a buyout is more likely
jdgoat
Zaitsev should be the guy to go if Ottawa buys out a player. They are already beginning to have a log jam of sorts on the blue line and while hes not terrible, he’s just not the type of player to have locked up for so long.
BoltforLife
Why on gods earth do you think Gourde has outplayed Johnson. Gourde plays every shift hard but he cant put the puck in the ocean if he’s standing on the beach! He had one good season and was massively overpaid for it. 6 mil a year for a grinder??? Gourde gets bought out and Tampa trades 1 of Jonny/Pally/Killer. Probably not Pally since the organization worships the ice he skates on. (When he’s not hurt).
ericl
Trading Johnson, Palat or Killorn isn’t east because of their full no trade clauses. Teams that they would waive their clauses to go to won’t have the cap space to take on their contracts. They aren’t waiving them to go to a bottom feeder. Also, Florida has no state income tax and that means the players get to keep more of their contracts than in other cities. That gives the players little incentive to approve a trade to a situation they don’t want to go to