Los Angeles Kings Buyout Dion Phaneuf’s Contract

The Los Angeles Kings have opened up some cap space for next season by buying out the remaining two years on defenseman Dion Phaneuf’s contract.

The Los Angeles Kings have taken advantage of the buyout window that opened today. Their general manager Rob Blake has decided to terminate the last two years on veteran defenseman Dion Phaneuf’s contract.

Dion Phaneuf was acquired by the Kings with Nate Thompson in February of 2018 from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore. It was a creative way for two teams to swap onerous contracts in hopes that it could work out better elsewhere for Phaneuf or Gaborik.

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It has not worked out very well for either side, as is highlighted by today’s transaction. Phaneuf has played 93 games with the Kings, scoring four goals and 16 points in parts of two seasons. Gaborik has had worse luck since the deal, having played just 16 games since arriving in Ottawa.

This signals a significant fall from grace for the St. Albert, Alberta native. Phaneuf stormed onto the scene in 2005-06 with a tremendous rookie campaign. He scored 20 goals and 49 points and dominated physically with his 6’4″ frame. Phaneuf got 16 second place votes for the Calder Trophy that season, meaning more than a dozen voters ranked him ahead of superstar Sidney Crosby.

However, he would never reach the 20 goal plateau again in his career, but set a career high with 60 points in 2007-08. After a trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he was nearly immediately named captain, Phaneuf signed a seven-year contract with a cap hit of $7 million per season.

The deal was signed on New Year’s Eve in 2013. Before the second season of the new contract was up, Phaneuf was dealt to the Senators in what could only be described as a cap dump. The Leafs picked up Colin Greening, Jared Cowen, and Milan Michalek who all had heavy contracts with less term than Phaneuf.

When he was dealt to the Kings, Ottawa retained $1.75 million on Phaneuf’s contract. This buyout actually saves both teams some cap space next season. The Kings will be tagged with about a $2.2 million cap hit for the upcoming season, instead of Phaneuf’s $5.25 million that was owed to him.

That gives them about $3 million more to work with this summer as they try to reload and build another Stanley Cup contender. They now have close to $15 million in cap space and could make a huge splash via free agency or trade if they choose to do so.