NHL Free Agency: Top 5 buyout candidates

Could there be some buyouts ahead of NHL free agency, which starts in October? Here are five possible candidates.

NHL free agency is almost here. It’ll start roughly three months later than everyone expected. Usually, free agency starts in July. But thanks to these troubling, chaotic times, free agency will begin on Oct. 9 at 12:00 noon EST.

Teams usually get a buyout window that lasts about two weeks. Surprisingly, they’ll get the same amount of time this year, as the 2020 buyout window starts on Sept. 25 and ends on Oct. 8. That’s just under two weeks (13 days to be precise).

Players who are bought out will become unrestricted free agents. It’ll be interesting to see if there will be more or fewer buyouts this season than in past seasons. On one hand, a lot of teams are losing money. It’s going to be hard for owners to justify paying players not to play. But on the other hand, maybe the flat salary cap will force owners to have to buyout some players.

This FAQ from our friends at CapFriendly explains everything you could possibly want to know about buyouts. However, I’ll note the highlights. Teams are responsible for paying two-thirds of the remaining salary on the contract unless the player is under 26, in which case they’re only responsible for one-third. Buyouts are spread out over twice the remaining term of the contract (i.e. six years if there are three years left).

There are no salary cap savings if you buyout a player who was over 35 years old when their contract started. Signing bonuses are fully guaranteed, even if a player is bought out. This makes certain contracts virtually “buyout proof”, as there are minimal, if any, cap savings.

With the buyout period start soon, let’s take a look at five players around the league who could be bought out. All contract data and buyout calculations are courtesy of our friends at CapFriendly.