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.
Henrik Lundqvist
Henrik Lundqvist‘s days with the New York Rangers appear to be over. Igor Shesterkin has taken over his throne as the king of the Rangers’ goal, as he appears to be his heir apparent. According to Lohud, a buyout isn’t just possible. At this point, it’s trending towards probable.
The Rangers will likely try to trade Lundqvist, but his no-movement clause is going to complicate things. Maybe he wants to go to a specific team, but they can’t fit him in cap wise. Even if the Rangers retain 50% of his cap hit, $4.25 million is still a bit pricey for Lundqvist at this point. Especially with the flat salary cap ceiling.
Another factor is the Rangers also have Alexandar Georgiev, who seems ready to be a full-time NHL backup. He has posted similar numbers to Lundqvist over the past three years and likely won’t be as expensive.
A buyout would save the Rangers $3 million this season and cost the Rangers $1.5 million next season. You can assume that $3 million would be going to Georgiev, so buying him out doesn’t impact the Rangers cap space situation for next season.
Possible suitors: Lundqvist has spent his whole career with the Rangers, so if they buy him out, maybe he’ll just retire. But if he wants to play and is willing to take a substantial pay cut, teams like the Washington Capitals and Calgary Flames who are looking for veteran goaltenders might come calling.
Kyle Turris
The Nashville Predators thought Kyle Turris was the second line center they’ve been searching for when they traded for him in 2017. He was a part of the infamous Matt Duchene three-way trade between the Colorado Avalanche, Predators, and Ottawa Senators.
However, that hasn’t been the case. After a decent start with the Predators, he has become a surplus forward and has seen his ice time drop. In 2017-18, he posted 42 points in 65 games with the Predators, helping them win the President’s Trophy. However, Turris only posted three points (all assists) in 13 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
After this, Turris started his decline. He had 23 points in 55 games during the 2018-19 season, often finding himself as a healthy scratch. Turris added two points in six postseason games as the Predators fell to the Dallas Stars. This season, Turris had 31 points in 62 games and zero points in four Stanley Cup Playoff games.
If the Predators buy him out, they’ll be on the hook for his contract for the next eight seasons since he has four years left on his deal. The Predators would save $4 million of cap space in each season until the 2023-24 season. From the 2024-25 season until the 2027-28 season, Turris would cost them $2 million a year.
Ideally, the Predators would probably like to trade him. But in a world with a flat salary cap ceiling, they might not have that option.
Potential suitors: It would surprise me if the Minnesota Wild didn’t at least express interest in Turris. They desperately need centers after trading Eric Staal and letting go of Mikko Koivu. Turris could be a cost-effective option. Maybe the Columbus Blue Jackets will be interested if their efforts to improve their offense wind up bearing no fruits.
John Moore
Though the Boston Bruins are certainly not hurting for cap space, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them buyout defenseman John Moore. He has three years left on his contract, so the Bruins would be on the hook for six more years. But if you look at how much it would cost the Bruins, it actually isn’t that bad.
Buying out Moore would cost the Bruins under $1 million each season through the 2025-26 season. That’s effectively adding a league minimum deal. Not too shabby. And it would save the Bruins $1,444,444 in 2020-21, $1,944,444 in 2021-22, and $1,444,444 in 2022-23.
So why would the Bruins buy him out? There are two main reasons. First of all, Moore simply doesn’t play. He has played just 85 regular season games over the past two seasons. Furthermore, Moore has been a fairly regular healthy scratch in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, only playing in a combined 11 games, including just one this year.
Secondly, the Bruins could be spenders in free agency this offseason as they look to replace not just Torey Krug, but maybe even their team captain Zdeno Chara. Chara is on record saying he wants to return, but teams might be in bubbles to start the 2020-21 season. If Chara wants nothing to do with that, frankly, I wouldn’t blame him. That’s tough on anyone, especially for someone who is as family-oriented as Chara.
Moore’s $2.75 million cap hit might not seem like much, but if they want to sign someone like Brenden Dillon or Alex Pietrangelo, Moore’s cap hit is going to have to go somewhere.
Karl Alzner
The Montreal Canadiens signed Karl Alzner back in 2017. He famously said he signed with the Canadiens because he “wanted to win”. In fact, Alzner implied the Capitals postseason woes factored into his decision.
Alzner couldn't overlook #Caps playoff failures: "I want to win. ... It was frustrating to keep getting stumped in the second round."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) July 1, 2017
Oh boy, did that quote age poorly or what? The Capitals won the Stanley Cup one year later without Alzner. Meanwhile, Alzner has played in a total of 13 games over the past two seasons after playing in all 82 games during the 2017-18 season.
It hasn’t been due to health either. Alzner has regularly been in the AHL, playing in 87 games for the Laval Rocket, the Canadiens AHL affiliate, over the past two seasons.
Trading Alzner is not an option for the Canadiens, who has at least six better left-handed options than him. He’s not an NHL defenseman at this point. The Canadiens can afford to bury part of his $4.625 million cap hit in the minors, but now’s a good time to get out of his contract.
If Montreal buys him out, they will save $666,667 next season and $2,666,667 during the 2021-22 season. For the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, it would cost the Canadiens $833,333 annually.
Alzner has never been a fit in Montreal. The Canadiens have been waiting for the perfect time to buy him out. That time is now.
Marc-Andre Fleury
As tough as it is to see the Vegas Golden Knights buying out the face of their franchise, it makes all the sense in the world. This, of course, assumes the Knights decide to keep Robin Lehner. Reportedly, there’s already a handshake agreement between the two sides and the final details are getting hammered out.
The Golden Knights could always trade Fleury. But with his $7 million cap hit, they’re probably not going to be able to do that without retaining 50% of his contract ($3.5 million).
There will be future ramifications, but if the Golden Knights strictly want to save money for next season, their best choice would be to buyout Fleury. It would save them over $4 million for the 2020-21 season and nearly $4 million for the 2021-22 season. Now, it would cost them $2,083,333 from 2022-23 to 2023-24, but hopefully by then, the salary cap ceiling won’t be $81.5 million.
Next. Top 5 Trade Candidates This Offseason. dark
The Golden Knights need to improve their roster this offseason. Owner Bill Foley has proven he’s willing to pump as much money as necessary into his team to help them improve. Foley hasn’t been exempt from the financial turmoil the pandemic has caused almost every sports team, but again, he’s proven he’s willing to suck up the costs to improve his team.