Team-by-team potential buyout candidates

[Pwillows]

There remains talk among some NHL agents that the league’s next collective bargaining agreement will include a provision allowing the opportunity for each team to “amnesty” one unwieldy player contract from its salary cap books without any penalty other than the financial buyout itself.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/article...ates-Pt-1.html

If the season ended today, which 30 NHLers should be most worried? And what’s the likelihood each franchise actually uses the amnesty? Those questions and no more are answered below. (For brevity’s sake, we’ll do 15 teams in alphabetical order this Thursday, and the following 15 next Thursday.)

Anaheim
Likeliest buyout: Lubomir Visnovsky. The 35-year-old has been sidelined by injury for 13 games already this year and missed at least nine games (and usually more) each year since 2007-08. He’s got one year left at a cap hit of $5.6 million and the Ducks may choose to split up that money to make a thin defense corps deeper.
Likelihood team buys him out (out of five, with one being highly unlikely and five being a virtual certainty): 2. He’ll be 36 next year, but Visnovsky’s actual salary is only $3 million, a number Anaheim GM Bob Murray can live with given the fact he still can contribute when healthy.

Boston
Likeliest buyout: Tim Thomas. A few weeks ago, making Thomas the choice here would have been unthinkable. But his outspoken political views are becoming a more regular occurrence – and with them, the more he potentially becomes a distraction.
Likelihood team buys him out: 1. Regardless of his outspokenness off the ice, Thomas still is one hell of a goalie and has just one year left at a $5-million cap hit (and $3-million payout). If he goes anywhere, it’ll be via trade, not amnesty.

Buffalo
Likeliest buyout: Ville Leino. If I need say more, you need read (and watch) more.
Likelihood team buys him out: 5. Owner Terry Pegula has cash to spare and he’d gladly spare the cash necessary to rid the Sabres of Leino’s $4.5-million cap hit in each of the next five seasons. Not a question of if here.

Calgary
Likeliest buyout: Matt Stajan. Some might say Jay Bouwmeester’s $6.8-million cap hit is the more onerous drag on Calgary’s tight cap situation. But at least Bouwmeester averages 26 minutes a night. Stajan takes up $3.8 million of space for the next two years and averages a little more than 10 minutes.
Likelihood team buys him out: 4. Flames ownership doesn’t want to get rid of Jarome Iginla, but could throw aggravated fans a bone by ridding themselves of another reminder of the desperate last days of the Darryl Sutter Empire.

Carolina
Likeliest buyout: Eric Staal. Hear me out before your lid flips, Canes fans. I realize Staal is a franchise cornerstone and he’s having an off year like just about every player on the roster. But he’s on track for his worst offensive year since his rookie season. If he put up two straight years of 57 points and had a cap hit of $8.3 million, would you be ready to consider a potential buyout? I think you would. Or at least, you should.
Likelihood team buys him out: 1. It’s a fairly moot point anyway, as the Canes are a budget team that wouldn’t dare pay out the four seasons remaining on Staal’s deal.

Chicago
Likeliest buyout: Rostislav Olesz. He’s buried in the American League as it is and the team could free up a roster space for a prospect by cashing him and his $3.2-million cap hit.
Likelihood team buys him out: 2. Chicago ownership has been good about eating other contracts (e.g Cristobal Huet), but depending on their depth situation, they may want to keep the 26-year-old in case the injury bug bites hard.

Colorado
Likeliest buyout: Semyon Varlamov. The Avs paid a hefty price for the goalie, but he hasn’t responded (3.00 goals-against average, .898 save percentage). With two years left on his deal at a cap hit of $2.8 million, it could be tempting for Colorado to cut bait quickly.
Likelihood team buys him out: 3. A better cap-improving target is Paul Stastny’s $6.6-million cap hit for the next two years, but the Avs aren’t raking in money like they used to and could be more willing to eat a smaller number like Varlamov’s. But they may choose to stand pat just as easily.

Columbus
Likeliest buyout: James Wisniewski. On a team that likely will undergo a serious rebuild, Wisniewski’s five years and $27 million left on his deal isn’t a great fit.
Likelihood team buys him out: 1. The team is bleeding money and isn’t aching to pay out the $26 million in actual salary Wisniewski has left in order for him not to play.

Dallas
Likeliest buyout: Trevor Daley. It isn’t necessarily his play that makes Daley the pick here. It’s the term. No Stars player is locked up as long as Daley, signed through 2017.
Likelihood team buys him out: 1. Even with a new owner, the Stars aren’t in position to take advantage of the amnesty luxury.

Detroit
Likeliest buyout: Jonathan Ericsson. The Wings don’t make many contractual errors, but when they gave Ericsson a three-year, $9.8 million deal last summer, they may have. He’s on pace for a 13-point season.
Likelihood team buys him out: 2. Detroit already has $24 million in cap space and their defense corps may be severely depleted if Nick Lidstrom retires and Brad Stuart signs elsewhere. Better the devil you know…

Edmonton
Likeliest buyout: Shawn Horcoff. He has a $5.5-million cap hit for each of the next three years and is a team-worst minus-19 this season. No debating this pick.
Likelihood team buys him out: 4. Oilers owner Daryl Katz buried Sheldon Souray’s contract in the AHL last season, so he’s not above giving the franchise a mulligan on his own dime. With Edmonton out of the playoffs this year and expected to undergo more growing pains, a buyout of Horcoff would represent an extended olive branch to frustrated fans.

Florida
Likeliest buyout: It’s a toss-up between Sean Bergenheim and Tomas Kopecky, two underachieving forwards who signed four-year contracts with the Panthers last summer. Kopecky’s cap hit comes in at $250,000 more a season than Bergenheim’s, but he also has 10 points more than Bergenheim in an injury-plagued season. Kopecky has a better history of regular-season success, so we’ll go with Bergenheim as our buyout guy.
Likelihood team buys him out: 3. Florida’s playoff drive could be the deciding factor here. If they qualify for the post-season, they’ve already got enough cap space ($23 million) next year to make important changes. But if they don’t, the fans could be hungry for a sacrificial lamb.

L.A.
Likeliest buyout: The Kings have managed their cap situation well, making this one of the toughest calls yet. Simon Gagne has a year left on his deal at $3.5 million next season, but he’s still dealing with a concussion and couldn’t be bought out under current CBA rules. That leaves the target on a guy like Brad Richardson, who has another year left at $1.2 million and is on pace for just seven points after registering 27 two years ago.
Likelihood team buys him out: 1. Los Angeles has $14 million in available cap space next season. Unless they use all of it, Richardson’s deal is a relative drop in the bucket.

Minnesota
Likeliest buyout: If the Wild can’t move Marek Zidlicky before the trade deadline, his $4-million contract for next season would be the prime target. If they can deal him, the spotlight shifts to fellow defenseman Nick Schultz, who has only two points this season and a cap hit of $3.5 million for two more seasons. Yes, there’s a case to be made for amnestying Dany Heatley’s two years and $7.5 million cap hit, but he’s Minnesota’s top goal-scorer and point-producer and is an underachiever the Wild will likely have to live with.
Likelihood team buys him out: 2. The Wild’s playoff predicament is a factor here, but likely only a slight one. GM Chuck Fletcher will have nearly $21 million in available cap space this summer and he can’t give it all to Zach Parise. Schultz may be overpaid, but he averages enough minutes (19:33) to have him stick around.

Montreal
Likeliest buyout: Scott Gomez. Beginning, middle and end of story.
Likelihood team buys him out: 5. Canadiens owner Geoff Molson could make the choice to send Gomez (and the final two years of his $7.3 million cap hit) to the AHL, but he would still be associated with the organization. If they amnesty his deal, both the player and the Habs would be better to wash their hands of what has become an untenable situation.

[Pwillows]

There remains talk among some NHL agents that the league’s next collective bargaining agreement will include a provision allowing the opportunity for each team to “amnesty” one unwieldy player contract from its salary cap books without any penalty other than the financial buyout itself.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/article...ates-Pt-2.html

Nashville
Likeliest buyout: David Legwand. Nashville’s longest-serving player, Legwand is on course for 19 goals and 49 points, which would be his best point total since he had 63 in 2006-07. That’s not bad, but for $4.5 million a season (for two more seasons after this one), it’s not exactly fantastic, either.
Likelihood team buys him out (out of five, with one being highly unlikely and five being a virtual certainty): 1. With youngsters Craig Smith and Colin Wilson behind him on the depth chart, Legwand’s opportunities may get more limited eventually. But the Preds, despite having new ownership partners who’ll give GM David Poile more money with which to work, aren’t flush with cash to give away. The family environment the team has created also isn’t conducive to giving Legwand the heave-ho.

New Jersey
Likeliest buyout: Henrik Tallinder. The Devils are another team that doesn’t have too many bad contracts and Tallinder has been a better-than-average defenseman for them. But he’s got some health concerns (a blood clot in his leg), hasn’t played since the end of January, has the second-worst plus/minus on the team and has a cap hit of $3.375 million for two more seasons.
Likelihood team buys him out: 1. In case you hadn’t heard, the Devils owners are feuding and the team is on the verge of bankruptcy. Although GM Lou Lamoriello has a history of being appropriately cold-blooded and burying contracts in the American League, I doubt he’ll have the green light to spend money simply to show a player the exit door.

New York Islanders
Likeliest buyout: Rick DiPietro. Unless you’re related to the oft-injured goalie or you’ve been residing in a Buddhist monastery the past decade, you have no right to a further explanation.
Likelihood team buys him out: 2. Isles owner Charles Wang isn’t drowning in profit from the team, still owes Alexei Yashin three more years at $2.2 million from the team’s last major buyout and DiPietro is signed through 2021. So a buyout isn’t an inexpensive proposition to say the least. But there’s something very unseemly about the fact DiPietro is still scheduled to be the second-highest-paid Islander next year. Wang has had crazier ideas than a buyout for his most injured employee.

New York Rangers
Likeliest buyout: Chris Drury. Yes, Drury has already been bought out, but the cap hit from it remains for this year and next so the Rangers could amnesty it. True, he’ll be only taking up a fraction ($1.67 million) of cap room in 2012-13, but the Rangers usually spend to the upper limit every season and could use that money for a helpful complementary player.
Likelihood team buys him out: 4. Rangers GM Glen Sather has managed his long-term cap situation very effectively. If the Blueshirts follow their more recent pattern of an early playoff exit, this is the least the team can do.

Ottawa
Likeliest buyout: Craig Anderson. If you’d asked the whom-to-amnesty question last year, the easy answer would have been Sergei Gonchar. But the veteran D-man has rebounded with a solid season. And although Anderson has stabilized Ottawa’s net somewhat, his numbers (.910 save percentage, 2.93 goals-against average) are rather ordinary and he’s got a cap hit of more than $3.1 million for three more years. If the team really believes in prospect Robin Lehner, does it make sense to pay Anderson that as a backup/tutor? I say no.
Likelihood team buys him out: 2. The Sens don’t have a wealth of goalie prospects on the horizon and backup Alex Auld is an unrestricted free agent this summer. With more than $28 million in projected available cap space next year, owner Eugene Melnyk likely will instruct GM Bryan Murray to stick with what he’s got.

Philadelphia
Likeliest buyout: Say it with me: Il-ya Bryz-ga-lov (clap-clap, clap-clap-clap)! I know time flies as you get older, but eight years from now (when the inconsistent goalie’s contract expires) feels like a century away.
Likelihood team buys him out: 3. It sounds preposterous, the idea Flyers owner Ed Snider would cut a check for two-thirds of the $40 million the team owes Bryzgalov over the next eight years. But never underestimate Snider’s competitiveness (or his considerable personal fortune). If Bryzgalov belly-flops in the playoffs, there’s every chance the team could reverse course on its riskiest investment.

Phoenix
Likeliest buyout: Martin Hanzal. If I asked you who deserved to have the longest-running contract on the Coyotes right now, your answer should be either defenseman Keith Yandle or head coach Dave Tippett. But the reality is, Hanzal (on pace for 12 goals in 67 games this year) has a deal that runs one season longer than Yandle (who is signed through 2015-16). Among Coyotes under contract for next year, Hanzal’s $3.1-million cap hit is the team’s second-highest. For someone yet to break the 40-point mark, that’s unacceptable.
Likelihood team buys him out: 1. You and I both know the dire financial straits the Yotes are in. GM Don Maloney has done yeoman’s work on a league-mandated budget and even if a new owner appears sometime soon, he’s not likely to give out multimillion-dollar paydays to anyone, especially a young guy like the 24-year-old Hanzal.

Pittsburgh
Likeliest buyout: Paul Martin. It isn’t as if Martin has been a full-on bust since he signed with the Pens in 2010. But he is their highest-paid defenseman (with a cap hit of $5 million for three more seasons) and has the second-worst plus-minus (minus-7) of any Pittsburgh blueliner. To top it off, he’s on course for another season of fewer than 30 points and hasn’t topped the 37 points he posted in 2005-06.
Likelihood team buys him out: 2. Although he’s clearly not spectacular, Martin is a minute-muncher (averaging 23:38 a game, second only to Kris Letang) and solid citizen. That said, Pittsburgh has just $9.7 million in available cap space next year and only 17 players under contract. If something’s got to give, he could be that something.

St. Louis
Likeliest buyout: B.J. Crombeen. The Blues are paying Crombeen a cool $1 million this year and next to be an enforcer who barely plays (he’s been in only 21 games this year and averages eight minutes a game). That cap space could go to someone who could contribute in many areas rather than just the punching areas.
Likelihood team buys him out: 1. St. Louis has more than $30 million in cap space for next season and still has yet to confirm a new owner for the franchise. That’s a recipe for standing pat and not using an amnesty option.

San Jose
Likeliest buyout: Martin Havlat. To purge themselves of Dany Heatley, the Sharks had to take back Havlat, a guy who, when healthy, is capable of putting up 50-70 points every year. Problem is, he’s not the most durable guy – prior to 2008-09, he hadn’t played more than 70 games since 2001-02 – and his $5-million cap hit runs until 2014-15, one season longer than Joe Thornton’s and Patrick Marleau’s. This year, he’s on pace for four goals, 31 points and 54 games.
Likelihood team buys him out: 3. The Sharks don’t spend to the upper cap limit and aren’t known for extravagance. Still, the pressure on the team to do something of consequence in the playoffs is stronger than ever and GM Doug Wilson has just $8.7 million in cap space this summer.

Tampa Bay
Likeliest buyout: Vincent Lecavalier. Tampa’s one-time franchise untouchable would be extremely touchable were it not for the contract that lasts until the summer of 2020 and carries a $7.7-million cap hit each season. Ryan Malone has been more of an underachiever this year, but his deal ends three seasons from now. And Mattias Ohlund, who has had serious health issues, has a cap hit of $3.6 million for four more years. Term means a lot in these decisions and it is the reason why Lecavalier is the choice here.
Likelihood team buys him out: 2. Bolts owner Jeffrey Vinik has deep pockets, but it’s hard to see a scenario in which he forks over the eight-figure check it would take to say sayonara to the face of the franchise. Still, the Bolts have a porous defense that needs serious sprucing up. And with just $17.9 million to spend (and only 14 players signed) in 2012-13, they may need to consider what once was the unthinkable.

Toronto
Likeliest buyout: Mike Komisarek. One of the first big-name signees under GM Brian Burke’s watch was the former Canadiens blueliner, who asserted himself with solid, physical play. But he’s been an out-and-out flop through the first two-and-a-half years of his five-year, $22.5-million deal, either being injured or a healthy scratch as often as he was a positive contributor on the ice. With new contracts due for the likes of Mikhail Grabovski, Cody Franson, Keith Aulie and Jonas Gustavsson, the Leafs can’t afford to pay him $4.5 million for two more seasons to be a sixth or seventh defenseman.
Likelihood team buys him out: 3. In his search for an elite first- or second-line forward, Toronto GM Brian Burke likely will have to deal some of his accumulated depth on defense – and since it’s unlikely Komisarek will be a part of one of those trades, the team may yet have space for the 30-year-old. But if there’s still some concern about cap room, don’t doubt for a second Burke would send Komisarek packing.

Vancouver
Likeliest buyout: Roberto Luongo. I don’t care how well Luongo is playing this season or how close he brought them to a Stanley Cup championship last year. He’s signed through 2022. HE’S SIGNED THROUGH 2022.
Likelihood team buys him out: 3. Vancouver has only $9.3 million in cap room for next year (and only 16 players signed) and everyone knows goalie Cory Schneider is a restricted free agent after this year. It’s going to be difficult to find a trade partner to assume Luongo’s remaining term, meaning the best the Canucks could hope for might be a “trade” of ownership’s money for the $5.3-million cap hit Luongo carries each season. If Vancouver falters badly in the playoffs, that may be an easier decision for management to make than some imagine.

Washington
Likeliest buyout: Jeff Schultz. The temptation is to pick Roman Hamrlik, who has been a bad fit and still has another year at $3.5 million on his deal. But Schultz, a favorite of former coach Bruce Boudreau, has become a regular healthy scratch under Dale Hunter. His contract runs two more seasons at a $2.75-million cap hit.
Likelihood team buys him out: 4. If Caps GM George McPhee has been trying to find Schultz a new home without success to this point, it’s unlikely he’ll do so before the trade deadline. And although Washington has more than $20 million in available cap room next year, you get the feeling owner Ted Leonsis will want significant change if the Caps continue underachieving.

Winnipeg
Likeliest buyout: Ron Hainsey. Many sneered when Hainsey signed a five-year, $22.5-million deal with Atlanta in 2008. Those sneers have been completely justified, as Hainsey hasn’t reached the 40-point mark or scored more than six goals in any of his three seasons with the organization.
Likelihood team buys him out: 2. Hainsey has one year remaining at a $4.5-million cap hit, but he is the Jets’ top plus-minus man (plus-11) this year and averages more than 20 minutes a night. Winnipeg also has nearly $30 million in cap room next year, lessening the need for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to buy out the 30-year-old.

[Pwillows]

This is quite an interesting list of potential buyouts. Many teams would love to have a redo on certain players. Players like Matt Stajan, Mike Komisarik, and Scott Gomez. Don't forget Keith Ballard, Marc Savard, Rick DiPietro, Mattius Ohlund, and Brian Campbell.