The Calgary Flames have done the unthinkable. They have placed Troy Brouwer on waivers with the intention of buying him out.
Brouwer, 32, has two years remaining at $4.5 million annually.
Buying out his contract will save the Flames $3 million against the cap in each of those years before costing them $1.5 million in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
While it's never fun to eat money like this, it is the right decision. Brouwer has been nothing short of a disaster during his tenure with the Flames.
Over the last two years, he's averaged a woeful .90 points per 60 minutes played at 5v5. He has not only been completely inept offensively but he also weighed down his linemates, and the entire team, in a big way.
With all the off-season additions the team has made up front, there was simply no reason to continue to try and make something out of nothing with Brouwer.
It was easy to see the Flames should have never given him this deal in the first place but credit to Brad Treliving and co. for pulling the plug rather than riding it out.
When the deed is done, the Flames will have more than $7.5 million in cap space. That should be enough to give Noah Hanifin the long-term deal he wants and pay Matthew Tkachuk's performance bonuses.
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