JVR---He was lazy and slow when we drafted him years ago and it seems that nothing has changed...

Carey Price.....love ya, mean it.....but bye!
- Habsfan702

Unfortunately you can’t just buyout Carey Price and let him walk, that’s insane. Yes he’s on a ridiculous contract but he’s still a very good goalie ( this year not included). Trade him, absolutely. The buyout has to be Karl Alzner as you’re paying a player $4,625,000/yr and he’s playing in the AHL.

Zaitsev for Ottawa, want to clear the roster spot for the young guys

Jeff Skinner....no question

Not sure why people think Leafs are in cap hell? Dubas signed his big four but overpaid by appx 2M on each of them. This will be the reason he’ll play the shell game for the next four years at least
- Hardbalz

Since the Leafs are allowing Ceci and Barrie to walk in free agency, they'll have some cap space to take on a bad contract from another team in exchange for a decent defender or a mid level first rounder. Buy out the player with the bad contract and use the windfall to acquire a decent top 4 Right Hand defenseman. Use their money to grab assets.

Connor McDavid
Giving a guy 12.5 while the leading scorer of the league is on your team for 8.5
...
.....
...

But I'd have to say Neal as my serious one

So you’re saying that most NHL teams have cap concerns, while at the same time saying the leafs can easily move any of their big contracts. It can’t be both
- sensarmy_11

I don't think theyw ill move any players and don't need to.

And teams would line-up for Nylander right now.

Could you trade said "mulligan"?

This could be a very valuable chip for a team who's stuck in some bad contracts.

I don't think theyw ill move any players and don't need to.

And teams would line-up for Nylander right now.
- RogerRoeper

Agreed, teams would definitely want the ONLY player on your team signed to a good contract. I’m sure you could also move your 3 10+ mil players, but you would t get near equal value, and would likely have to retain cap

If I'd have said Abdelkader then you would've said Nielsen.
- gergeswillems

False.

I'm praying this is a joke? A) it's a 3 year ELC, worth under 900k per season... It's standard, that's just how it works. Depending on age a player can sign a 1 or 2 year ELC as well. All players entering the league at under 25 years old sign one...no ifs ands or buts...

B) Andrew Ladd, self explanatory as of why. 3 more full seasons at 5.5 per year. Would be a God send for the Islanders to get that monstrosity off their books.

Buyouts:
Buffaalo --> Okposo
Detroit --> Abdelkader or Nielsen
Montreal --> Alzner
Ottawa --> Ryan
Tampa --> Johnson
New Jersey --> Schneider or Subban
New York Islanders --> Ladd
New York Rangers --> Lundqvist
Pittsburgh --> Hornqvist or Johnson

Chicago --> Keith
Nashville --> Turris
Winnipeg --> Little
Anahiem --> Kesler
Arizona --> Hossa
Calgary --> Lucic
Edmonton --> Neal
Los Angeles --> Brown or Carter
Vancouver --> Eriksson
- dylanregan14

kudos for taking the time to make a list.

I don't think the Jets should buy out Little. If he were healthy he is close to being the #2C the Jets really need (but not quite). He would likely get about 50 points in an 82 game schedule, win faceoffs, kill penalties and provide good leadership. If he is not healthy then his contract has value as an LTI contract. Perreault has one more year at 4.125m, if forced to buy someone out it would be him. Some feel Lowry is overpaid - maybe, Wheelers contract is risky due to 4 more years but this year was good - they would be crazy to buy him out now.

The Flyers would have an interesting choice.
JvR or Voracek.

I like JvR, but not that contract term. Being able to get out from under that would be helpful moving forward.

I like Voracek, but frankly he is infuriating in how he either is killing it or invisible. His price tag and term make him nearly impossible to move.

There are no clear cut, easy choices here.
- wbon22

Voracek the better player but JVR contract is shorter and more easily bought out due to no bonus payments

Except they don't as they can move anyone. Majority of NHl teams are right at the cap.And all have their own concerns.

All teams have "Holes".
- RogerRoeper

Sure they could easily move Marner, Nylander, or Matthews. Toronto has not been smart with their cap allocations. All teams have holes but again, Toronto will have difficulty filling them. They have a major hole on defense.

False.
- Sven22

True.

Sharks:
It would need to be at D

Vlasic: Solid Defensive Dman (6yrs @ 7M) Age 33
Burns: PP specialist ,Weak Defensive (5yrs@ 8M) Age 35
Karlsson Passing ability, Injuries (7yrs@ 11.5M) Age 29

My Pick :
Burns , With his age at 35 already , I just don't see him keeping those numbers
for another 5 years . and he is already weak on Defense .
- Sharksfan68

My 1st choice would be Martin Jones. He has 4 years left at 5.75mm and hasn't evolved to play the game as it is being played now. While I agree that of the 3 D Men that you list Burns should be at the top of the list for any numbers of reasons that we could go into (such as he couldn't play D if his life depended on it and he has relied on having Pavs tip ability to be able to score at the rate he has in the past amongst other issues) I would subsequently look at trading Burns to acquire an elite forward from a team that is desperate for D, has cap issues, and no path forward to acquiring what they need to succeed in the future without it. Combine the 5.75mm with the 8mm and you can take back a very sizable contract to benefit the Sharks for years to come.

If this turns out to be true and the Penguins don’t buy out Jack Johnson they would be out of their frickin minds.

Sure they could easily move Marner, Nylander, or Matthews. Toronto has not been smart with their cap allocations. All teams have holes but again, Toronto will have difficulty filling them. They have a major hole on defense.
- MJL

Save your breath. According to Roeper the Leafs have the greatest roster in NHL history.

The issue is he did it once in a contract year. What are the chances he does it again? And that contract taskes him into his past his prime years.

It's horrible.

And Lou overpaying a guy until he's mid 30's? Sounds right.
- RogerRoeper

No, he’s done it more than once, I believe his rookie year.

Alfiesalad or JB. The two easiest choices.

True.
- gergeswillems

Why do you think that just because someone disagrees with you a few times, they must be an a-hole contrarian out to always take the opposite position of everything you say? Rather than, you know, a guy with a different opinion having a discussion?

Honestly we agree like 80 percent of the time.

I'm sorry you think so little of me.

No, he’s done it more than once, I believe his rookie year.
- Sabres1523

No he hasn't.


He scored 30 as a rookie.

He's never had more than 63 points in a season.

And I know plus minus is mostly meaningless, but he's -118 on his career for (frank)s sake.

the only player with a worse +/- since Jeff Skinner came into the NHL is Rasmus Ristolainen. (lol)

Re: Skinner Buyout...

If you are an owner, would you agree to pay a guy 7× $9m = $63m remaining to NOT play so he could sign another large contract...and make potentially double
Or
Tell your backless piece of poop GM to bo find a GD 2C and 2RW so Skinner isn't relegated to 4th line minutes while playing with 5th liners.

If you choose the former, probably he uses that Buyout on you.

It’s not exaggerated at all.......if anything, given that the cap likely won’t go up now given the lost revenue, it’s even worse than people think.
- sensarmy_11

I'll put that on the list of doom and gloom scenarios for the Leafs that didn't come true.

I know I'm in the minority... but I HATE this idea. Yet again the NHL gives a free pass to teams in trouble, while not benefitting any of the teams who made savvy choices in the contracts they gave out. (And I say this as a die hard Flyers fan...a team who has a reputation for bad contracts). I simply think they need to stop giving these teams an easy out.