Speculation: Bad contracts that will be bought out/dumped

[Empoleon8771]

I was going to make a thread asking specifically about LD cap dumps the Penguins could acquire, but I realized that I hadn't seen a thread yet for just general players who are candidates for buyouts or cap dumps this off-season. Who from your team falls in that category?

The names I've seen suggested so far include Kotkaniemi (CAR), Samuelsson (BUF), Dumba (DAL), Engvall (NYI) and Leddy (STL), but who else may fall in this category? And what would these teams trade to move these deals rather than buy them out?

 

[Mrfenn92]

TJ Brodie expected to be bought out by the Blackhawks.

Joe Veleno has been mentioned as a potential buyout also.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Dumba is the only contract that absolutely has to be dealt or bought out, ideally the former. Leddy has an edge case if St. Louis really wants to hunt for game this offseason. Carolina's cap situation is so pristine that even if they add a huge piece, there's no financial need to dump the KK contract. The Isles look relatively good, cap-wise, but maybe they want room for their RFAs?

 

[Empoleon8771]

Dumba is the only contract that absolutely has to be dealt. Leddy has an edge case if St. Louis really wants to hunt for game this offseason. Carolina's cap situation is so pristine that even if they add a huge piece, there's no need to dump the KK contract. The Isles look relatively good, cap-wise, but maybe they want room for their RFAs?

I was going to say that Kotkaniemi is a buyout candidate because he's still young enough to only cost 1/3 of his contract to buy out, but then I checked and his birthday is just late enough that he could be bought out next year with that 1/3 cost as well. So he may not be bought out this year, but if he doesn't improve next year I think Carolina cuts bait and buys him out when he's still only going to cost 1/3 of the money he's owed.

Samuelsson meanwhile is different, Buffalo can buy him out this year while only owing him 1/3 of his money left but waiting a year will increase that to 2/3. I think they try to trade him first though, he's actually a guy I had in mind as a guy that made sense for the Penguins.

 

[atlanticobserver]

Can Pittsburgh please take Conor Sheary back

 

[Bizz]

Vlasic is gonna be told to take a hike this offseason.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Can Pittsburgh please take Conor Sheary back

Sure, just tack on Howard with him

 

[atlanticobserver]

Sure, just tack on Howard with him

Crosby 99% retained and it’s a deal

 

[Fatass]

Chytle? He’s another guy who, if bought out, saves the club money on the contract and almost all off the cap. (I think?)

 

[RefsIdeas]

For the Sabres:

- Samuelsson
- Lafferty
- Possibly Clifton

 

[Zirakzigil]

Crosby 99% retained and it’s a deal

Yeah cause that is remotely possible and close to the same thing.

 

[saska sault]

Hopefully Justin Holl... Tarasenko gets a second chance, he had a lot going on in the off season and wasn't as bad down the stretch as some say he was IMO.

 

[WTFMAN99]

For the Sabres:

- Samuelsson
- Lafferty
- Possibly Clifton

Buyout and likely 2 guys they'll just let the year run out with. 4th liner and 3rd pair RD.

 

[Stuzchuk]

teams than CAN... not saying that they wil.. but can take bad contracts for one to two years...
Utah, San Jose, Columbus, Anaheim, Carolina, Chicag, Pittsbugh, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle...

That is a first glance, may be more

 

[DesertPenguin]

Dumba is the only contract that absolutely has to be dealt or bought out, ideally the former. Leddy has an edge case if St. Louis really wants to hunt for game this offseason. Carolina's cap situation is so pristine that even if they add a huge piece, there's no financial need to dump the KK contract. The Isles look relatively good, cap-wise, but maybe they want room for their RFAs?

I was all for taking Dumba as part of a deal for Borque, but now, what would be the offer from DAL? 2nd rounder and Dumba for future considerations?

 

[RefsIdeas]

Buyout and likely 2 guys they'll just let the year run out with. 4th liner and 3rd pair RD.

Yeah that’s accurate. If by some miracle the Sabres are aggressive and need cap space, Lafferty and Clifton are the two most obvious pieces after Samuelsson.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

For the Sabres:

- Samuelsson
- Lafferty
- Possibly Clifton

What happened to this guy?

Remember when was talked about like a Hjlamarsson caliber defensive specialist ceiling. Fools gold?

 

[DesertPenguin]

Sure, just tack on Howard with him

My Dumba and Borque for a 2nd deal also applies to a hypothetical Sheary and Howard for a 2nd.

 

[RefsIdeas]

What happened to this guy?

Remember when was talked about like a Hjlamarsson caliber defensive specialist ceiling. Fools gold?

Turns out making a $30m investment after 56 NHL games wasn’t a great idea! He looked good in a string of games that didn’t mean a thing and got handed a big extension. It never made sense to me, personally.

 

[atlanticobserver]

Yeah cause that is remotely possible and close to the same thing.

Silly goose. We aren’t going to trade our fringe top 25/30 nhl prospect to try to shave $2 million off the cap for one year

 

[atlanticobserver]

Would think Grubauer would be a candidate though

 

[Zirakzigil]

My Dumba and Borque for a 2nd deal also applies to a hypothetical Sheary and Howard for a 2nd.

Borque aint being moved after signing that contract. Stars need his cheap contract.

Silly goose. We aren’t going to trade our fringe top 25/30 nhl prospect to try to shave $2 million off the cap for one year

He wont be your fringe prospect much longer when its open news he wont sign with Tampa.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

What happened to this guy?

Remember when was talked about like a Hjlamarsson caliber defensive specialist ceiling. Fools gold?

They gambled on him based on a small sample but he has also been injured a ton. This is from February 2025 and he missed more games after it was posted

 

[go4hockey]

teams than CAN... not saying that they wil.. but can take bad contracts for one to two years...
Utah, San Jose, Columbus, Anaheim, Carolina, Chicag, Pittsbugh, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle...

That is a first glance, may be more

Los Angeles does not belong on that list. They are not in a position to take a bad contract even if was just the year.

 

[chrisp200]

My Dumba and Borque for a 2nd deal also applies to a hypothetical Sheary and Howard for a 2nd.

Sheary and Howard for a 3rd round (contingent on Howard signing ).