The NHL needs to change its rules and allow teams to cut players who don't perform up to their contract. And by cut, I mean like a buyout but it doesn't affect the cap. It still punishes the team for signing the contract as they still need to pay it but the fans don't need to suffer.
I'd be in favour of a 100% salary payout with no cap repercussions. The NHLPA ought to be okay with that -- a player gets all the money they signed for, plus they become a UFA. I'm not seeing a downside here.