Really? So Seabrook can just retire and not cost the Hawks anything in regards to the cap? Can Rocky find Seabrook a job in the front office for lots of money?
Yes, *if* Seabrook retires.
Here's why I don't think that's likely":
If a player retires they don't get paid. If Hossa officially retired before last season he'd be walking away from 4M in in-pocket salary. His cap hit might be 5.25M/year, but the final 4 years he only makes 1M per year.
If Keith retires at the end of this year he'd be walking away from 9.75M total over 4 years. His salary goes down from 3.5M next year to 1.5 in his final year, so right now Keith would be waking away from a lot of money, but in the final years, he wouldn't be walking away from much.
Seabrook, if he retired at the end of the year, would be walking away from 28M. Since his deal was signed after the 2013 CBA there are restricktions like the minimum amount of in-pocket salary per year vs. cap hit and the amount in-pocket salary can vary per year. The *least* he gets paid is 4.5M in this final year.
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. It never is.