Since NHL teams were given the ability to buy out players on Wednesday at 11 p.m. et, 8 players have been bought out of their contracts. These buyouts ranged from the unpredictable for players such as Vincent Lecavalier to many more that were expected such as Ilya Bryzgalov. One thing that each buyout had in common was that they all gave the team that was using their compliance buyouts more cap space to operate under so that they could upgrade their roster for next season.
What is being overlooked though in the mass exodus of players that have signed horrible contracts is that teams can use compliance buyouts this year and next. Many teams are going to forget this though as they are only looking towards the upcoming season when the salary cap will drop from $70.2 million to $64.3 million.
This will prove to be a steep drop, especially considering that 16 out of the 30 NHL teams spent over $60 million this season. This has put each of these teams in a precarious situation where they will likely have to shed veteran players and move towards having younger players on their roster.
Three teams- the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks- have already used both of their buyouts allocated for this year and next. Even with these buyouts each of these teams is within $8 million of the cap for next year. Without another option to get out from under the salary cap next offseason, each of these teams is effectively hoping that the salary cap will rise for the 2014-2015 season.
But what happens if the salary cap doesn’t increase for the 2014-2015 season?
If the salary cap does not go up significantly for that season then we would see these three teams- and others who could use each of their buyouts before the July 4th deadline- having to trade valuable assets. It could mean players such as Patrick Kane or free-agent to be Claude Giroux moving on for effectively nothing in return. This would effectively mean that teams are being penalized for not being able to operate under the salary cap and for the dreadful long-term contracts their management entered into.
Other teams meanwhile that have operated under the cap such as the New York Islanders would likely be rewarded for building through the draft and not trying to sign their way out of trouble. With only $35 million committed for next year and with a core already in place that went to the playoffs last year, the Islanders are the type of team that the cap allows to exceed. They spend within their means, draft well and lock up their players that are young all while not overspending for older free agents.
Other teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, and Ottawa Senators are all very well under the cap heading into next year and either were in the playoffs this year or very close to it. They have combined to use one buyout so far this year and have put themselves in a spot where they can use one this year and next.
This allows them a level of flexibility that many teams are placing themselves out of by using both buyouts this summer, a decision they may regret. These teams are not banking on revenue going up, something never guaranteed, and are being rewarded for good financial decisions they made in the past. With the salary cap, financial decisions are more important than ever before and these buyouts can not save teams from all their bad decisions in the past.
Welcome to the real effects of the salary cap era folks!
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