NHL Buyout Candidates – Pacific Division

With the Stanley Cup Final nearing its conclusion, it’s a good time to look at the top buyout candidates from the NHL’s Pacific Division.

With the NHL salary cap projected to go up only marginally, clubs may resort to using the buyout option on existing contracts as a means of cap relief. The buyout window opens shortly after the end of the Stanley Cup Final and lasts until June 30, and the 32 NHL clubs likely have already made decisions on which players to buyout.

Here is a look at the eight Pacific Division clubs and who each of them may choose:

Anaheim Ducks

Brock McGinn

The 29-year-old winger was swapped as part of the deadline deal for Dmitri Kulikov, clearing out the last two years of his four-year, $11 million contract. The Ducks will likely not buy out McGinn since they have the most cap space available in the NHL and will not be competitive the next couple of seasons, but he would be the most deserving candidate based on how much his play has dropped off.

Calgary Flames

Kevin Rooney

The 30-year-old center was signed to a two-year, $2.6 million contract last summer and played only 17 games for the Flames, spending most of his time with the AHL Wranglers. All but $175,000 of Rooney’s salary would be buried if he were to be demoted to the minors again next season, which might be preferable to a buyout resulting in a $433,334 cap hit the next two years, but it would clear an NHL contract off the books.

Edmonton Oilers

Cody Ceci

A puzzling four-year, $13 million free agent signing by GM Ken Holland two years ago, Ceci is at best a bottom-pairing blueliner, but the Oilers are in desperate need of cap space and would clear nearly all of the $3.25 million cap hit next season and incur only a little over $1 million the next three years.

Los Angeles Kings

The deal sending goalie Cal Petersen to Philadelphia alleviated Kings GM Rob Blake of the burden of buying out the final two years of his deal at $5 million per season, and there are no other bad deals that stand out as a buyout candidates.

Around Full Press Hockey

Stanley Cup: Adin Hill Shuts the Door As Vegas Takes Commanding 3-1 Series Lead

NHL: Matthew Tkachuk Has Clutch Gene For Panthers

Stanley Cup: Jonathan Marchessault Goal Streak Leads Vegas To Game 2 Victory

NFL: Los Angeles Chargers Defense Starting to Look Formidable

MLB: Feast or Famine: Tigers Seek Offensive Consistency

PODCAST: Stanley Cup Final Preview – Vegas Golden Knights vs Florida Panthers

San Jose Sharks

Mark-Edouard Vlasic

Similar to the Ducks, the Sharks are in the middle of a rebuild, so the need to clear cap space is not pressing. That being said, the declining 36-year-old has three more years at $7 million per season. A $2.5 million signing bonus in the last two years limits the amount of cap relief San Jose can get, which likely means they will hope to jettison the contract down the line or he retires.

Seattle Kraken

Chris Driedger

After signing a three-year, $10.5 million deal in 2021 and playing 27 games, and going 9-14-1 for Seattle in their inaugural season, Driedger spent the entire year as the backup in AHL Coachella Valley. A buyout of the final year of his deal would save the Kraken $3 million in cap space this season.

Vancouver Canucks

Conor Garland

After being acquired from Arizona in 2021 and extended for five years at nearly $5 million per season, Garland posted 19 and 17 goals. With Elias Pettersson needing an extension next summer, the Canucks are in a dreadful cap situation and would be able to clear over $4 million in space the next two seasons with a buyout, but the downside would be a $1.9 million cap hit in years 3 through 6, but by that time it is expected that the cap limit will go up.

Vegas Golden Knights

Alec Martinez

The 35-year-old multiple Cup winner has been a steady presence in the Golden Knights Cup run, but if GM Kelly McCrimmon has hope of re-signing Ivan Barbashev, he will have to create some room. A buyout of Martinez’s final year will clear more than half of the $5.25 million cap hit next season.