The Carolina Hurricanes have a very complicated offseason currently with a lot of expiring contracts and a lot of guys needing raises.
The fact of the matter is there's just not enough money to go around the the salary cap so at the end of that day, Carolina is going to lose multiple good players.
But is there a way that the team could potentially create a little more cap space to potentially sign one or two more guys?
The NHL's first buyout window opened up today (it starts 48-hours after the Stanley Cup is awarded) and it will close on June 30.
Firstly, I don't think Carolina are likely to choose this option.
They are a team that does not want to keep dead money on the books and if they really need to move a contract, they'll pursue a trade instead.
But if the Hurricanes were to use the buyout option, here are three candidates more likely than the rest:
*Buyout information provided using CapFriendly.com's "Buyout Calculator"
Jesperi Kotkaniemi - 23, C
Contract: Six years remaining at $4.82 million AAV
Buyout Structure: 12 years, 3x $835,000, 3x $455,000, 6x $835,000
The only reason you would buy out Kotkaniemi's contract is because of how cheap it would be.
Due to his age, a buyout for Kotkaniemi would cost the team less than $900,000 for any particular year.
That would be a savings of either $3,985,000 or $4,365,000 in cap space depending on the season
The big downside would be the length of the buyout: 12 years of dead money on the books.
I really don't think Kotkaniami needs to be bought out though.
There's no denying that he's coming off perhaps his worst season in the NHL but there are a lot of factors that compounded those issue such as ice time, deployment and just plain old bad luck.
Kotkaniemi didn't have a lot of points this season, but it isn't like he wasn't generating chances.
The Finnish center actually was one of the team's best set up guys and also strong transitionally.
He struggled defensively and tried to do too much at times but I think that stuff happens when you're pressing because results haven't materialized.
I think it would be fair to give him a shot to bounce back.
Evgeny Kuznetsov - 32, C
Contract: One year remaining at $3.9 million AAV
Buyout Structure: Two years, $1,900,000 and then $1,000,000 (same hit to both Carolina and Washington)
Kuznetsov was a big gamble for Carolina when he was brought in at the trade deadline.
A player who was coming off both a really tough season as well as a stint with the player assistance program and had been reassigned to the AHL.
But the Canes believed in him and acquired him at a low cost.
For the most part, Kuznetsov delivered with four goals and six points in 10 postseason games, but it wasn't as the Hurricanes envisioned.
Kuzy wound up as the team's 4C and just never got up to speed with the team's style of play. It was clear and evident that his talent was still there, but the speed at which he played didn't line up with the rest of the team.
Perhaps that was mostly due to his 50 or so days without hockey before Carolina traded for him but if the Hurricanes don't think he can fit their style, a buyout could save the team $2 million this upcoming season.
Frederik Andersen - 34, G
Contract: One year remaining at $3.4 million AAV
Buyout Structure: Two years, $1,333,334 and then $1,033,334
Andersen, a finalist for the Masterton this season, returned from blood-clotting issues that were discovered mis-season and managed to play again and at a high level.
For a while, he was great and everything the Canes could have hoped for, but his game slowly unraveled in the postseason and his play against the New York Rangers was a big reason for the Hurricanes' postseason exit.
I believe there is still a strong belief in him amongst the team and staff so I don't see this as a likely option, but if the Hurricanes wanted to move on from an oft injured netminder on the wrong side of 30, a buyout could save the team $2.1 million this season.
