With the finish of the Stanley Cup Finals on Friday, the 2014 window for NHL teams buying out players is now open (and will be for the next five days). With the CBA in 2013, every team was given two compliance buyouts, however they had to be used either last summer or during this period. They also can only be used on players who signed their contracts prior to the 2012-13 lockout. Today, three teams have waived players and announced that they will be using their compliance buyouts on them. Lets take a look at them, Ville Leino, David Booth, and Aaron Rome.
Ville Leino
In the summer of 2011, the Buffalo Sabres started spending money with new owner Terry Pegulla promising to bring a new era to the Queen City. One of the key additions was Ville Leino who was signed to a six-year $27 million deal, as he was coming off a 19 goal and 53 point season with the Philadelphia Flyers. The 30-year-old Finn would go on to score just 10 goals and 36 assists total in 137 games with Buffalo, missing nearly the entire 2012-13 season due to injury. With 3-years and $13.5 million remaining on his deal and the buyout formula being 2/3 of the money over twice the length, Leino will receive $9 million over six years from Buffalo.
David Booth
When the Vancouver Canucks acquired David Booth in a trade with the Florida Panthers early in the 2011-12 season, they thought that they were getting a player who could play in their top 6. Booth had scored 20 goals three times for the Panthers, including a career high 31 goals and 60 points in the 2008-09 season. However injuries hit Booth hard and he was never quite the same goal scorer in Vancouver that he was in Florida (SIA Profile). Booth would score just 26 goals in 134 games with the Canucks. He was due $4.75 million in the final year of his contract (with a $4.25 million cap hit). Booth will receive $1.583 million in each of the next two years.
Aaron Rome
The Dallas Stars signed Aaron Rome to a three-year $4.5 million deal in the summer of 2012 looking to add a depth defenceman to the roster. He was due $1.6 million next season, a $1.5 million cap hit. The 30-year-old Rome, earned just one assist in 25 games with Dallas during the 2013-14 regular season and was often a healthy scratch. Dallas will pay out just over $1.05 million US to Rome spread over two seasons.
More teams are expected to exercise compliance buyouts in the coming days.
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