With the July 1 date right around the corner, many teams are polishing their salary cap situations. For the Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers, this came in the form of buying out the contracts of veteran defensemen. The Flyers announced they had bought out David Schlemko. The Oilers did the same with Andrej Sekera.
Sekera, Darling and Schlemko on buyout waivers
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 30, 2019
David Schlemko, Andrej Sekera Bought Out by Respective Teams
David Schlemko
The Flyers acquired Schlemko in early February. He was apart of a trade that sent Dale Weise and Christian Folin to the Montreal Canadiens. Philadelphia reeled in Schlemko and Byron Froese in return.
Schlemko didn’t play with the Flyers at all following the transaction. He instead finished the season with the team’s AHL affiliate. With the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he tallied four points in 18 games. Prior to being dealt, Schlemko did manage some time in the NHL this past season. In 18 games with the Canadiens, he netted a mere two points.
This past year was more of the same for Schlemko. He has played with seven different teams, officially being rostered on nine. During the 2014-15 season, Schlemko saw time with three teams. The Arizona Coyotes waived him in January of that year. He was claimed by the Dallas Stars, only to be waived again a little over a month later. The Calgary Flames claimed him that time. Between the three teams, he recorded four points in 44 games.
In total, the undrafted Schlemko has scored a mere 94 points in 415 career NHL games. He tacks on another five points in 26 playoff games. Schlemko is only 32-years-old, meaning there is plenty of time for one final contract.
Andrej Sekera
Sekera was once a fairly productive defenceman but has struggled to stay healthy in the last two seasons. A torn ACL and torn Achilles have plagued the defenceman, severely hindering the ice time he records. Last season he only managed to play in 24 games. In those, he netted four points. The season prior was a similar story, with Sekera scoring eight points and being limited to only 36 games played.
He now joins the group of unrestricted free agents. While he has shown plenty of promise over the course of his career, injuries may hinder his ability to attract buyers. The left-handed shooting Sekera just turned 33-years-old, making him one of the older UFA defensemen. On the flip side, the Oilers open up three million in cap space this summer and next after buying out Sekera’s hefty cap hit of $5.5 million. The deal, signed in 2015, also featured some sort of movement-clause for all six years it was slated through.
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