I vote a buyout if we can't trade Murray. 2 years at 1,570,312, and give the balance to Sammy
Teams are permitted to buyout a players contract to obtain a reduced salary cap hit over a period of twice the remaining length of the contract. The buyout amount is a function of the players age at the time of the buyout, and are as follows:
- 1/3 of the remaining contract value, if the player is younger than 26 at the time of the buyout
- 2/3 of the remaining contract value, if the player is 26 or older at the time of the buyout
As explained above, the buyout is spread out over a period of twice the remaining length of the contract. The team still takes a caphit, and the caphit by year is calculated as follows:
- Multiply the remaining salary (excluding signing bonuses) by the buyout amount (as determined by age) to obtain the total buyout cost
- Spread the total buyout cost evenly over twice the remaining contract years
- Determine the savings by subtracting the annual buyout cost from Step 2. by the players salary (excluding signing bonuses)
- Determine the remaining caphit by subtracting the savings from Step 3. by the players Annual Average Salary (AAV) (including signing bonuses)
The above calculation is performed for each year of the buyout, meaning the buyout caphit is not necessarily the same for each year. It is also possible that the buyout caphit can be negative, meaning the team receives a credit.
Buyout Period
The buyout period begins the later of June 15 or 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final ends. It concludes on June 30 at 5pm ET.
For the 2021 off-season, the buyout period begins 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final ends. It concludes on July 27 at 5pm ET.
Compliance Buyout
During the buyout periods in 2013 and 2014, teams were permitted two compliance buyouts (also known as amnesty buyouts). The formula above is applied to determine the monetary amount paid to the player; however,
they do not count against the cap.
Compliance buyouts were only permitted to be
executed on a contract that was entered into on or before Sept. 15, 2012. They were also permitted to be performed on a 35-plus contract.
For one season following a compliance buyout, players were not permitted to rejoin the team which performed the buyout (this restriction does not exist for normal buyouts).
Waivers
A player can only be bought out after clearing unconditional waivers. A waiver-claim by another team pre-empts the buyout process. If a player has a no-movement clause, the player can reject the option of waivers and proceed to the buyout process.
