The 2023 NHL buyout window opens on Friday, June 16 and the Flyers have their fair share of God-awful contracts on the books. The franchise is revitalizing their rebuild efforts, and a big part of that boils down to navigating the salary cap, which still remains relatively flat for at least another season.
In some cases, even with the rebuilding stipulation in place, it makes more sense to buyout a contract that it does to suffer with it, but are there any deals the Flyers should actually consider buying out?
Buyout calculator courtesy of CapFriendly
Tony DeAngelo
The 27-year-old defenseman was Chuck Fletcher’s only notable move during his famous “aggressive retool” last summer, and the experiment didn’t exactly work out as intended. He managed to score 42 points in 70 games, with half coming on the powerplay, but he was a disaster in his own end and ultimately had a falling out with John Tortorella at season’s end (who’d’a thunk!) that resulted in his being scratched for the last few games of the campaign. He has one year left on his deal at a $5 million cap hit, which breaks down as followed-
The Flyers will more than likely attempt to trade him before they buy him out, but if there are no takers, it may just be easier for the Flyers, both from a roster construction and overall morale standpoint, to bite the bullet and move on from him at all costs. It’s not a particularly egregious buyout for a rebuilding team and the peace it could achieve in the room could be worth the $1.6 million ding against the cap next season.
Cam Atkinson
The 34-year-old forward is coming off neck surgery that forced him to miss the entirety of the 2022-23 season. Atkinson still has two years remaining on his current deal at a $5.8 million aav, which is a big chunk of change for an aging player.
Due to his injury, there’s practically no chance the Flyers could reasonably trade him, so they either keep him around and hope he rebounds and attempt to flip him next summer, or they consider a buyout now.
Atkinson is among the leaders in the room, and his past relationship with John Tortorella might ultimately save his job, but with so many young wingers in the system on a team with cap problems, Atkinson’s relatively cheap buyout could be a real path the Flyers should explore.
Kevin Hayes
A Hayes buyout was rumored early on in the 2022-23 season, but financially, it’s a pretty major blow for the Flyers. They do get some decent savings in 2023-24 (not that it matters anymore with a rebuild initiated) and only $2.3 mil in savings for the next two years. But that also comes with a $1.6 million knock against the cap until 2029. His days in Philly may be numbered, and a trade won’t be overly pleasant either, but a buyout just doesn’t make sense for the Flyers given their current situation.
Cal Petersen
One of the pieces the Flyers brought back in the Provorov trade was 28-year-old goaltender Cal Petersen. He’s got two years left on his deal at a whopping $5 million cap hit, and he’s spend a bulk of the last two seasons in the AHL after failing to replicate his early career success at the NHL level.
The Flyers did this one to themselves. They voluntarily added the guy. It’s highly unlikely they buy him out this summer, but if he can’t work his way back into the NHL picture during the season, they could reconsider a potential buyout in 2024, which would only cost the team $1 million in 2024-25 and $2 million in 2025-26.
Travis Sanheim
One of Chuck Fletcher’s last moves as general manager was to sign 27-year-old defenseman Travis Sanheim to a massive (and ill-advised) eight-year, $50 million extension before opening night in October of 2022. The extension ends in 2031. The new regime is now stuck with a terrible player on an atrocious deal at a position where they have plenty of youth that could be fighting for roster spots.
The regret lives large, but a buyout is a nuclear option. The cap hit per season actually isn’t that bad all things considered. The big problem is the $5.8 million knock from 2027 to 2029, right around the time the Flyers should be entering “go time” and will need every dollar to ice a competitive team.
For all we know, it’s possible the Flyers are still rebuilding in 2039. Briere was Chuck Fletcher’s right hand man when Sanheim’s extension was signed so he’s just going to have to hope that both Sanheim’s play and the cap ceiling takes a uncharacteristically large step forward in the near future and hope to deal him away in a trade instead of a buyout.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: capfriendly.com
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