Off-Season Watch: Buyout window approaches

Ahead of the NHL Draft on June 28-29 and the opening of free agency on July 1, TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.

Buyout Window Approaches

The NHL's first buyout window will open 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final ends, meaning it could be just two days away.

Once open, the buyout window will close on June 30, allowing teams to potentially gain cap space ahead of the free-agent market opening on July 1.

Harman Dayal and Thomas Drance of The Athletic broke down several potential buyout candidates last week, pointing to three Canadian teams who could make moves.

Dayal and Drance wrote that Kailer Yamamoto could be a buyout candidate for the Edmonton Oilers as he enters the final year of his contract carrying a $3.1 million cap hit. Buying out Yamamoto, who had 10 goals and 25 points in 58 games this season, would free $2.66 million in space for the Oilers in 2023-24, while leaving a cap charge of $533,334 for the following year.

They also wondered if the Toronto Maple Leafs will consider buying out the final season of goaltender Matt Murray's contract. They see a buyout as a worst-case scenario for the Leafs if the team is unable to find a trade partner of shelve Murray on long-term injured reserve after playing in just 26 games last season. With the Ottawa Senators retaining salary in moving Murray to Toronto last summer, the netminder carries a cap charge $4.69 million next season. A buyout would free a whopping $4 million for the upcoming season, but would also leave Toronto with a $2 million cap charge the following year. 

Murray, 29, went 14-8-2 with a .903 save percentage and a 3.01 goals-against average in his first season in Toronto while dealing with several different injuries over the campaign. Ilya Samsonov, who started the majority of games for the team this season, is a restricted free agent this summer, while Joseph Woll, who replaced Samsonov after his injury in the playoffs, is signed for two more years.

Dayal and Drance wrote that the Vancouver Canucks have several options to consider, perhaps with a buyout for one of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Brock Boeser or Conor Garland potentially on the table.

Buying out Ekman-Larsson, who has four years left on his deal, would be the most significant move for the club this off-season, freeing $7.1 million in cap space of his $7.26 million cap hit for 2023-24. The buyout would clear another $4.9 million in space in 2024-25, but the savings would dwindle to $2.49 million in each of the following two years and then leave the Canucks with a cap charge of of $2.13 million for the next four years afterwards. 

The 31-year-old blueliner is coming off his second season with the Canucks after being acquired in 2021 from the Arizona Coyotes, who retained a portion of his salary. He had two goals and 22 points in 54 games this season.

Boeser is coming off the first season of a three-year, $19.95 million deal signed last summer. Buying out the 26-year-old would save the Canucks $4.43 million of his $6.65 million salary in both of the next two seasons, while leaving a $2.17 million cap hit in the next two years. Boeser had 18 goals and 55 points in 74 games last season.

Garland, 27, has three seasons remaining on the five-year contract he signed with the club in 2021 at a cap hit of $4.95 million. A buyout would free $4.11 million for Vancouver in each of the next two years and $3.11 million in 2025-26, the team would then be left with a charge of $1.89 million in each of the next three years. 

Acquired alongside Ekman-Larsson from the Coyotes in 2021, Garland had 17 goals and 46 points in 81 games with the Canucks this season.
 

Olofsson on the Move?

Could Victor Olofsson's time with the Buffalo Sabres be coming to an end?

Citing multiple sources, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports "Olofsson and his camp are expecting him to be dealt before training camp opens in September."

The 27-year-old winger is signed through next season at a cap hit of $4.75 million and is coming off a career year.

Olofsson had a career-best 28 goals and posted 40 points in 75 games this season, reaching the 20-goal plateau for the third time in the past four years. 

A seventh-round pick of the Sabres in 2014, the Swedish forward has 83 goals and 167 points in 263 career games. 

All Eyes on Hellebuyck?

A year away from unrestricted free agency, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has informed the Winnipeg Jets that he's not interested in signing an extension with the team.

TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button breaks down how Hellebuyck's decision changes Winnipeg's plans this offseason and looks into what a return could potentially look like for the star netminder: