The NHL's Buyout Window Is Here: Top 4 Names Expected To Be Buyouts

Philipp Grubauer could be a buyout victim by the Seattle Kraken

The NHL's buyout window has arrived for the Summer of 2025, and over the next 10 days, we can expect a number of teams to free up some cap space using this route.

NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, on his 32 Thoughts podcast on Friday, feels that four players are the names to watch on the buyout front in the coming days.

TJ Brodie, Chicago Blackhawks

This is the one that's gotten a lot of attention around the league in recent days. After playing a top-four role for much of his career, including the previous four seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brodie started to show signs of wearing down in the 2023-24 season, and he signed a two-year $3.75 million AAV deal with the Blackhawks last summer. But his time there hasn't gone as planned; he averaged just 15:38 ice time per night this year, over six minutes a game below his career mark, and he posted a plus/minus rating in the negative for the first time in seven years, at -18.

The 35-year-old will likely have his contract bought out by Chicago.

Justin Holl, Detroit Red Wings

Another former Leaf blueliner, Holl has one year at $3.4 million left on his contract. He was waived at the start of the season by Detroit, but went unclaimed. He still wound up playing 73 games with the Wings, but managed just eight points and a -7 rating. He did play to a plus-1 rating over the season's final 21 games, but as Kevin Allen writes in Detroit Hockey Now, "fans had long before made up their mind about him."

But has Steve Yzerman?

If the Red Wings were to buyout Justin Holl, this window (until June 30) would be Yzerman's only chance to do so.

Buyout would save $2.27 million this season + add $1.13 million to next year's cap, while waiving would save $1.15 million this year.

Should Detroit do it? ⤵️ #LGRW pic.twitter.com/ROdmXsqdZX
— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) June 19, 2025

Matt Dumba, Dallas Stars

This one is almost a slam dunk, as the Stars are desperate for additional cap room, with just $2.75 million available at the moment, after their re-signing of Matt Duchene.

As insider Frank Seravalli noted on Daily Faceoff LIVE, for Dallas, this is "Just an easy, easy way to clear up $2.3 million in space without really having to think much about it. And when you don’t have any space, getting $2.3 million by signing a document is one way to do it."

Philipp Grubauer, Seattle Kraken

With two years remaining at a $5.9 million cap hit, this decision will be a bit costly down the road, but they would save $3.9 million next season, and $2.8 million the year after, before having to tack on about $1.7 million to the cap the two years after that.

The 33-year-old netminder, who led the Kraken on an unlikely playoff run in the franchise's second season in 2022-23, has fallen on hard times the past couple of years, culminating in an 8-17-1 mark this past season, with a dreadful .875 save percentage, and a 3.49 goals against average. He was placed on waivers back in January, cleared, and spent time at the AHL level (seven games) for the first time in 10 years.