Top 5 Buyout Candidates Around the NHL This Summer

TJ Brodies is one of the top five buyout candidates listed by an NHL insider

Despite the rising salary cap this year, teams around the NHL still need to get their finances in order, and make as much room as possible heading into the summer to re-make their rosters.

With that, there will be buyouts. Seven players were bought out last summer, and we expect a similar number to take the hit this year as well. Let's take a look at the top five buyout candidates, as listed by insider Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

TJ Brodie, Chicago Blackhawks

The 35-year-old veteran had the worst year of his 15 seasons in the NHL, registering a plus-minus rating of -18, while posting just 10 points in 54 games, with a career-low average ice time of 15:38.

Seravalli notes that Chicago has a crowded blueline, and "This one isn’t about salary cap savings, because that isn’t an issue for Chicago."

Pierre Engvall, New York Islanders

The 29-year-old just completed his second full season on a 7-year deal with the Islanders, and despite the relatively light $3 million cap hit, it's a signing the team certainly regrets. Engvall was healthy scratched several times this season, and was even placed on waivers twice, but with that lengthy contract commitment, he went unclaimed. The buyout would run 10 years, and cost them a $1 million cap hit per season.

Matt Dumba, Dallas Stars

The Stars have just $5 million in cap space to work with this summer, and Dumba has fallen right off the map in Dallas, Seravalli says, "to the point where he wasn’t in the lineup for any playoff games."

The 30-year-old has one year remaining at a $3.75 million cap hit, which, with the buyout, would turn into two years at $1.42M and $1.2M cap hits. This one seems like a no-brainer for the Stars.

Joe Veleno, Chicago Blackhawks

Another pending Hawks' roster casualty, his age (25) allows for an especially cheap buyout for the team, as his one year remaining at $2.275 million would turn into cap hits of just $796,000 and $296,000.

Mathieu Joseph, St. Louis Blues

With very little production in his lone St. Louis season—just 14 points in 60 games—he could be a buyout candidate, as the Blues can save $2.2 million on next season’s cap, per Seravalli, as his one contract year remaining at $2.95 million would turn into just $750,000 against the cap in 2025-26.