This to me is a bad idea.

#1. It's not like Ottawa is hurting for cap space
#2. Ryan, although expensive can still play and now that he's clean he should have a bit of a bounce back
#3. Vet leader who can help the young talent develop
#4. If you really want to get rid of him, instead of buying him out, trade him for something and just retain salary
#5. We can always expose him to Seattle
- Maverick1818

they can't, he has a NMC

You're assuming that $22M has to come from salary. They have all of Duclair, Brown, Tierney, Paul, Balcers, and Hawryluk needing new RFA contracts... which could easily add ~$15M to the payroll. Plus they have Gaborik on LTIR, and will have the Phaneuf/Ryan buyouts counting against the cap as well. That probably makes them compliant with the Cap Floor right there, with a moderate appetite to add maybe a starting G or top-4 RHD if they can find the right deal.
- khawk

I don't think so. They are at $38.2m on the cap and that includes the buy out costs for both Ryan and Phaneuf. They are going to need at least one significant salary to get to the floor.

Pierre LeBrun

@PierreVLeBrun


Between having to sign their RFAs and needing to go find a goalie, cap floor not a concern. While I think some teams are tying to dump contracts on them, Sens are fielding way more calls from teams right now looking to get at their bevy of 2nd round picks...

It's a disgusting move. Especially after the ovation he got when he returned and netted three. He's always been good to the city, but now he's getting fired. 100% Melnyk.
- cnatch

You can't keep a 7.25 mil 4th line player with a NMC on your roster when you're looking at an expansion draft, and a bunch of young guys coming off ELC. I have no doubt that money played a factor, but this was just as much a hockey move as it was a $$ move

Pierre LeBrun

@PierreVLeBrun


Between having to sign their RFAs and needing to go find a goalie, cap floor not a concern. While I think some teams are tying to dump contracts on them, Sens are fielding way more calls from teams right now looking to get at their bevy of 2nd round picks...
- david22

I could see the big cheques (or cap hit) going towards a goalie. There are lots of options. Anderssen (Toronto) is a $5m cap hit but only $1m in actual dollars.

I could see the big cheques (or cap hit) going towards a goalie. There are lots of options. Anderssen (Toronto) is a $5m cap hit but only $1m in actual dollars.
- spatso

Is there a list anywhere with all the players that fall under this criteria?

I could see the big cheques (or cap hit) going towards a goalie. There are lots of options. Anderssen (Toronto) is a $5m cap hit but only $1m in actual dollars.
- spatso

unless they trade Nilsson theyare going to shaft Hogberg again by getting a goalie they do not need....

You're assuming that $22M has to come from active roster salary. They have all of Duclair, Brown, Tierney, Paul, Balcers, and Hawryluk needing new RFA contracts... which could easily add ~$15M to the payroll. Plus they have Gaborik on LTIR, and will have the Phaneuf/Ryan buyouts counting against the cap as well. That probably makes them borderline compliant with the Cap Floor right there, with a moderate appetite to add maybe a starting G or top-4 RHD if they can find the right deal. Alternative, they could easily wait until the off-season to see which teams become more desperate to move out some AAV, and are willing to pay a premium like a 1st round pick to do it.
- khawk

I don't disagree with your overall take (I do hate seeing Ryan go after such a successful comeback and feel his veteran prescience could have been beneficial), I am unsure how you are so confident that the Sens will also net a quality pick/prospect when taking on a bad contract. If the contract is needed to get them to the cap floor, Ottawa doesn't have a lot of bargaining power. And if they are not in cap floor issues, why is Eugene going to spend a dollar more than he has to even if the cap hit is more than the cash to be paid?

Is there a list anywhere with all the players that fall under this criteria?
- david22

The buyout calculator on CapFriendly is an excellent resource that shows things like remaining salary vs. AAV, as well as salary $$$ vs. signing bonus $$$, which has a major impact on buyout costs.

https://www.capfriendly.com/buyout-calculator

Seriously? I disagree with literally every one of these points...

1. Ottawa may not be hurting for cap space, but they have the cheapest owner in the league, who just had most of his revenue source taken away. If you thought the Masterson Trophy was going to convince Melnyk to fork over $7.5M to keep Bobby Ryan around under pandemic economic conditions, then I don't know what to tell you.
2. There's virtually no way Ryan bounces back to being anywhere close to being worth his contract.
3. It's hard to help young talent develop from the 4th line, which is where he almost certainly would be playing... especially if they have Batherson, Brown, and one of Duclair/White paying RW ahead of him.
4. How is retaining salary in trade plus giving up a sweetener a better scenario than buying him out? And who exactly would trade for Ryan at even 1/2 his $$$ or AAV?
5. No they can't just expose him... he has a NMC, which means he will prevent them from protecting a forward they'd really prefer not to lose.
- khawk

#1. Doesn't matter how cheap Eugene is, we have to hit the cap floor
#2. He already started a bounce back with his Hat trick on his first game back. No one is expecting him to bounce into a 30+ goal scorer again but some sort of a bounce back is a positive.
#3. Helping young talent develop isn't just on ice, it's in the locker room, press, community, practice, etc
#4. retaining salary and trading for a pick or anything is a positive. If we are spending money to buy him out we might as well spend money to get even something small back
#5. They exposed him in the Vegas draft. There was the famous interview of Ryan saying he wasn't worried about being taken because of his contract. Not to mention the team could easily made a deal for Seattle to take him. There's always some deals behind the scenes in an expansion draft.

I don't disagree with your overall take (I do hate seeing Ryan go after such a successful comeback and feel his veteran prescience could have been beneficial), I am unsure how you are so confident that the Sens will also net a quality pick/prospect when taking on a bad contract. If the contract is needed to get them to the cap floor, Ottawa doesn't have a lot of bargaining power. And if they are not in cap floor issues, why is Eugene going to spend a dollar more than he has to even if the cap hit is more than the cash to be paid?
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

You're right that there's no guarantee that anyone will make a trade involving a quality pick/prospect, but it's a mistake to think that it would be all that hard to add a few million of AAV to the books for 2020/21. Seriously... just moderately overpay someone like Cam Talbot or Justin Braun to come in as a veteran G or RHD on a 2yr contract, and you're done. Or just take a look at teams like the Canucks, who have at least 3-4 overpaid depth players that they'd love to move. Regardless, I think you can believe Dorion will take the time to see if there are any major teams that get themselves in a Cap knot by hunting big fish UFA like Pietrangelo or Hall - to at least keep the options open in terms of cap space benefit.

#1. Doesn't matter how cheap Eugene is, we have to hit the cap floor
#2. He already started a bounce back with his Hat trick on his first game back. No one is expecting him to bounce into a 30+ goal scorer again but some sort of a bounce back is a positive.
#3. Helping young talent develop isn't just on ice, it's in the locker room, press, community, practice, etc
#4. retaining salary and trading for a pick or anything is a positive. If we are spending money to buy him out we might as well spend money to get even something small back
#5. They exposed him in the Vegas draft. There was the famous interview of Ryan saying he wasn't worried about being taken because of his contract. Not to mention the team could easily made a deal for Seattle to take him. There's always some deals behind the scenes in an expansion draft.
- Maverick1818

1. It's absurdly easy to make the Cap Floor, if your goal is nothing more than just making the Cap Floor.
2. "Some sort of bounce back" does not justify a $7.5M salary.
3. Veterans aren't all valuable as mentors by default... nor do they justify a $7.5M salary.
4. That's really my point... the $5M difference between his contract and the buyout scenario could be a relatively big deal in terms of either a useful player being added, or some kind of valuable asset being added to a bad contract... especially on a team where you know the owner is reluctant to open the bank vault, even without the financial implications of a global pandemic.
5. Apologies, you're right about this - I'd forgotten that Ryan's NMC is actually exempt from the expansion draft criteria because it doesn't explicitly apply to more than a transfer to the minor leagues.

You're right that there's no guarantee that anyone will make a trade involving a quality pick/prospect, but it's a mistake to think that it would be all that hard to add a few million of AAV to the books for 2020/21. Seriously... just moderately overpay someone like Cam Talbot or Justin Braun to come in as a veteran G or RHD on a 2yr contract, and you're done. Or just take a look at teams like the Canucks, who have at least 3-4 overpaid depth players that they'd love to move. Regardless, I think you can believe Dorion will take the time to see if there are any major teams that get themselves in a Cap knot by hunting big fish UFA like Pietrangelo or Hall - to at least keep the options open in terms of cap space benefit.
- khawk

I don't disagree with any of this to get to the cap floor. I am skeptical they will spend anymore than that, even if a quality pick was attached to a brutal contract. That may limit the moves they can make. It will be an interesting "summer".

Bobby Ryan is a good person and Sens fans obviously wish him the best.

With that said, with respect to the hockey side of things, this is really positive news. The Sens will save 3.55 million In actual $, and get 3.75 more cap space (not as important but still invites contracts from other teams)

I strongly believe there is another deal or possible deals in place to help the Sens

You can't keep a 7.25 mil 4th line player with a NMC on your roster when you're looking at an expansion draft, and a bunch of young guys coming off ELC. I have no doubt that money played a factor, but this was just as much a hockey move as it was a $$ move
- sensarmy_11

Edmonton had Lucic at 6, although I'm sure that they would have bought him out if it wasn't booby trapped by Chia. The business aspect doesn't sit well with me, because Eugene's employees are public figures, which makes him one, too. It just seems like the move of a snake, and now I hope his baby is born dead.

On the surface it seems very sad that Bobby was bought out. However this gives Ryan an opportunity to sign with a contender and get a shot at the cup. He has the luxury of accepting half or less than half his worth to be a 3rd liner on a very good team! This dark cloud could have a Stanley Cup silver lining!!

Bobby Ryan is a good person and Sens fans obviously wish him the best.

With that said, with respect to the hockey side of things, this is really positive news. The Sens will save 3.55 million In actual $, and get 3.75 more cap space (not as important but still invites contracts from other teams)

I strongly believe there is another deal or possible deals in place to help the Sens
- AlfieisKing

Edit
Even more cap space later

On the surface it seems very sad that Bobby was bought out. However this gives Ryan an opportunity to sign with a contender and get a shot at the cup. He has the luxury of accepting half or less than half his worth to be a 3rd liner on a very good team! This dark cloud could have a Stanley Cup silver lining!!


- HenryHockey

Totally agree. He'll sign somewhere on a good team for around 1.5mil, play 3rd line & PP, score 20 goals.

Totally agree. He'll sign somewhere on a good team for around 1.5mil, play 3rd line & PP, score 20 goals.
- granpa

If he does, then good for him. I was as moved as anyone by Ryan's story this year, but even 20G seasons aren't worth anywhere near the $7.5 he'd be making in each of the next 2 seasons.

Melnyk wanting to cut costs and Dorion executing the plan.




To Ottawa
Eriksson
Virtanen
2021 2nd (turns into a 1st if Vancouver reaches SCF in 2020-2021)
2022 3rd

To Vancouver
2020 2nd (60th overall)


Dubas set the market by trading the 13th overall pick for 6M dead cap in Marleau. Ottawa gets an NHL top 9 winger with size who hasn’t reached his potential - according to professionals not my personal opinion.
With no big contracts outside of Tkatchuk in the next couple years and Eriksson being old as dirt he might be able to provide leadership or mentor the young guns.
Extra picks in 2021 and 2022.
Vancouver could use the 2020 second as a sweetener to remove another bad contract (Beagle) and give them cap space to play with.

Melnyk wanting to cut costs and Dorion executing the plan.

To Ottawa
Eriksson
Virtanen
2021 2nd (turns into a 1st if Vancouver reaches SCF in 2020-2021)
2022 3rd

To Vancouver
2020 2nd (60th overall)

- optimus-reim

Now that's a deal I could actually see happening, especially from Ottawa's perspective. Virtanen is starting to emerge, but probably needs more ice time, is a natural RW, and would likely accept a reasonable bridge contract. Eriksson's buyout would be very high AAV:$$$ for the coming year ($5.7M:$0.7M) and deferring the benefit of the draft picks to future years is a good idea in terms of overall asset management.

Curious on your take here.

You’d rather give up a 2nd, for an unproven commodity, who couldn’t even click with McDavid..then give up the 5th overall, for a proven ELITE top line winger/goal scorer.

I thought Laine took huge strides this year, especially with his passing game and he’s only 22.

If you’re saying no to this, for the simple reason he’s gna want to get paid..then this team will never win anything.
- Trilla

I admittedly haven't looked recently (and am travelling so can't look immediately right now), but if I recall correctly Laine's shooting impact, which is elite-level positive, is offset by some fairly underwhelming numbers elsewhere in his game to a significant extent. I'd rather keep fifth, both for short-term cost certainty and the hope that we end up with a better player.

On JP, the Oilers' handling of him leaves a lot to be desired.

Now that's a deal I could actually see happening, especially from Ottawa's perspective. Virtanen is starting to emerge, but probably needs more ice time, is a natural RW, and would likely accept a reasonable bridge contract. Eriksson's buyout would be very high AAV:$$$ for the coming year ($5.7M:$0.7M) and deferring the benefit of the draft picks to future years is a good idea in terms of overall asset management.
- khawk

I still don't think that's enough from Ottawa's perspective. They're doing Van a big favour by taking Eriksson, and only really getting JV back, who may or may not be a player (at 24 you should know by now). I think Ottawa's pick should be a 5th or worse, or Vancouver's should be a guaranteed 1st, or throw Demko in - and to that I don't think Demko is too much, he had one good playoff series - really only 3 games, so is a lottery ticket at this point as well. If Vancouver doesn't like it, they can find another dance partner.

I still don't think that's enough from Ottawa's perspective. They're doing Van a big favour by taking Eriksson, and only really getting JV back, who may or may not be a player (at 24 you should know by now). I think Ottawa's pick should be a 5th or worse, or Vancouver's should be a guaranteed 1st, or throw Demko in - and to that I don't think Demko is too much, he had one good playoff series - really only 3 games, so is a lottery ticket at this point as well. If Vancouver doesn't like it, they can find another dance partner.
- flyer4ever75

I'd be inclined to push for Demko as well, but I just meant it's the kind of deal I could see Ottawa making where they achieve multiple objectives.

EM got lucky by receiving 28M from the Seattle expansion fee that was used to buy out Bobby ryan. If the 28m expansion fee was not granted this year I wonder if EM would have done this move. Each team was awarded 28M from Seattle expansion fee that could be used to buy out players and other expenses but cannot be used towards tge cap. People have stated some owners pocket that money or use it to manage their rosters. So I think it was a perfect timing to use that money