Compliance buyout

Last updated
Vinnylecavalier.JPG
RickDiPietro.jpg
Blues vs. Rangers-8773 (6543494071).jpg
Ilya Bryzgalov 2011-12-29.JPG
The most expensive NHL compliance buyouts. Clockwise from upper left: Vincent Lecavalier, Rick DiPietro, Ilya Bryzgalov and Brad Richards.

Compliance buyouts (sometimes referred to as amnesty buyouts) allow National Hockey League (NHL) teams to buy-out a player's contract by paying him two-thirds of the remaining value of a contract over twice the remaining length of the contract. If the player is under 26 years old, then the team may pay the player just one-third of the remaining contract value. [1] In ordinary-course buyouts, the team's NHL salary cap hit for the player is stretched over a period of twice the remaining length of the contract. Compliance buyouts follow the same formula as ordinary-course buyouts but do not count against the cap.

Due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, the salary cap was not to increase to the projected $70.2 million, so each team was therefore granted two compliance buyouts to be exercised after the 2012–13 season and/or after the 2013–14 season that would not count against the salary cap in any further year in order to better comply with a lower than expected cap value, regardless of the player's age. After using a compliance buyout on a player, that player is prohibited from rejoining the team that bought him out for one year; the NHL deemed that the re-signing of a player following a trade and a subsequent compliance buyout would be ruled as cap circumvention. [2]

Following the 2012–13 NHL lockout each team was granted one accelerated compliance buyout in order for teams to meet the lowered salary cap. This could be used on a player with a salary cap hit of US$3 million or more before the regular season began. If an accelerated compliance buyout is used, that team will only have one more compliance buyout left, and they must use it after the completion of the 2012–13 season (and before the start of 2013–14 season). The player's cap hit is applied in full to the team's salary cap for the 2012–13 season, but for no season after, regardless of contract length.

Available during the off-season in 2013 and 2014, amnesty buyouts begin 48 hours after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals.

In 2013, it began 48 hours after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup, and ended on July 4, 2013. The second NHL compliance buyout period opened on June 16, 2014, and ran through June 30, 2014, with 26 teams having one or more compliance buyout available to be used. [3]

There was also a period for unlimited compliance buyouts following the 2004–05 NHL lockout from July 23–29, 2005. [4] Only nine teams opted to take advantage of this period, buying out a total of 13 players, and only three teams bought out more than one player. The players: Chris Gratton (Colorado), Andrew Cassels and Scott Lachance (Columbus), Pierre Turgeon (Dallas), Derian Hatcher, Darren McCarty, and Ray Whitney (Detroit), Mathieu Biron (Florida), Matt Johnson (Minnesota), Bobby Holik (NY Rangers), Tony Amonte and John LeClair (Philadelphia), and Brian Savage (Phoenix). [5] Due to a contract dispute between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Owen Nolan, Toronto arranged with the league to utilize a compliance buyout on Nolan if it was ruled he had the right to exercise a contract option for the 2005–06 season. [5] [6]

Combining the 2005 and 2013–2014 compliance buyout periods, 21 teams bought out at least one player. The Detroit Red Wings have bought out the most players (5), while the Philadelphia Flyers (4) and New York Rangers (3) are the only other teams with more than two. Nine franchises (eleven if the Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights are included) have never used a compliance buyout. They are the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, and Winnipeg Jets (formerly the Atlanta Thrashers).

List of compliance buyouts

The following is an unofficial list of all the compliance buyouts that have been used: [7] [8]

TeamPlayerDateLengthAmountRef
Buffalo Sabres Ville Leino June 18, 20146 years$7,333,333 [9]
Christian Ehrhoff June 29, 201414 years$12,000,000 [10]
Calgary Flames Shane O'Brien June 30, 20142 years$1,466,667 [11]
Chicago Blackhawks Steve Montador June 27, 20134 years$2,733,333 [12]
Rostislav Olesz June 27, 20132 years$2,833,333 [13]
Dallas Stars Aaron Rome June 17, 20142 years$1,066,667 [14]
Detroit Red Wings Carlo Colaiacovo July 3, 20132 years$1,900,000 [15]
Jordin Tootoo June 18, 20142 years$1,333,333 [16]
Edmonton Oilers Eric Belanger July 4, 20132 years$833,333 [17]
Florida Panthers Ed Jovanovski June 30, 20142 years$2,666,667 [18]
Minnesota Wild Tom Gilbert July 3, 20132 years$2,000,000 [19]
Montreal Canadiens Scott Gomez 1January 15, 20133 years$3,000,000 [20]
Tomas Kaberle June 28, 20132 years$3,000,000 [21]
New Jersey Devils Johan Hedberg July 4, 20132 years$933,333 [22]
Anton Volchenkov June 30, 20144 years$5,666,667 [11]
New York Islanders Rick DiPietro July 3, 201316 years$24,000,000 [23]
New York Rangers Wade Redden 1January 17, 20133 years$3,333,333 [24]
Brad Richards June 20, 201412 years$20,666,667 [25]
Philadelphia Flyers Daniel Briere June 26, 20134 years$3,333,333 [26]
Ilya Bryzgalov June 26, 201314 years$23,000,000 [27]
San Jose Sharks Martin Havlat June 27, 20142 years$4,000,000 [28]
Tampa Bay Lightning Vincent Lecavalier June 27, 201314 years$32,666,667 [29]
Ryan Malone June 25, 20142 years$1,666,667 [30]
Toronto Maple Leafs Mike Komisarek July 2, 20132 years$2,333,333 [31]
Mikhail Grabovski July 4, 20138 years$14,333,333 [32]
Vancouver Canucks Keith Ballard July 3, 20134 years$5,600,000 [33]
David Booth June 17, 20142 years$3,166,667 [34]
Washington Capitals Jeff Schultz July 3, 20132 years$2,000,000 [35]
Notes
  1. Accelerated compliance buyout

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wade Redden</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Wade Redden is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and a development coach of the Ottawa Senators, with whom he spent the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), which lasted from 1996 to 2013. He also played for the New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins. He played for the Canadian national team internationally seven times, winning two gold medals in the World Junior Championships and one in the World Cup of Hockey. He was a two-time NHL All-Star.

The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Gomez</span> American ice hockey player and coach

Scott Carlos Gomez is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Halpern</span> American ice hockey player

Jeffrey Craig Halpern is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Washington Capitals twice, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, and Phoenix Coyotes. In 14 NHL seasons, he had 152 goals and 221 assists in 976 regular-season games. He also had seven goals and 14 points in 39 Stanley Cup playoff games. He was also captain of the United States national team for the 2008 World Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomáš Kaberle</span> Czech ice hockey player

Tomáš Kaberle is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL), most notably for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as for the Boston Bruins, with whom he won the Stanley Cup, Carolina Hurricanes and the Montreal Canadiens. Kaberle also played in the Czech Extraliga for HC Kladno and HC Kometa Brno.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Malone</span> American ice hockey player

Ryan Gregory Malone nicknamed "Bugsy", is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. In 2003, he became the first Pittsburgh-born and trained player to suit up for the Penguins in an NHL game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Zanon</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Gregory M. Zanon is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman who played almost 500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Girardi</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Daniel Girardi is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Undrafted, Girardi played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning as a stay-at-home defenseman. He is currently a development coach for the Buffalo Sabres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. A. Parenteau</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger.

The NHL salary cap is the total amount of money that National Hockey League (NHL) teams are allowed to pay their players. It is a "hard" salary cap, meaning there are no exemptions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waivers (NHL)</span>

Waivers is a National Hockey League (NHL) labor management procedure by which an NHL team makes a professional ice hockey player's contract and rights available to all other NHL teams. Other NHL teams "waive" any claim to a player designated for assignment in the American Hockey League (AHL) or designated for release. The process is typically referred to as "being placed on waivers." It is similar to the designated for assignment process in Major League Baseball.

The following is a list of all team-to-team transactions that have occurred in the National Hockey League during the lockout shortened 2012–13 NHL season. It lists what team each player has been officially released by, traded to, signed by, or claimed by, and for which player(s) or draft pick(s), if applicable. Players who have retired are also listed. The 2012–13 trade deadline was set for April 3, 2013, at 3 pm EST. Players involved in any trades after this deadline are ineligible to participate in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was reached on January 6, 2013, with its ratification and signing of a memorandum of understanding on the agreement completed by January 12, 2013, 119 days after the expiry of the previous CBA.

The following is a list of all team-to-team transactions that have occurred in the National Hockey League during the 2013–14 NHL season. It lists what team each player has been traded to, signed by, or claimed by, and for which player(s) or draft pick(s), if applicable. Players who have retired are also listed. The 2013–14 trade deadline was on March 5, 2014. Any players traded or claimed off waivers after this date were eligible to play up until, but not in, the 2013–14 NHL playoffs.

The 2013–14 Philadelphia Flyers season was the 47th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967.

The following is a list of all team-to-team transactions that have occurred in the National Hockey League during the 2014–15 NHL season. It lists which team each player has been traded to, signed by, or claimed by, and for which player(s) or draft pick (s), if applicable. Players who have retired are also listed. The 2014–15 trade deadline was on March 2, 2015. Any players traded or claimed off waivers after this date were eligible to play up until, but not in the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The following is a list of all team-to-team transactions that have occurred in the National Hockey League during the 2015–16 NHL season. It lists which team each player has been traded to, signed by, or claimed by, and for which player(s) or draft pick (s), if applicable. Players who have retired are also listed. The 2015–16 trade deadline was on February 29, 2016. Any players traded or claimed off waivers after this date were eligible to play up until, but not in the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The following is a list of all team-to-team transactions that occurred in the National Hockey League during the 2016–17 NHL season. It lists which team each player has been traded to, signed by, or claimed by, and for which player(s) or draft pick (s), if applicable. Players who have retired are also listed. The 2016–17 NHL trade deadline was on March 1, 2017. Any players traded or claimed off waivers after this date were eligible to play up until, but not in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The following is a list of all team-to-team transactions that have occurred in the National Hockey League during the 2020–21 NHL season. It lists which team each player has been traded to, signed by, or claimed by, and for which player(s) or draft pick(s), if applicable. Players who have retired or that have had their contracts terminated are also listed. The 2020–21 NHL trade deadline was on April 12, 2021. Players traded or claimed off waivers after this date were not eligible to play in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The following is a list of all team-to-team transactions that have occurred in the National Hockey League for the 2022–23 NHL season. It lists which team each player has been traded to, signed by, or claimed by, and for which player(s) or draft pick(s), if applicable. Players who have retired or that have had their contracts terminated are also listed.

References

  1. "NHL's compliance buyout explained".
  2. Brooks, Larry (June 26, 2013). "NHL trips up buyouts". New York Post.
  3. "Compliance buyout period opens on Monday". USA Today. June 15, 2014.
  4. "CBA Ratified by NHL Board of Governors". www.nhl.com. July 22, 2005. Retrieved July 17, 2022. COMPLIANCE BUYOUTS -- Clubs may buy out player contracts at no charge toward the Club's Upper Limit from July 23, 2005 to July 29, 2005 at 5 p.m., ET. A player who is bought out may not rejoin his old club during the 2005-06 season.
  5. 1 2 "Buyouts Not The Norm". NHL.com. July 29, 2005. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  6. "Report: NHLPA files grievance on Nolan's contract". ESPN.com. September 16, 2005. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  7. "2012-13 Compliance Buyout List". TSN. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  8. Fox, Luke (1 July 2014). "NHL Buyout Tracker: How all teams used them". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  9. "Sabres buy out Leino contract: report". NHL.com.
  10. "Sabres buy out remaining seven years of Ehrhoff's contract". TSN. 29 June 2014. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Blueliners O'Brien, Gleason and Volchenkov put on waivers". Archived from the original on 2014-08-13. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  12. "Blackhawks to buy out Montador, Olesz". ESPN.com. 27 June 2013.
  13. "Blackhawks to use buyouts on Montador, Olesz". NHL.com.
  14. "Stars use compliance buyout on defenseman Rome". NHL.com.
  15. St. James, Helene (July 3, 2013). "Red Wings to buy out Carlo Colaiacovo". USA Today.
  16. Roose, Bill (June 18, 2014). "Red Wings place Tootoo on waivers". NHL.com. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  17. "Oilers Waive Eric Belanger, Will Use Compliance Buyout". 4 July 2013.
  18. "Florida Panthers Exercise Compliance Buyout on D Ed Jovanovski". NHL.com.
  19. "Minnesota To Use Compliance Buy-Out On Gilbert". NHL.com.
  20. "NHL compliance buyout rules altered". 2013-01-15.
  21. "Canadiens use compliance buyout on Tomas Kaberle". NHL.com.
  22. "Report: Devils to use buyout on goalie Hedberg". NHL.com.
  23. "Islanders announce compliance buyout for DiPietro". NHL.com.
  24. "Rangers buy out Wade Redden's contract". CBC News. January 17, 2013.
  25. Hascup, Jimmy (June 20, 2014). "Brad Richards bought out by Rangers". USA Today.
  26. "Flyers announce compliance buyout of Briere's contract". TSN. 20 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  27. "Flyers will exercise compliance buyout on Bryzgalov". NHL.com.
  28. "Sharks using buyout on struggling winger Havlat - Sportsnet.ca".
  29. "Lightning to buy out remainder of Lecavalier's contract". TSN. 27 June 2013. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  30. "LIGHTNING USE COMPLIANCE BUYOUT ON F MALONE". TSN.ca. 2014-06-25. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  31. "Maple Leafs use compliance buyout on Mike Komisarek". CBC News. July 2, 2013.
  32. "Maple Leafs to use compliance buyout on Grabovski". NHL.com.
  33. "Canucks inform Ballard that contract will be bought out". 3 July 2013.
  34. "CANUCKS PLACE BOOTH ON WAIVERS FOR EVENTUAL BUYOUT". Tsn.ca. The Canadian Press. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  35. Carrera, Katie (July 3, 2013). "Capitals buy out Jeff Schultz". The Washington Post.