Compliance Buyouts

[Quacktastic]

I didn't see JR using the buyouts, but now that RF is in charge I think there is a possibility, since after all he is not the one who handed out those contracts.

Last season really soured my faith in Ward, so IMO if we can't find any takers for him via a trade, it might be worth it to buy him out and spend his money improving the team elsewhere. For reference, he is making 6.7 and 6.8m the next two years, which seems like too much for a shaky goalie who should at best be splitting starts with Khudobin.

Another candidate is Liles who makes 4.25 and 2.75m the next two years. Now Liles, I would be OK with keeping considering he is a solid enough puck mover, and not a terrible defenseman, but he is definitely overpaid.

Thoughts?

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[DaveG]

I HIGHLY doubt we buy out Ward. Liles is a very outside possibility but we're more likely to trade either of them then buy them out.

 

[What the Faulk]

Doesn't matter who handed out the contracts, it matters who will be paying them off, and that's still PK. Why would he pay 2.5M a year for four years plus the price of a backup for Ward to not play hockey here anymore. He's not THAT bad. Plus, that's a good way to alienate your fanbase, fair or not.

Same thing for Liles. You're saving a little more than $2 million, but that won't be fully realized until 2018-19 when you stop paying him to play somewhere else. Unless it's truly a terrible situation, buyouts are a waste of money for high priced players on a budget team.

 

[A Star is Burns]

I wouldn't be surprised if it happened. We have actually not been strangers to paying guys to not play or not coach like everyone makes it out to be. Granted, this would be to an even higher level, but if they can't find someone to take Ward and really think putting his money elsewhere is key, I think they would make it happen.

 

[Oogie Boogie]

I don't see them buying out Ward. They would do everything in their power to trade him before doing that.

Even if Ward isn't starting in goal next season, I still trust him more at the back-up position than I do Peters, even though Peters showed some good sparks when he did play this season.

But it's still quite a price for a backup role.

 

[A Star is Burns]

Peters may be familiar, but he isn't under contract. Hopefully if Francis gets rid of Ward, no matter how, Peters isn't his plan to be backup or we are in trouble.

 

[What the Faulk]

I believe the only buyout they've ever done is Joslin, which cost 125k. Ward would be almost 20 times that. Jokinen's retained salary was what, 900k? Look at how that worked out. They retained some salary on Ruutu, but got Loktionov and a pick out of it. A buyout of Ward's magnitude hasn't even come close to happening in the Hurricanes' history, and nothing they've ever done makes it seem like they'd even consider it.

If they want to get rid of him, and he has no value, a trade with a pick is really the only option. If they don't trust Peters in a backup role (and if they didn't, he'd be gone by now), there are plenty of guys like Thomas Greiss available in free agency.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

IIRC Ward played a very good last five games. I saw hints of that he used to do. I'm not saying he's back or anything...but there was definitely an upgrade in his play during that stretch, and I don't think it was because the games meant nothing.

 

[The Stranger]

I believe the only buyout they've ever done is Joslin, which cost 125k. Ward would be almost 20 times that. Jokinen's retained salary was what, 900k? Look at how that worked out. They retained some salary on Ruutu, but got Loktionov and a pick out of it. A buyout of Ward's magnitude hasn't even come close to happening in the Hurricanes' history, and nothing they've ever done makes it seem like they'd even consider it.

If they want to get rid of him, and he has no value, a trade with a pick is really the only option. If they don't trust Peters in a backup role (and if they didn't, he'd be gone by now), there are plenty of guys like Thomas Greiss available in free agency.

Brind'Amour and F.Kaberle were both buyouts.

 

[What the Faulk]

Brind'Amour and F.Kaberle were both buyouts.

Whoops, I forgot Kaberle (733k x2) and I thought Brind'amour just retired, but he did get bought out first (2M). Still, those still aren't in the scope of a Ward buyout (2.33 x4), and they were clearly at the end of their NHL careers. Ward isn't.

 

[Anton Babchuk]

Brind'Amour and F.Kaberle were both buyouts.

also tanabe and hamilton

but yeah, i don't see anyone getting bought out this year

 

[What the Faulk]

Clearly I did a lot of research on this.

 

[raynman]

IIRC Ward played a very good last five games. I saw hints of that he used to do. I'm not saying he's back or anything...but there was definitely an upgrade in his play during that stretch, and I don't think it was because the games meant nothing.

Agreed.

I highly doubt Ward is bought out. If Francis can't find a taker via trade I don't think it'll be the end of the world. If Ward gets back on track, like he seemed to be in the process of, you suddenly have the best goalie tandem this team has had in quite some time. Don't know if that's a humaungous big "if" but it's big enough to wonder.