Philadelphia Flyers buy out Oskar Lindblom; three teams buy out others
The Philadelphia Flyers have made a big move to clear cap space ahead of free agency.
The club announced they would be buying out the contract of forward Oskar Lindblom in a move that opens up $3.33 million in cap space this season, while taking a $666,667 hit next year. The buyout cost is $666,667 in each of the next two seasons.
Philadelphia is one of many teams facing a cap crunch this offseason and now, according to PuckPedia, the Flyers have $4.4-million in cap space with RFAs Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost and Zack MacEwen to sign.
Lindblom isn’t the only player being bought out. The San Jose Sharks are buying out Rudolfs Balcers, while the Ottawa Senators are buying out Michael Del Zotto.
Earlier today, the New Jersey Devils bought out Janne Kuokkanen.
The Del Zotto buyout lands the Senators $1.5 million in savings this year but sees the team take a $750,000 hit next year. The Senators have tried to move Del Zotto and now sit with $24.547 million in cap space.
For the Sharks, meanwhile, the Balcers buy out frees up $1.541 million this year while they take a $308,333 hit next year. They now have $8.125 million in cap space.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.