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Breaking Down The NHL's Top Buyout Candidates For The 2026 Off-Season
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- Breaking Down The NHL's Top Buyout Candidates For The 2026 Off-Season
The NHL's buyout window is open.
The window opened 48 hours after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup final, which happened on Sunday evening when the Carolina Hurricanes won it all. It lasts until June 30, according to PuckPedia.
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Buyouts allow teams to end a player's contract early by paying a portion of the remaining value over a period that is twice as long as the remaining term of their contract. By doing so, a smaller amount of their salary will count against the salary cap each season during the final years of their initial contract.
Let's take a look at the top candidates for buyouts this summer. Buyout cap hit information is according to PuckPedia.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi , C/LW, Carolina Hurricanes
$4.82-million cap hit for four more seasons
With the Hurricanes looking to keep their window of contention open as long as possible, Kotkaniemi makes the most sense as a buyout candidate if there are no willing trade partners to take him on.
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The former third overall pick is only 25 but put up just nine points in 42 regular-season games this season and didn't appear in a single playoff game.
The buyout penalty would be relatively inconsequential, costing Carolina $850,833 in 2026-27, $470,833 for each of the following three seasons and then $850,833 from 2030-31 through 2033-34.
The Hurricanes could save nearly $4 million in 2026-27 and about $4.3 million over the final three seasons of his contract.
Ryan Graves , D, Pittsburgh Penguins
$4.5-million cap hit for three more seasons
Penguins GM Kyle Dubas has found an effective balance between maintaining a competitive roster and injecting young talent into the Penguins organization.
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When he signed Ryan Graves to his six-year, $27-million contract, it seemed like a solid bet on a young shutdown defender.
Since then, Graves hasn't established the same defensive presence he had in his younger years with the New Jersey Devils . Newer acquisitions surpassed him on the Penguins depth chart, such as Parker Wotherspoon , Ryan Shea and Samuel Girard.
Graves also cleared waivers during the season and played 15 games in the AHL, so the league-wide interest level on him is seemingly low.
The Penguins are already heading into the summer with nearly $38 million in projected cap space and would only save $1,194,444 in each of the next two seasons and $944,444 in 2028-29 on a buyout .
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There really isn't any urgency for anything to get done, but he still fits the criteria of a buyout candidate this summer if the Penguins want to clear a roster spot.
Brendan Gallagher , RW, Montreal Canadiens
$6.5-million cap hit for one more season
Gallagher's end-of-season availability indicated his time in Montreal has come to an end , but finding a suitor to take on his hefty cap hit could be a difficult task for GM Kent Hughes.
The 34-year-old finished with just seven goals and 23 points and only dressed for three of the Canadiens ' playoff games.
His veteran presence would likely draw interest from a few teams, but the Canadiens would almost certainly have to either retain salary or attach an asset to get a deal done.
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A buyout would give the Canadiens $2,666,667 in cap savings for next season and a $1,333,333 cap hit in 2027-28. It would also give Gallagher more freedom to explore multiple destinations for the final stage of his career.
Explaining The NHL Buyout Window & What It Means For The Islanders
Ondrej Palat , LW, New York Islanders
$6-million cap hit for one more season
After making a series of solid moves to start out his tenure as GM with the Islanders , Mathieu Darche made a questionable choice to acquire Ondrej Palat from the New Jersey Devils in January, although the team also received a third-round draft pick and a sixth-rounder with the veteran for trading Maxim Tsyplakov .
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After joining the Islanders, the 35-year-old scored just one goal and finished with only five points while averaging less than 13 minutes of ice time over the final 29 games of the campaign. He had five goals and 15 points in 80 games overall this season.
Buying out Palat would give the Islanders $3.3 million in cap savings for next season while only having an additional $1.6 million on their books in 2027-28.
It's clear that Palat is not in the team's long-term or even immediate plans based on his usage under new coach Pete DeBoer. That extra money could allow them to find a better fit for their timeline.
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