A list of former NHLers who were bought out and are still being paid by teams during retirement
Over the years, since the salary cap was brought into the NHL, we've seen a number of very bad contracts given out by various teams. Many of those deals have resulted in buyouts, which means, depending on the age of the player, that they are being paid out either 1/3 or 2/3 of the remaining contract for double the amount of years left on it.
There are a handful of former superstars that are currently still being paid by their former teams with some being paid until as late as the 2028/2029 season.
One of the most famous contracts that is still being paid out is that of Rick DiPietro, who signed a monstrosity of a deal with the Islanders; 15 years and in the $60M range. He hasn't played in the NHL since the 2012/13 season and last played hockey in the 2013/14 season in the AHL. Can you blame him though? He's been getting paid over $1M for a decade already to just sit at home and will for another 6 years.
Below is a list of players that are still being paid by their former clubs and some of the numbers may shock you. Not just in how much they're being paid but for how long they are still getting paid.
Vincent Lecavalier, Lightning: $1.24M through 26/27
Brad Richards, Rangers: $1.06M through 25/26
Ilya Kovalchuk, Devils: $250K through 24/25
Rick DiPietro, Islanders: $1.5M through 28/29
Ilya Bryzgalov, Flyers: $1.64M through 26/27
Keith Yandle, Panthers: $1.24M through 24/25
Mike Richards, Kings: $700K til 24/25 then $600K through 28/29
Kyle Turris, Predators: $2M through 27/28
The players above were bought out years ago, with Kyle Turris being the only one bought out in the past 3 seasons, so to see that some will not have played a game in the NHL in 15+ years by the time their teams finish paying them is just insane. Good on them though for securing their crazy paydays and being set for life.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 10 | 227 ANSWERS A list of former NHLers who were bought out and are still being paid by teams during retirement Is Rick DiPietro's contract the worst one in NHL history? | ||
| Absolutely | 153 | 67.4 % |
| No | 11 | 4.8 % |
| It's up there, but not the absolute worst | 63 | 27.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
