If the Leafs buy out Matt Murray, they'll inadvertently screw over the Ottawa Senators for 2 years
We learned from yesterday's high-profile buyout that if a team has retained salary on a player that they've traded, they will also be on the hook in some facet for the entirety of said buyout. In the case of the Arizona Coyotes, who retained some of Oliver Ekman-Larsson's contract when they initially traded him to the Vancouver Canucks before the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, they will now be one salary retention spot short for the next 8 seasons.
The Canucks bought out the veteran defenseman and will be on the hook for 8 seasons of dead cap. Not only will the Canucks be feeling the sting of the OEL buyout, but Arizona will as well, as they drop from 3 spots available for salary retention to just 2 for the next 8 years.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, who look more and more inclined to buy out the contract of Matt Murray, can place the Ottawa Senators in that very same boat, but only for the next 2 seasons. It's not an egregious buyout by any means as the Leafs will be on the hook for $687,500 in 2023-24 and 2 million in 2024-25. The Senators would have $229,167 of dead cap in 2023-24 and $666,667 in 2024-25.
On the outside looking in, it doesn't sound like a big deal but when the trade deadline comes near and you need to retain salary, it can prove costly to not have that third slot available. Teams have jumped in to broker three-team trades and rebuilding teams always eat some money to facilitate a better deal.
They won't be in the same tough spot as the Coyotes, who are on the hook for 8 seasons, but it's going to be a nuisance nonetheless for a division rival who thought they'd be fully ridden of Matt Murray by the end of 2023-24 - all this is contingent on the Leafs buying him out, however. There's certainly still the possibility that Murray is traded or plays out the season on LTIR rather than the Leafs being on the hook for two years due to a buyout.
