Happy Canada Day, folks! Today could be the most interesting day of the offseason yet, as July 1st marks the start of the NHL's buyout window. It's also worth noting that signing bonuses are paid out today at noon ET, so we may actually see some moves today as well.
In terms of buyouts, CapFriendly notes that we may have to wait until 2pm ET to hear about those who will be landing on waivers for the purpose of a buyout, but for those who have a NMC in their contract, CF also points out that those players are eligible to skip waivers and be bought out immediately.
Obviously, there are plenty of prime candidates for a buyout this season, but perhaps only one in Toronto, and even that one seems unlikely. A Petr Mrazek buyout would save the Leafs quite a bit up front, with the first two years of the buyout hitting the Leafs for just $1.033M and $833K, but it's the $1.433M they'd be on the hook for from 2024-25 and 2025-26 that would be an issue. That space could be very valuable with all four of Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander due new deals over that span. Having $1.433M less to work with in those two seasons could have disastrous consequences.
