4 More Potential Buyout Candidates Over the Coming Week

Last week, we brought you the list of the top 9 prospective buyout candidates to watch for once the window opens within the next week. Now we have four more names to add, courtesy of The Athletic.

The buyout window officially opens just 48 hours after the Stanley Cup is awarded. The Florida Panthers could wrap things up as soon as Tuesday night, which would mean any of these names could find themselves as free agents as soon as Thursday night.

Conor Sheary, Tampa Bay Lightning

With just a $2 million cap hit for each of the next two seasons, it isn't a huge load off the Bolts' books, but every little bit helps when they're trying to find room to re-sign Steven Stamkos. And the recent re-acquisition of Ryan McDonagh puts even more pressure on the Lightning to open up some cap space.

Philipp Grubauer, Seattle Kraken

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Grubauer was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as recently as 2021, when he went 30-9-1 with the Colorado Avalanche with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. But he hasn't had a Sv% better than .899 since then, his GAA hovers around 3.00, and the six-year, $5.9 million AAV free agent deal handed to him by the Kraken has been a huge dud. Do they finally bite the bullet, and get out from under the final three years of that deal?

Justin Holl, Detroit Red Wings

Maple Leaf fans could have warned the Red Wings last summer that they would regret the three-year, $3.4 million AAV deal they signed Holl to last summer. Now, just one year later, after a season riddled with healthy scratches and just 38 games played, the Wings are already looking at a buyout.

Nate Schmidt, Winnipeg Jets

He has just one year left at $5.9 million, but as a third-pair defenseman, that is far too much to be paying, and the Jets could use the $3.2 million savings on their cap by buying him out.