Whether they count against the salary cap or not, these 10 players have some of the NHL's most notable bought-out contracts still in effect.

Buyouts are a tactic for NHL teams to free themselves from contracts for various reasons. Either the team realizes it made a long-term mistake, it’s in desperate need of cap space, or there is an internal conflict or issue with the player that is not covered under grounds for contract termination.

While providing temporary relief, buyouts can also provide a long-term hindrance to roster flexibility and the ability to sign or re-sign players. Some teams, like the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche and the current first-overall Boston Bruins, have no buyouts on their books.

On the opposing side, the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers are among the league leaders, with four contracts currently being bought out.

In terms of buyout significance, no team in the NHL will feel the consequences of their actions more than the Minnesota Wild. After signing Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to identical 13-year contracts in 2012 and buying them out in 2021, they carry a $12.7 million hit this year, a number which balloons to $14.7 million over the next two years against Minnesota’s cap.

Parise and Suter remain in the NHL, earning money from their buyouts and new contracts from the New York Islanders and Dallas Stars, respectively. They’re in similar positions to younger players experiencing recent buyouts, including Tony DeAngelo and Oskar Lindblom, who also found new homes following their contract buyouts.

Jack Johnson was bought out by the Pittsburgh Penguins following the 2019-20 season and last year won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche before joining the Chicago Blackhawks this season. Similarly, Kevin Shattenkirk, who currently plays with the Anaheim Ducks, won a Cup with Tampa Bay after being bought out by the New York Rangers.

These types of cap hits are hard to forget. A successful buyout, however, is quickly forgotten. Here’s a look at 10 buyouts of players no longer in the NHL that fans may forget are still on the books.

Dion Phaneuf - Bought out by Los Angeles Kings

This is the contract the Toronto Maple Leafs handed to Dion Phaneuf in 2013. Phaneuf has the unique distinction of not just impacting a single team with his buyout but two teams. When the Kings bought out the final two seasons of Phaneuf’s seven-year, $49-million contract in 2019, they placed themselves on the hook for four seasons, which culminates this year with the Kings paying their final $1.0625 million. The year he was bought out, the former NHL first team all-star was a healthy scratch multiple times. The Ottawa Senators retained a portion of Phaneuf’s contract, so they also remain on the hook for just over $350,000 this season.

Cody Hodgson - Bought out by Buffalo Sabres

When the Vancouver Canucks drafted Cody Hodgson 10th overall in 2008, Canucks fans thought they had a future NHL star. Hodgson was the leading scorer at the U-18 World Championship, leading Canada to gold, then the leading scorer at the World Junior Championship, again leading Canada to gold. He would also be named the CHL Player of the Year, but Hodgson didn’t get a full shot in Vancouver before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres. Coming off his entry-level deal, the Sabres signed Hodgson to a six-year, $25.5-million contract in 2013. He responded with a 20-goal season, but it would be his last productive campaign in the NHL. After struggling the following season, the Sabres bought out the deal only two years in. Now, a decade after signing his contract, the Buffalo Sabres are set to move Hodgson off the books following this season. This year, Hodgson is receiving $791,667 from the Sabres.

Rick DiPietro - Bought out by New York Islanders

Almost no one in the hockey world could believe it the day the New York Islanders signed former first overall pick, netminder Rick DiPietro, to an unheard-of 15-year contract in 2006. When the team bought out DiPietro, they still had eight seasons remaining in his contract, meaning his payments would be spread over a massive 16-year period. Injuries impacted the longevity and success of DiPietro’s career, limiting him to less than 50 games total in the final four seasons in the NHL. DiPietro will be paid $1.5 million per season until 2029, some 23 years after signing his contract. Luckily for the Islanders, his buyout never counted against their cap as part of the NHL’s amnesty/compliance buyouts in 2013 and 2014 as the league transitioned to a lower salary cap.

Vincent Lecavalier - Bought out by Tampa Bay Lightning

Similar to DiPietro, Lecavalier was a compliance buyout in 2013 by the Tampa Bay Lightning. For 12 seasons, the 1998 first overall pick wore a letter on his jersey, captaining the Lightning for six of those years. He won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay, earned the Maurice Richard Trophy with 52 goals in 2006-07, and won the King Clancy Award the following season. It was no small breakup decision for the Lightning, for whom Lecavalier had served as the face of the franchise for more than a decade. When the Lightning bought out the remainder of Lecavalier’s 11-year, $85-million contract, it meant paying their former star an $8-million bonus immediately and another $1.76 million for 14 years – a deal the team will continue to pay until 2027.

Keith Yandle - Bought out by Florida Panthers

Before the Philadelphia Flyers ended Keith Yandle’s NHL iron man streak, the Florida Panthers almost did the same, buying out the veteran in 2021. The Panthers, this season, are eating a $5.39 million cap hit in the buyout, but that number will drop to $1.24 million, according to CapFriendly, for the final two seasons of the buyout. A 16-year NHL veteran, Yandle managed to ink a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers the following season. It was with the Flyers that Yandle saw his NHL iron man streak end at 989 consecutive games when the team made him a healthy scratch in April 2022.

Justin Abdelkader - Bought out by Detroit Red Wings

Few saw the logic of Ken Holland signing Justin Abdelkader to a massive seven-year contract paying him $4.25 million annually in 2015. Abdelkader was a longtime role player for the Detroit Red Wings. He was coming off a career year where he scored 23 goals, a season that proved to be an offensive aberration for the forward. In his final campaign with the Red Wings, Abdelkader managed only three assists and no goals in 49 games. He’s the lone player on this list still actively playing, as Abdelkader is currently a member of the NL’s EV Zug in Switzerland. He’s also earning $2.3 million from the Red Wings this year, a number that goes against their cap, and will count against the Wings’ bottom line to the tune of just over a million per season until 2025-26.

Scott Darling - Bought out by Florida Panthers

For a time in his career, Scott Darling was a media darling. When they needed him most in 2014-15, Darling played spectacular hockey for the Chicago Blackhawks in the regular season and playoffs, helping Chicago win the 2015 Stanley Cup as a rookie. Before that season, Darling had spent most of his career in the ECHL. When Darling became a UFA in 2017, the Carolina Hurricanes snapped up the netminder, thinking they’d secured their starter with a four-year, $16.6-million contract. Darling only played 51 games in Carolina before they traded him to the Florida Panthers, who immediately bought out the netminder. Darling remains on the books for Florida until the end of this season, when his $1.18 million cap hit disappears.

Dan Girardi - Bought out by New York Rangers

For a decade, Dan Girardi was a productive NHL defender. He spent the first 11 seasons of his NHL career in a New York Rangers jersey before the Rangers decided to buy out his contract in 2017. Midway through his six-year, $33-million contract, Girardi was set free before being quickly snapped up by the Tampa Bay Lightning on a two-year contract, which would be the final seasons of his playing career. Girardi remains in the NHL today, serving as a development coach for the Buffalo Sabres. He’s also still earning a $1.11-million paycheck that counts against New York’s cap. This is the final season of Girardi’s contract buyout.

Ilya Bryzgalov - Bought out by Philadelphia Flyers

At the time in 2013, Ilya Bryzgalov’s buyout was the biggest in NHL history, and his contract itself was questioned as perhaps the “worst ever.” A Stanley Cup champion with the Anaheim Ducks, Bryzgalov was coming off a spectacular campaign with the Phoenix Coyotes, earning a Vezina nomination when he signed a nine-year $51 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. Luckily for the Flyers, Bryzgalov’s buyout occurred during the compliance period, allowing the organization to remain shielded from cap implications. That doesn’t, however, mean the organization isn’t still paying the goalie. Philadelphia will continue paying Bryzgalov $1.63 million until 2027…more than 12 years after Bryzgalov last played in the NHL.

Brad Richards - Bought out by New York Rangers

It can’t be easy to cut free a Stanley Cup champion, who has won the Lady Byng and Conn Smythe trophies, but that’s exactly what the New York Rangers did in 2014 when they used a compliance buyout on then-assistant captain Brad Richards. It was an unhappy time for Richards, who had just completed a 20-goal, 51-point season and was only three seasons into a nine-year $60-million contract. Luckily for Richards, he landed with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he helped them win a Stanley Cup the following season, the second in his career. When Richards marks his 10th year of retirement from the NHL in 2025-26, it will also mark the completion of his buyout, which has paid him more than a million per year from the Rangers’ coffers since 2014.