Montreal Canadiens: What if the NHL reduces the salary cap?
By Omar L
A compliance buyout is the magic eraser of the cap world. Teams agree to pay the rest of a player’s contract, but there is no trace of it on the books, virtually wiping it from existence. The Montreal Canadiens used their two compliance buyouts on Scott Gomez and Tomas Kaberle.
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Gomez had two years left of his seven-year $51 million deal with a $7.3 million cap hit while Kaberle had one year left at $4.25 million. It was unfortunate for those players, but Marc Bergevin had a good tool to work with during his first year as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens.
If the salary cap goes down in wake of what’s gone on this season, the league must allow some sort of means to help teams that would be affected the most. A compliance buyout makes the most sense here.
Missing the first half of the 2012-13 season saw the salary cap drop by $4.3 million. Who knows what the drop would be for missing the latter half of the 2019-20 season and the playoffs. For argument’s sake, let’s say the cap drops by $5 million and the league provides each team with two compliance buyouts.
Karl Alzner‘s deal would be the first to be erased. The Montreal Canadiens have been finding ways to part with Alzer, but teams are deterred by the contract. The veteran has two more years left at $4.625 million per and has spent the majority of the season in the AHL with the Laval Rocket.