Breaking: Dion Phaneuf is a free agent.

It's official, Dion Phaneuf is now an unrestricted free agent. 

The Los Angeles Kings have officially announced that they have bought out the contract of the veteran of over 1000 NHL games after he played just 93 games with their organization. The news was announced by general manager and Kings vice president Rob Blake on Saturday just a few short hours after the National Hockey League's first buyout window of the offseason opened up. Phaneuf will now enter the summer as a unrestricted free agent, and I have no doubt he will once again find himself a home, albeit at a significant discount when compared to his previous deal.

Phaneuf is a former first round draft choice of the Calgary Flames, he was selected 9th overall in the 2003 National Hockey League Entry Draft, and has since gone on to appear in 1048 NHL games for the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and most recently the aforementioned Los Angeles Kings. Phaneuf established himself as a premier defenseman in the National Hockey League during his time with the Calgary Flames where his physical play distinguished him from many of his peers. Phaneuf would go on to captain the Toronto Maple Leafs during a very tumultuous period in their franchise, one marked by heavy media criticism, and as his play declined the number of critics of the team and Phaneuf as captain intensified. Shockingly Phaneuf would then find himself traded to long time rival franchise the Ottawa Senators, but it would not be long before they would flip him to the Kings, this time having to retain salary to get the trade done. 

That last little detail is a key piece of this move by the Los Angeles Kings, and there is little doubt that it is a detail that played no small role in today's decision. The Ottawa Senators retained 25% of Dion Phaneuf's salary when they traded him to the Kings and that works out to $1.75 million of Phaneuf's original $7 million cap hit. As a result of this buyout the Senators will now also have to absorb 25% of the buyout that the Kings have now triggered, one that they will have to pay over the next 4 seasons.