Breaking: Former star forward will be bought out of his contract today.

It's not official but it's the next best thing.

According to the top Minnesota Wild insider in the business, the Star Tribune's Mike Russo, the Wild have informed former star forward Thomas Vanek that they will be using one of their compliance buyouts to remove the burden that has been his cap hit from their roster.

While fans certainly won't be happy with the long term penalties they will be forced to deal with as a result of this deal, the end of Vanek's tenure in Minnesota as well as the $5 million in cap space it immediately clears up are both likely to be met with overwhelming approval.

Vanek has been a lightning rod of criticism since joining the Wild and both the fan base and management are likely happy to be moving on from what has to be viewed as a mistake from the organization.

Here's how the buyout will break down as per General Fanager:

[pub]