Coyotes buy-out two players, are now paying 28% of their cap to players not on their roster

This just in, the Arizona Coyotes have bought out the contracts of forward Zack Kassian and defenseman Patrik Nemeth.

An interesting couple moves from a team that seemingly has no cap issues. In fact, these moves put the Coyotes about $11 million UNDER the NHL's salary cap floor. While most teams are concerning with the ceiling of the cap, the Coyotes are just trying to claw their way up from the basement...

Altogether the Coyotes have $23.3 million in cap salary (Not real salary) for players that won't play a single game for them in 2023-24. This includes the retention/buy-outs of Kassian, Nemeth and Ekman-Larsson as well as the insurance paid contracts for Jakub Voracek, Shea Weber and Bryan Little. That's 28% of the cap that the Coyotes are able to circumvent with these maneuvers.

Kassian had just one year left on a deal that paid him $3.2 million. He'll now get $1.67 million this season and $767,000 next season for a savings of $1.53 million for the Coyotes.

Nemeth also had just one year left on a deal that pain him $2.5 million. He'll now get $167,000 this season and $1.17 million next season for a savings of $1.16 million for the Coyotes.

Again... I'm not sure I'm seeing the value of these buyouts, especially when you consider that the Coyotes will need to replace both Kassian and Nemeth in their lineup. But, I guess when you're a sad sack franchise like the Coyotes every single penny counts.

Both Kassian and Nemeth will become unrestricted free agents now and have the ability to sign anywhere in the NHL.

The 32 year old Kassian put up just two goals with in 51 games with the Coyotes last season, but did managed 15 goals and 34 points in just 59 games with the Edmonton Oilers back in 2019-20. His role with the Oilers was mostly replaced though when GM Ken Holland signed Evander Kane in 2021. Still, Kassian managed 19 points in 58 games during his last season with the Oilers in 2021-22. He's still an effective player and he'll be an absolute steal for any team if they can get him signed to a short-term deal around the $1 million mark.

As for Nemeth, the 31 year old defenseman has bounced around a ton during his decade in the NHL and you have to wonder if Arizona is his final stop. He put up five assists in 75 games with the team last season, and has played for a new team each season for the past four years. Yikes...

In total he has 10 goals and 70 points in 504 games split between the Coyotes, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Avalanche (AGAIN!) and Dallas Stars.