Islanders possible compliance buyout candidates in the event they get one

1 of 4

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 29: New York Islander GM Lou Lamoriello chats with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on February 29, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Talk of compliance buyouts is increasing the longer the season is on hold. Here are three players the New York Islanders might buy out if they get a compliance buyout.

With the NHL season shut down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, questions are mounting about the financial hit teams like the New York Islanders might be facing. The last time the NHL had its season cut short teams were allowed to buy out two players to make sure they were cap compliant to start the season.

We were all expecting a huge increase to the salary cap for the start of the 2020-21 season. Some figures, released by the NHL, stated the cap ceiling could jump as high as $6.7 million to $88.2 million.

That jump would have been a lifesaver for the Islanders who are already up against the cap ceiling. With an $81.5 million ceiling for the 2019-20 season, the Islanders already have $78,397,298 million committed to players. Leaving $3.1 million in cap space.

If the season is cut short or simply canceled, there’s no question that revenues will be impacted meaning the cap may not go up as high as we had hoped. If at all.

For teams already up tight to the cap (there are 17 teams with less than $1 million in cap space at the moment) trying to stay cap compliant in 2020-21 will be difficult without some sort of compliance buyout to help them get under the line.

If the Islanders got a compliance buyout before starting the 2020-21 season, here are three players they could use it on.

Home/Editorials