With the NHL’s buyout window set to open Wednesday at noon, news has come in that Florida’s Dave Bolland has failed his physical, according to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.
Failing his physical means that Bolland isn’t healthy and that he cannot be bought out, as no injured player can be bought out. Fox reports that the Panthers have, “No comment at this time.”
For a team that appears to be working to clear cap space for some offseason moves, this is a blow. The 30-year-old played just 25 games last season, scoring a goal and four assists. The prior season he scored six goals and 23 points in 53 games. Bolland’s deal may rank among the worst in the NHL. He has three years remaining with a cap hit of $5.5 million, making him the second highest paid forward on the team for this coming season.
If the Panthers were able to buyout his contract, they’d turn that $5.5 million cap hit into a $1.833 million cap hit spread over the next six seasons.
In other moves this offseason, the Panthers have traded away the contract of Marc Savard and moved Erik Gudbranson in a deal that cleared nearly $3 million off the books.
That cap space could have come in handy with Vincent Trocheck needing a new contract this summer and the team entering a contract year with RFAs Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Reilly Smith, Rocco Grimaldi, and Alex Petrovic.