JUST IN: I fee betrayed by Kings harsh decision on me…

Kings’ Pierre-Luc Dubois among nine buyout candidates in 2024 NHL offseason.

The salary cap is set, but the clock is ticking. NHL front offices are keeping an eye on both the calendar and the scoreboard in the Stanley Cup Final, as the first buyout window of the offseason will open 48 hours after Lord Stanley’s mug is hoisted.

Last year, nine players were bought out of their deals, including four in the final hours before the window closed on June 30. There were also a few expensive surprises such as Vancouver biting the bullet on Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is two games away from etching his name on the Stanley Cup, and Nashville cutting ties with Matt Duchene.

This year, the crop is equally intriguing. Teams are enjoying a few extra days of number crunching with next season’s salary cap set at $88 million on Saturday after its first meaningful increase in five years. With that, here are nine players who could be staring down early exits in their contracts:

2024 Buyout Candidates

1. Pierre-Luc Dubois
Center, Los Angeles Kings
Age: 25
Contract: 7 years remaining, $8.5 million AAV
Buyout Structure: 14 seasons varying from $1.1 mil to $3.8 mil
Scoop: Yes, we heard GM Rob Blake say at locker cleanout day that the Kings were not planning on buying out Dubois. But this makes too much sense. At least until June 24, it does. That’s when Dubois turns 26. For now, he is 25, and that means the Kings are only responsible for paying one-third of the money remaining on his deal, instead of two-thirds which happens when he celebrates his 26th birthday. If the Cup Final goes to Game 7, then it won’t be possible. And of course, a 14-year buyout sounds painful now, but the majority of the cap hits are negligible at a time when the cap will be well exceeding $100 million per year. The Kings would save $32 million in real cash – which is a serious amount of dough. It’s better to admit a mistake and pay a lesser price rather than double down and have it hurt much worse in the long-term.

2. Jack Campbell
Goaltender, Edmonton Oilers
Age: 32
Contract: 3 years remaining, $5 million AAV
Buyout Structure: 6 seasons varying from $1.1 mil to $2.6 mil
Scoop: Jack Campbell struggled nearly from jump street in Oil Country, seemingly unable to perform under the weight of his contract. He was waived and banished to AHL Bakersfield in November after the team’s 2-8-1 start. Campbell has been back with the team as an emergency third goaltender in the playoffs, but it was telling that he wasn’t even on Edmonton’s radar as Stuart Skinner struggled in Round 2 and they turned to journeyman Cal Pickard. They didn’t trust Campbell. It’s hard to imagine that changing. Yes, the buyout isn’t pretty, but the Oilers can’t continue with $3.85 million in buried cap space devoted to Campbell. Edmonton needs relief from that and stretching out the term of Campbell’s deal in exchange for $2.85 million in cap savings for next season makes sense.

3. Barclay Goodrow
Center, New York Rangers
Age: 31
Contract: 3 years remaining, $3.64 million AAV
Buyout Structure: Cap credit, then 5 seasons varying from $1 mil to $3.5 mil
Scoop: The Rangers think highly of Goodrow, who also scored some Empire State-sized goals for the Blueshirts in the playoffs. He netted more goals (6) in 16 postseason contests than he did (4) in 80 regular season games. Go figure. Nonetheless, $3.6 million is way too much to pay your fourth-line center, and there doesn’t appear to be much upward mobility in the lineup for Goodrow. He does his job, and he does it well, but his contract throws New York’s cap balance out of whack. Couple that with the fact that the Rangers could buy him out this month and not only not have a penalty, but a unique salary cap credit of $247,222 next season to effectively increase their cap to $88.247 million? That feels like a no-brainer. By 2026-27, that one painful year of the buyout, the salary cap should be north of $97 million.