What Are the Coyotes Up to Buying Out Kassian and Nemeth?

The Arizona Coyotes have made a significant move to open up cap space for the upcoming season. The team has placed Zack Kassian and Patrik Nemeth on unconditional waivers with the intention of buying them out. According to CapFriendly, the Coyotes now have over $31 million in projected cap space this summer with $23.3M in cap hit (28% of the cap) from players who won’t play a game in 2023-24.

Breaking down the cap hit savings, the Coyotes will have $1.8 million from dead cap, consisting of $1.67 million from Kassian and $167,000 from Nemeth (along with $20K from Oliver Ekman-Larsson). Additionally, the Coyotes will have $21.4 million in Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTI) retired cap savings. This includes $8.25 million from Jakub Voracek, $7.86 million from Shea Weber, and $5.3 million from Bryan Little.

The Coyotes’ decision to create cap space has raised questions about their plans for the future. With a team that doesn’t appear to be in immediate contention and already having significant cap space, some wonder what the purpose of buying out two players who wouldn’t have made a substantial impact is. Are they planning to make a move this offseason to get better? Or, is this just the organization spending less?

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff tweeted, “It’s not exactly a philosophical change, but #Yotes are aiming to be more competitive next season. They’re not taking on bad contracts, or trading [Clayton] Keller, [Nick] Schmaltz, or [Lawson] Crouse. Not big-game hunting, but Arizona is going to be adding…”

In terms of total cash saved, the Kassian buyout will save the Coyotes $767,000, while the Nemeth buyout will save them $1.167 million.

Regarding Patrik Nemeth, the buyout will save the Coyotes $1,166,667 in actual salary, with a cap penalty of $166,667 in the 2023-2024 season and $1,166,667 in the 2024-2025 season. Meanwhile, Zack Kassian has one year remaining on his contract with a $3.2 million cap hit and a $2.3 million salary. The buyout will result in a cap hit of $1.67 million in the first year, providing the Coyotes with $1.53 million in savings. In the second year, the cap hit will be $767,000.

For Any Other Team, This Would Be Intriguing

If this were another franchise, the Coyotes’ move to buy out Kassian and Nemeth might showcase their commitment to reshaping the team and potentially pursuing new players or taking on significant contracts. In Arizona, this appears to be a cost-cutting move. A team that is the laughingstock of the NHL in terms of revenues and expenses, few people seem to think these moves will lead to anything significant.

As the offseason progresses, it will be interesting to see how Arizona leverages this newfound cap space to further their goals for the upcoming season.

Next: Rumors of Maple Leafs Buying Out T.J. Brodie Causes Stir