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http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/3756644

Who in the NHL will be bought out?

Roger Sackaroff and Scott Wilson / FOXSports.com

Decisions, decisions ...

It has been reported the past few weeks that NHL teams will have the chance to buy out contracts of players currently on their rosters. This will help them better compete under the new economic restrictions placed on them under the proposed salary cap system that is expected to be in place when the NHL and NHLPA finally reach a collective bargaining agreement.

Once that happens, NHL GMs will have to decide if any of their players are making more money than they deserve to be making. If that's the case, they will reportedly be able to buy out that player's contract for 2/3 of its value (that value, of course, will be 24 percent less than it was before the CBA negotiations because of the NHLPA's concession of a 24 percent rollback across the board).

We've decided to go through each roster and give the GMs a little help in making their decisions as to who should or shouldn't be bought out. We know how much they appreciate help when it comes to making decisions like this, so why shouldn't we pitch in?

Here is a list of team and the amount of players and salary they are obligated to pay (24 percent rollback included in all figures), along with key restricted and unrestricted free agents from their rosters:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/3756644

New Jersey Devils

10 players, $15,185,000

Players under contract: Martin Brodeur ($5.2 million), John Madden ($3 million), Sergei Brylin ($1.5 million), Richard Matvichuk ($1.4 million), Jay Pandolfo ($836,000), Krzysztof Oliwa ($836,000), Jason Marshall ($760,000), Zach Parise ($703,000), Erik Rasmussen ($532,000), Darren Langdon ($418,000)

Key restricted free agents: Patrik Elias, Jeff Friesen, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Viktor Kozlov, Jamie Langenbrunner, Colin White

Key unrestricted free agents: Scott Niedermayer, Brian Rafalski, Scott Stevens

Player(s) who we think will be bought out: None

In the new economic climate, defensive forwards like John Madden won't see $3 million very often. But Madden's a key player for the Devils and likely won't go anywhere. The biggest question mark for the Devils lies in their unrestricted free agents, and if they go after Niedermayer or Stevens. They'll have holes to fill on defense if all three unrestricted guys get away.

Toronto Maple Leafs

11 players, $28,200,000

Players under contract: Mats Sundin ($6.8 million), Owen Nolan ($4.9 million), Ed Belfour ($4.6 million), Bryan McCabe ($3.5 million), Tomas Kaberle ($2.3 million), Ken Klee ($1.9 million), Darcy Tucker ($1.6 million), Matt Stajan ($806,000), Carlo Colaiacovo ($806,000), Kyle Wellwood ($570,000), Michael Tellqvist ($418,000)

Key restricted free agents: none

Key unrestricted free agents: Tie Domi, Ron Francis, Brian Leetch, Bryan Marchment, Alex Mogilny, Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts

Player(s) who we think will be bought out: Owen Nolan ($4.9 million)

It's been reported all over that Nolan is a prime candidate to be bought out. The Leafs won't have much cap room to begin with, and getting nearly $5 million more from cutting loose the under-achieving Nolan will go a long way in T.O.

Some people will say Belfour and his $4.6 million should also be jettisoned, but we think the Leafs believe he can help them win a Cup, so expect him to stay in Toronto.

New York Rangers

Six players, $21,712,000

Players under contract: Jaromir Jagr ($8.4 million), Bobby Holik ($6.8 million), Darius Kasparaitis ($3.3 million), Michael Nylander ($2.3 million), Dale Purinton ($513,000), Fedor Tutin ($399,000)

Key restricted free agents: Josef Balej, Jamie Lundmark, Tom Poti, Kevin Weekes

Key unrestricted free agents: Mike Dunham, Eric Lindros, Mark Messier

Player(s) who we think will be bought out: Bobby Holik ($6.8 million), Darius Kasparaitis ($3.3 million)

Much as it'd be nice for the Rangers to free up the $8.4 million they're paying Jagr, that doesn't seem likely, especially if, as reported, the Capitals are still responsible for half of Jagr's salary. However, cutting Holik and Kasparaitis' salary will give them a lot of extra room, as they'll have to sign many players to fill the roster. Both players are stil productive, and played much better than their press clippings indicate, but the Rangers have the cash to free up cap space, and can replace both with similar players for far less money. It will cost a pretty penny to gain that precious cap flexibility, but spending has never been a concern to the Rangers.

Ottawa Senators

13 players, $24,812,000

Players under contract: Daniel Alfredsson ($4.7 million), Zdeno Chara ($3.7 million), Wade Redden ($3.7 million), Dominik Hasek ($2.3 million), Greg de Vries ($2.3 million), Bryan Smolinski ($2.3 million), Chris Phillips ($2 million), Vaclav Varada ($1.2 million), Peter Schaefer ($988,000), Brian Pothier ($532,000), Brandon Bochenski ($513,000), Jan Platil ($356,000), Chris Kelly ($323,000)

Key restricted free agents: Martin Havlat, Marian Hossa, Jason Spezza, Todd White

Key unrestricted free agents: Peter Bondra

Player(s) who we think will be bought out: Greg de Vries ($2.3 million), Bryan Smolinski ($2.3 million)

The Senators' payroll looks a little top heavy, especially on defense. With Chara, Redden and Phillips already on the roster, de Vries seems like the logical one to go. And Smolinksi would be overpaid at $2.3 million in the new NHL, so he's a prime candidate to be bought out.

Philadelphia Flyers

15 players, $34,680,000

Players under contract: John LeClair ($6.8 million), Jeremy Roenick ($4.9 million), Tony Amonte ($4.5 million), Keith Primeau ($3.4 million), Danny Markov ($2.4 million), Eric Desjardins ($2.3 million), Michal Handzus ($2.1 million), Donald Brashear ($1.7 million), Mike Knuble ($1.5 million), Sami Kapanen ($1.5 million), Turner Stevenson ($1.3 million), Joni Pitkanen ($912,000), Mattias Timander ($608,000), Antero Niittymaki ($380,000), Todd Fedoruk ($380,000)

Key restricted free agents: Robert Esche, Simon Gagne, Kim Johnsson, Patrick Sharp

Key unrestricted free agents: Sean Burke, Eric Desjardins, Vladimir Malakhov, Marcus Ragnarsson (retired), Alexei Zhamnov

Player(s) who we think will be bought out: John LeClair ($6.8 million), Tony Amonte ($4.5 million)

LeClair's skills have decreased substantially, partially due to age and partially due to his bad back. There's no way an aging, injured former star would be paid $6.8 million once the NHL comes back. Amonte, too, has seen his better days.

Getting rid of those two contracts automatically gives the Flyers over $11 million to use on free agents, be they restricted players like Robert Esche and Simon Gagne, or some of the top free agents on the market. They'll need the space to make moves.

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I looked at the whole article on-line and it's hard to take it seriously when it doesn't have Thornton mentioned anywhere for the Bruins. He's not shown as under contract or a key restricted free agent. Did he suddenly die? Or am I blind?

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