NHL Announces Buyout Window; Will Bruins Buy Out Reilly?

If the Boston Bruins are planning on buying out defenseman Mike Reilly, they know when and how long they will have to do so.

The NHL has announced that the 2023 buyout window will begin this Friday and end on June 30 at 5p.m. ET., with unrestricted free agency beginning at noon the next day.

The window had been scheduled to open on the later of either June 15 or 48 hours after a Stanley Cup champion was crowned. That took place on Tuesday night as former Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers in Game 5 Tuesday to claim their first Stanley Cup.

After signing a three-year, $9 million contract ($3M AAV), on July 27, 2021, things have gone rapidly downhill for Reilly with the Bruins. A buyout candidate at this time last year, the 29-year-old, 6-foot-1, 196-pound rearguard was kept by the Boston Bruins but waived twice (once before the season and then during), and a constant on the NHL trade market. Unfortunately for Reilly and the Bruins, general manager Don Sweeney was never able to find a taker and Reilly was buried in the AHL, playing 36 games for the Providence Bruins after just ten with the Boston Bruins.

It’s no surprise that numerous NHL sources have told Boston Hockey Now that Sweeney is still feverishly trying to move Reilly, and other salaries on the NHL trade market as he tries to construct a cap-compliant 2023-24 NHL roster, but so far no takers on Reilly. Should the Bruins decide to take the buyout route with Reilly here’s how it works per PuckPedia:

For players that are 26 or older, a buyout is 2/3 of the remaining salary owed on the contract.

For players that are under 26, a buyout is 1/3 of the remaining salary owed on the contract.

All buyouts are spread out over twice the remaining years of the contract. 

Players receive signing bonuses regardless of the buyout.  That means that when calculating the buyout amount and cap hit, signing bonuses are excluded.

The actual annual cap hit of the buyout is calculated year by year as follows:

• Add together the Original Cap Hit and the Contract Signing Bonus for that year

• Subtract the Contract Total Salary for that year (base salary + signing bonus).

• Finally, add the Annual Buyout Cost as calculated above (2/3 of remaining contract divided by twice the remaining years of the contract).

According to the PuckPedia Buyout Calculator, the total buyout cost for Reilly would be $2.6 million, and with one year left on the contract, the buyout would be applied over two years with a $1.3 million AAV.