Panthers buy out remainder of Yandle's contract
The Florida Panthers have bought out defenseman Keith Yandle, the club announced Thursday.
Yandle had two seasons remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $6.35 million. He signed the seven-year, $44.45-million deal with Florida in 2016.
"While a decision of this kind is never an easy one to make, we believe that this shift is necessary as we look towards the 2021-22 season and our club's future," Panthers general manager Bill Zito said.
Here's a breakdown of the salary-cap implications of Yandle's buyout, according to CapFriendly:
| Season | Initial cap hit | New cap hit |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | $6.35M | $2.34M |
| 2022-23 | $6.35M | $5.39M |
| 2023-24 | $0 | $1.24M |
| 2024-25 | $0 | $1.24M |
The 34-year-old appeared to fall out of favor with the Panthers at times this past season. It was reported in January that he wasn't in the team's plans moving forward and would begin the campaign as a healthy scratch. But he ended up playing in all 56 regular-season games, recording 27 points.
Florida scratched Yandle for two games during its first-round loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Yandle owns the second-longest ironman streak in NHL history, having played in 922 consecutive regular-season games. The blue-liner has 600 points in 1,032 career contests.