5 fringe compliance buyout targets

This is part 2 of 3 of theScore's compliance buyout series. You can check out Part 1, "5 very likely compliance buyout targets," here.

David Booth - Vancouver Canucks

Cap hit and term: $4.25 million per year, through 2014-15

Buyout cost: $3,166,667 million spread over two years per capgeek.com

David Booth can't stay in the lineup and can't finish, and that negates his value as a physical, play-driving forward.

Booth has missed 58 games since being acquired by the Canucks in the fall of 2012, and he's managed just 26 goals and 51 points in the 134 games he's played for Vancouver. Frankly, he would have probably been bought out last year, but he was still injured.

For now, Booth's agent hasn't been informed about Vancouver's intentions one way or another. 

Bourne's Take:

Booth had one impressive statistical season: in Florida (2008-09) with a high shooting percentage on a team that allowed him a lot of opportunity. He posted 31 goals and 60 points, which was swell and peachy keen and neat. He's been worse offensively every year since, and yet to get back within 20 points of that total.

The Canucks are a team with a hunger to compete, which means they're not afraid to kiss the salary cap, which means their need for a guy eating up $4.25 million to play 13 minutes a night and not produce is nonexistent.

​Buyout-ability:

Booth is still effective in a depth role and only has one year left on his contract, but he's still pretty likely to get bought out. He rates four Rick DiPietros out of five on the buyout-ability scale.

Mike Richards - Los Angeles Kings

Cap hit and term: $5.75 million per year, through 2019-20

Buyout cost: $19.33 million spread over 12 years per capgeek.com

Mike Richards' results have cratered over the past several years, and he was a flat-out liability for the Kings in the postseason. The Kings were outscored by 10 goals with Richards on the ice in the regular season, and by seven on their Cup run. 

Of 13 Kings skaters who Richards spent more than 150 even-strength minutes playing with over the past two years, not including traded players like Matt Frattin and Dustin Penner, all 13 did better away from him than they did with him.

Richards can still be a useful player in a prescribed role; he's still crafty and productive on the power play, and he had his moments in the Stanley Cup Final. That said, he's 29, his effectiveness is in a tailspin, and he's signed through his age-35 season. If he's a liability at 29 - and make no mistake, that's the case - it's scary to think how his game will look in the last year of his current contract. 

Richards still has an excellent reputation around the league and could be moved before June 30. The Kings aren't reportedly seriously thinking about buying him out, but general manager Dean Lombardi is probably smart enough to know what's what. If they can't move him, the Kings should avail themselves of this opportunity to clear his deal off the books. 

Bourne's Take:

I wrote about The Curious Decline of Mike Richards during the playoffs, where I noted an alarming trend:

In his last five full seasons his total shots have been: 238 (Flyers, 79 games), 237 (Flyers, 82 games), 184 (Flyers, 81 games), 171 (Kings, 74 games), and 157 (Kings, 82 games). With shooting percentages generally hovering around comparable levels in the NHL (he had decent luck last year, bad luck this year), your ability to generate shots is crucial to your ability to generate goals.

His contract (both term and dollar) and his steady offensive slide has led to fourth-line minutes at times, and that has to be a legitimate concern for the Kings. Lombardi is a smart cookie, and he's going to need all of that mental capacity with this tough call, particularly given Richards' contribution to two Stanley Cups.

Buyout-ability:

The more you look into a Richards buyout, the more sense it makes. The only reason not to buy out Richards, really, is that he may have enough trade value that you can move the full freight of his deal. He ranks three out of five Rick DiPietros on the buyout-ability scale:

Alex Burrows - Vancouver Canucks

Cap hit and term: $4.5 million per year, through 2016-17

Buyout cost: $6.66 million spread over five years per capgeek.com

Alex Burrows is still an excellent two-way player, and was mostly just brutally unlucky this past season. He'll be 34 next April, and is signed through his age 36-season, and finished up a campaign in which he scored five goals in 49 games. 

It didn't help Burrows, who basically built his career by finishing off deflections and other garbage goals in the crease area, that he broke his jaw and played with a protector that rendered him obviously unable to see pucks in his feet. Still, his current four-year contract was always going to smell a bit in its final two years, and after the season he just finished - unlucky as it was - it looks like it could be flat-out pungent.

Though fired Canucks bench boss John Tortorella wanted management to buyout Burrows' deal, most of the buyout speculation in Vancouver centers around Booth. Booth is only signed for one more year though, where Burrows is signed through 2016-17. Burrows is a significantly better player, but he's also attached to a deal that carries a good deal of additional risk. 

Bourne's Take: 

It was a hellacious year for Burrows - if it could go wrong, it did. After missing only 14 games dating back to 2006(!), he missed 33 in 2013-14. He saw his ice time decline under John Tortorella, which might have had something to do with his terribly unlucky shooting percentage of 4.8. 

At 33, he might not be worth $4.5 million per for three more years, but Burrows is a pretty good player even when pucks aren't going in. He's definitely on the buyout radar, but if I'm the Canucks, I probably take the pass and hope he gets back on track under a new coach next season.

Buyout-ability:

Burrows still has good defensive value, and will likely bounce back next season, but he's unlikely to provide good value over the life of his deal. Vancouver only has one compliance buyout left, though, and Booth is the more obvious candidate, so Burrows rates just two of five possible Rick DiPietros on the buyout-ability scale:

Sheldon Souray - Anaheim Ducks

Cap hit and term: $3,666,667 million per year, through 2014-15

Buyout cost: $2.33 million spread over two years per capgeek.com

Sheldon Souray's status is uncertain after a wrist injury caused him to miss the entire season. It's not known whether or not Souray can return from the injury, but he's expected to try. 

If he's injured all year he'll be on LTIR the full season and his cap hit doesn't matter. If he tries to come back, then he's back on the books, and that could limit Anaheim's flexibility.

The Ducks are expected to hunt for "big game" this summer, and while they're generally not a cap team, if Souray tries to come back and isn't effective, that could tie general manager Bob Murray's hands next season. In a year that the Ducks will probably fancy themselves contenders, Souray could be a risk that Anaheim can't afford to take. 

Bourne's Take:

The Ducks had a largely successful season, finishing first in the Western Conference before falling in Game 7 to the eventual Cup champions, and they did it using eight defensemen not named Sheldon Souray. 

Souray is a month from his 38th birthday after missing a full season to wrist surgery. While he earns a reasonable enough dollar figure to consider at least giving him a look next year - he does have that special power-play cannon, after all - he just doesn't seem like a player Anaheim needs, particularly with young D talent like Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen, and Hampus Lindholm ready to eat minutes.

Buyout-ability:

It's possible that Souray just spends the year on LTIR and this is a moot point. But it's also possible that he soaks up ice time the Ducks should be doling out to younger players, and complicates the club's cap situation in a contending year. He ranks two out of five Rick DiPietros on the buyout-ability scale:

Anton Volchenkov - New Jersey Devils

Cap hit and term: $4.25 million per year, through 2015-16

Buyout cost: $5.66 million spread over four years per capgeek.com

In his prime with the Ottawa Senators, Anton Volchenkov was a model defensive defenseman: fast enough to skate the puck out of danger, an excellent shot blocker, and a heavy hitter. 

These days, Volchenkov seems to be chronically bothered by lingering lower-body injuries, and when he's in the lineup, he's a mediocre performer in a prescribed third-line role. He seems to be breaking down a bit, unfortunately, and, inconveniently for the Devils, he's due to make an average annual salary of $4.25 million this year and next.

While Volchenkov takes up cap space and does little else, he also takes up a roster spot ahead of New Jersey's plethora of excellent young defensemen. Along with Booth, he's the most likely buyout target on this list. 

Bourne's Take:

The following Devils defensemen saw more ice time per game than Anton Volchenkov when they dressed last season: Andy Greene, Marek Zidlicky, Bryce Salvador, John Merrill, Peter Harrold, Mark Fayne, Adam Larsson, and Eric Gelinas. That's eight names.

The following Devils defensemen earn more than Anton Volchenkov: 

That's no names.

While Volchenkov can still contribute to an NHL team, you don't want to be the one giving him $4.25 million to try.

Buyout-ability:

Whether it's Volchenkov or Salvador, the Devils would be well served to use a compliance buyout on a plodding defender this summer. Volchenkov is far and away the more likely candidate. He rates four out of five Rick DiPietros on the buyout-ability scale: