Are buyouts really a good option?

[pi2000]

Then why did you post what you did in response to an explicit question about what could be lacking in his off-ice preparation?

 

I never said anything about his off-ice preparation.      I think this is what I said which you're referring to....

 

"for the amount he's getting paid you expect much much more, both on the ice and in the locker room."

 

..by "locker room" I mean physically in the locker room... he needs to show better leadership qualities in the room.

[Doohicksie]

If a hypothetical player is making $5M but his cap hit due to a buyout is $2M, you have to ask yourself not if he's worth $5M but if he's worth $3M.  The $2M counts against the cap whether he's there or not, so his "effective" cap hit is only $3M.

 

When you look at it that way, our worst cap offenders probably aren't worth the buyout, especially when their cap hit will be with us longer than their salary will if they play out their contract.

[Sabre fan]

Can we honestly expect to be much better this season with Moulson, Gorges, Bogo and Ennis in the lineup? I do hope that both Bogo and Ennis may improve under new coaching but I am not so sure either Gorges or Moulson have anything left to offer...they represent BIG bucks and seems such a waste but not so sure buying out is a valid alternative

[matter2003]

I got to reading about Matt Moulson and his contract status and can't help but wonder if buying him out is a good option, or how do we proceed with him and Gorges?

 

Moulson apparently thinks he should be used MORE then he was under Bylsma. He finished with 14 goals and 32 points in 81 games. He stayed consistent, especially compared to the 44-game goal drought that marred his eight-goal output in 2015-16. Moulson was fourth on the Sabres in goals per 60 minutes (.89), trailing only Nick Baptiste (1.39), Evander Kane (1.25) and Jack Eichel (1.23).

 

That works out to $357,143 per goal and $277,778 per assist.

 

The left winger has a salary cap hit of $5 million per year, but he has just $5 million in salary remaining with an additional $3 million to be paid in signing bonuses, according to the buyout calculator at CapFriendly.com. If the Sabres bought out Moulson in June, he would count $2.83 million against the cap next season, $3.83 million in 2018-19 and $833,333 for each of the following two seasons.

 

It wouldn’t be huge savings, especially in 2018-19, but it would nonetheless be savings. Since Buffalo already needs to budget at least $61.3 million toward 19 players next year, savings could be needed for a cap estimated to be in the $73 million to $76 million range.

 

That big $3.83 in 2018-19 hurts BIG TIME. Somehow the leafs found takers for many big lousey contracts and I wonder if we need to seek the same help and get both Moulson and Gorges off the books. Gorges has a final year left at 3.9 mil.

That does go away next year either way, so I wonder if it's best to use him this year and save the buyout for Moulson. Or do we try to use Matt more and see if it pays off? This is a very important and real big decision facing whoever guides the ship next season. It is a ton of money tied up in two players that we could be put to far better use.

 

I am assuming that a new GM and Coach will not mind Bogo, and in fact I hope and expect him to excel under new leadership and I think he has top-4 potential without a doubt. he is much better then we've seen. His contract is big too of course ($5,142,857 per season for the next three years...OUCH). Maybe we should try to unload that contract too.

 

In the end, McCabe, Falk and Fedun, at a combined $2,850,000.00 for all three) were the best bang for the buck. We have Falk for anopther year at $650,000.00 (A steal) while jake is signed for another two years at 1.6mil (another steal) and Fedun is a free agent.

 

Anyways, I am curious what we think would be the best answer to these big contract questions moving forward. We have serious money that needs to be given (Jack, Sam.,Lerner etc) and think we need to do whatever we can to get out of these contracts ASAP...I also forgot Tyler Ennis at 4.6 mil for another 2 years. That sure adds up in just four contracts

Best bet would be to make a side deal with Vegas to take one of those contracts but that would mean they'd have to agree to leave another player off the protected list or give up a prospect/pick in return for them taking the contract

[LGR4GM]

Can we honestly expect to be much better this season with Moulson, Gorges, Bogo and Ennis in the lineup? I do hope that both Bogo and Ennis may improve under new coaching but I am not so sure either Gorges or Moulson have anything left to offer...they represent BIG bucks and seems such a waste but not so sure buying out is a valid alternative

Yes because Ennis is healthy, Bogo will be in a better system, Gorges won't be playing anywhere near the top 2 pairings, and Moulson... well Moulson we may need to just deal with him getting older/slower

[Doohicksie]

Why does everybody think Bogo will be better under a different coach, but not Moulson?

 

I'm actually kind of bullish on Moulson.  Yes, he had an awful year.  He had a decent if not spectacular bounceback year, and I think there is every reason to believe he will be even better this year.  If they find a way to move him, that's fine, but I think he might be a decent 3rd line guy and PP specialist.

 

It seemed like the Bylsma regime was a period of fitting square pegs into round holes.  That obviously didn't work.  We need a coach that will have a structured system (Byslma had that), but will also adjust that system to the strengths of the players executing it (the only accommodation Bylsma made is he let Jack run wild).

The other thing to remember is that with $2.83 M against the cap this coming year for Moulson if he's bought out, you effectively have to add that number to the salary of whatever player replaces him on the roster.  So if you replace him with a $2.5 M player who plays at a $2.5 M level, what you basically have is a $2.5 M performance that's tying up $5.33 M in cap space.  So are you really any better off?

[Sabel79]

Moulson is what he is at this point.  What he is can be useful if he's utilized properly.  Contract sucks relative to the production, but not much to be done about it now, if he can't be moved.  If he can be moved, then bully.

 

Buying him (or really anyone outside of a free compliance buyout or a situation much more horrendous than Matty Mo's) out and keeping him on the books longer is just not a good idea. 

[dudacek]

I don't think Matt Moulson has a role any more on a good team, but I do think he was improperly utilized last year.

 

Bylsma wanted his wingers to be flying around like Hagelin or Guentzel. Matt is woefully incapable of doing that.

Bylsma also was loathe to bench a veteran.

 

As a result, except for the early stretch where he got Jack's PP time, Moulson's role all year was to basically take up space with guys who couldn't create the holes he needed to do what he does best.

 

If he had been given Sam's role on Jack's line with a faster skater on the other side, he would have had 10 more points and we would be (wrongly) debating about whether he should be protected in expansion.

Edited May 25, 2017 by dudacek