These players who are still on the payroll of an NHL team

You’ll forgive me for the anglicism in the title. But in the context where the National Hockey League (NHL) teams have been handing out millions of dollars for the past two days, it’s a good time to remember some of their less successful moves.

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Several teams are currently paying large sums of money so that players do not play for them. And some of these teams have been paying them for quite some time now. So much so that we no longer remembered that they were still on the payroll of the team.

In the list below, you will see that most of the players have been retired for several seasons. Others are still active in the NHL and have even just signed a new pact in the last few days.

Here are 15 players who will receive a check from a Bettman Tour team this year without even having to put on a uniform.

Simon After ➔ Anaheim Ducks

Even though the buyout of the Quebec defenseman’s contract does not appear on the team’s payroll, the Ducks will pay Després $662,500 to not play for them next season.

This is the last season the Ducks will have to spend that amount on Després, who has taken advantage of it to play globetrotter in recent years. The 32-year-old has played in Slovakia, Germany, Sweden, Austria and England over the past seven seasons and will head to Scotland in 2024-25.

Christian Ehrhoff ➔ Buffalo Sabres

I’m willing to bet you haven’t heard this name in a long time. This German defenseman had solid NHL seasons in San Jose and Vancouver before signing a 10 (!) year deal with the Sabres in 2011.

Three years later, the Sabres had enough and decided to use the accelerated buyout option so that he would not count on the team’s salary cap. This buyout still costs the Sabres $857,143 each year since 2014, and will continue to do so until 2028!

Justin Abdelkader ➔ Red Wings de Detroit

Although he hasn’t worn a Wings jersey since the 2019-20 season (or any other NHL team), Abdelkader continues to receive $1,055,556 from the Michigan-based organization each year through 2026.

James Neal ➔ Oilers d’Edmonton

The Oilers decided to buy out the former 40-goal scorer in 2021, after just 84 games in Edmonton.

This buyout will count for one final year on the Alberta team’s payroll for $1,916,667. This means that the Oilers will have to pay the buyouts of both Neal and Jack Campbell’s contracts for the duration of the 2024-2025 campaign.

Keith Yandle ➔ Florida Panthers

Even the defending Stanley Cup champions had to mop up buyout money last year and will do so for another season in Yandle’s case.

The now-retired defenseman had just collected 27 points in 56 games when the Panthers decided to move on to another call.

Mike Richards ➔ Los Angeles Kings

Mike Richards’ case is a little more complicated. The Kings had decided to terminate his deal prematurely due to a breach of contract, which was contested by the Richards camp.

In the end, the Kings were penalized for illegally terminating the contract and must pay Richards $10.5 million for… 17 years! They will only finish paying their debt to their former player in 2032.

Zach Parise/Ryan Suter ➔ Wild you Minnesota

In July 2021, the Wild surprised the hockey world by announcing the simultaneous buyouts of the contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter with four seasons remaining on those deals.

Both players signed identical contracts to join the Wild in 2012… 13-year contracts valued at $98 million.

Kyle Turris ➔ Predators de Nashville

New Predators general manager Barry Trotz has shown in recent days that he is not afraid to take out the checkbook to improve his team.

He is also not afraid to use a contract buyout for a player who no longer fits into his plans, as was the case with Matt Duchene when he took office. But he still has to deal with an agreement initialed by his predecessor David Poile that the latter even had to buy out before his departure.

Kyle Turris will receive $2 million from the “Preds” for another four years.

Ilya Kovalchuk ➔ New Jersey Devils

This is the year the Devils will finally finish paying the penalty imposed by the NHL on the 15-year, $102 million contract awarded to Kovalchuk by Lou Lamoriello in September 2010.

Because the contract circumvented salary cap rules, the Devils were penalized by the league. They were required to pay back $3 million per year for 12 years, effectively taking $250,000 off the team’s payroll each year.

Rick DiPietro ➔ Islanders de New York

The Islanders decided to use the accelerated buyout clause in 2013 to get out of the terrible 15-year contract given to DiPietro by then-GM Garth Snow.

Even though the buyout has no impact on the team’s payroll, it still costs the Islanders $1.5 million per year, until 2029!

Brad Richards ➔ Rangers de New York

This contract buyout has cost the Rangers a small fortune since June 20, 2014. When it ends in 2026, it will have cost the Big Apple team no less than $20.6 million over a 12-year period.

For his part, Richards is comfortably retired, having not played in the NHL since the 2015-2016 season.

Ilya Bryzgalov ➔ Philadelphia Flyers

Who doesn’t remember this eccentric goalkeeper with his crazier lines?

Two years after signing a nine-year deal with the Flyers in 2011, Bryzgalov suffered the fate of many of his peers in 2013: an expedited buyout that didn’t count on the team’s payroll.

This means that the Flyers are paying $1,642,857 per year from 2013 to 2027 to the man nicknamed “Mr. Universe».

Vincent Lecavalier ➔ Lightning de Tampa Bay

Lecavalier had time to play three more years in the NHL, retire and be hired by the Habs before his contract buyout payments from the Lightning even came due.

It will not be until 2027 that the Florida team will have repaid the $32,666,667 it owed Lecavalier following the buyout of his contract.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson ➔ Vancouver Canucks and… Utah

This is the only player on this list who is currently under contract with an NHL team.

He is also one of the only players whose various deals he has signed count against the payroll of three different teams.

He’ll get $3.5 million to play in Toronto, $2.34 million to not play in Vancouver after his contract is bought out, and will count for $320,000 on Utah’s new roster because of a salary holdback in the deal that moved him from the Coyotes to the Canucks. All right, everyone?

Thanks to Cap Friendly and Puck Pedia for the information.