The first NHL buyout window opened 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final ended. This season, that happened very late Tuesday night. The window closes on Tuesday, June 30, at 5:00 PM ET. While the Boston Bruins could explore that avenue, the arguments against it may outweigh the benefits. 

A buyout allows a team to end a player’s contract early and create short-term cap relief. The team that cuts the contract will pay two-thirds of the player’s base salary over twice the length of the remaining term. If the player is 25 or younger, they will receive one-third. Signing bonuses are not included in buyout calculations and must be paid in full. 

The team will be hit with a cap penalty in the years after the contract was set to expire. 

This summer, two Bruins contracts stand out as potential buyout candidates: Elias Lindholm and Joonas Korpisalo.

Elias Lindholm is one of the 12 “popular buyouts” listed on the PuckPedia Buyout Calculator. He is signed for five more years, with an annual cap hit of $7.75 million.

Lindholm has a no-movement clause, so if the Bruins bought him out, they would skip the waivers step of the buyout. Lindholm does not need to approve.

In the short term, the Bruins would save $3,916,667 in the first two seasons, then $3,166,667 in 2028-29. In the last two seasons, Lindholm’s buyout cap hit is $5,333,333, only giving the Bruins an additional $2,416,667 to work with, according to PuckPedia. 

The contract would not go away until 2036. After 2031, the Bruins would be hit with a $1,583,333 cap charge – Lindholm’s annual buyout cost – annually for the next five seasons. With the rise of the salary cap, that is not much, but the cap savings, especially later in the contract, do not justify buying him out this summer.

Lindholm has not lived up to the expectations set when the Bruins signed him in 2024, and Cam Neely essentially confirmed that in May. A recurring back issue has disrupted Lindholm’s first two years in Boston, but he has shown signs of a better player when healthy. If the injuries do not go away, the Bruins could seek full cap relief, but that is a conversation for another time. 

The Bruins brought Lindholm in to be their top center just two years ago. He may not be that player, but he still has a role going forward.

The Bruins also have Joonas Korpisalo’s $3,000,000 cap hit on the books for two more years. The Ottawa Senators cover the other $1,000,000. It’s a steep price to pay for a backup goalie who started 28 games. Especially when there is a promising goaltender under contract and knocking at the door.  

Korpisalo has not disappointed, even if the numbers are not stellar. He earned more starts this season and picked up crucial points down the stretch, and he is a more-than-proven NHL goaltender. 

Buying him out creates $1,812,500 in cap space for the 2026-27 season and $1,437,500 for the 2027-28 season. Then the Bruins will be on the hook for $812,500 in each of the 2028-29 and 2029-30 seasons. 

It is not as bad as Lindholm’s buyout, or nearly as long a commitment, but the Bruins only create $1 million in cap space when you factor in Michael DiPietro’s $812,500 salary cap hit.

Sending Korpisalo to Providence is another option, and his cap hit becomes $1,775,000. The Bruins save $1,225,000 by burying him, which comes out to $412,500 of savings when DiPietro comes up. 

The difference between the two is not significant enough to warrant carrying cap penalties until 2030. Though it may be tough to pull it off, a trade is the best way out of Korpisalo’s contract this summer. Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic recently suggested a late-round pick in return. If the Bruins have to retain, it goes away in two seasons instead of four. 

Don Sweeney has not been afraid to utilize the buyout window throughout his tenure as the Bruins’ GM. He most recently did it in 2023-24, buying out the last season of Mike Reilly’s three-year deal. 

Sweeney has options if he chooses to use them, but neither Lindholm nor Korpisalo presents a case strong enough to outweigh the long-term consequences.

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