Pucks and Pitchforks
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New Jersey Devils Should Not Buy Out Any Contract

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 05: (l-) Stefan Noesen #23, Andy Greene #6 and Travis Zajac #19 of the New Jersey Devils celebrate their 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Prudential Center on April 5, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. With the victory, the Devils clinch a playoff position. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 05: (l-) Stefan Noesen #23, Andy Greene #6 and Travis Zajac #19 of the New Jersey Devils celebrate their 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Prudential Center on April 5, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. With the victory, the Devils clinch a playoff position. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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There is chatter among New Jersey Devils fans about buying out one of the long contracts for some aging stars. This would be a terrible idea as it stands now.

The New Jersey Devils have a few long-term contracts on the books that don’t look very good right now. Paying players like Travis Zajac and Andy Greene $5 million+ is not ideal. However, a buyout is not the answer here.

Sure, the Devils don’t need either player’s production, as they’ve both fallen off well past their prime. That doesn’t mean they don’t provide something for the price. Just because they aren’t a necessary part of the roster, they still provide something on a nightly basis.

Beyond that, the Devils just don’t need to do it. The Devils currently have $20 million in salary cap space. That’s if the cap doesn’t go up at all. We know thanks to the revenue from the Vegas Golden Knights addition to the league, the salary cap is expected to go up as high was $82 million. That would give the Devils $27 million in space. We don’t want the team to spend any more than that anyway.

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If the Devils buyout Zajac, who’s owed $5.75 million over the next three years, they would save $4.5 million this season, and $3.75 million the next two seasons. Unfortunately, then the Devils would love $2 million per season in the three seasons after that. The Devils will need the space more then, when Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier and possibly another long-term free agent that becomes available.

Greene, on the other hand, would only bring savings for the next two seasons. The Devils would be forced to lose $1.67 million in space two years from now. That’s when Hall’s contract is up.

There’s no need to buyout Greene and Zajac. Head coach John Hynes just has to put them in a place to succeed. Greene would be a fine third-pairing defenseman. Zajac is great as a third-line center. The Devils have plenty of money to spend this offseason and next. A buyout would be a silly option at this point.

I’ve also seen some people talk about a buyout for Cory Schneider. That would be idiotic at this point. He deserves at least one more shot to prove he can make it through a season without injury. Buying him out would hurt the team for years to come beyond what it would cost on the cap.

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