The Florida Panthers have issued defenseman Filip Kuba a regular, non-compliance buyout, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN on Wednesday afternoon.
Filip Kuba bought out by Florida Panthers
The Panthers have used a regular, non-compliance buyout on Kuba.
USA TODAY Sports
Kuba had one-year remaining on a two-year, $8 million contract that carried an annual average value of $4 million against the salary cap. Given the no-movement clause in his contract, the 36-year-old defenseman was not required to enter unconditional waivers prior to being administered the buyout.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement, each team is permitted two compliance buyouts that remove a player’s salary from their cap allotment without penalty, but Kuba’s buy out does not count against that limit. This option was created due to the declining nature of the salary cap for the 2013-14 season, as well as a way to adjust to new contractual rules in the collective bargaining agreement.
Florida does not have this issue. In fact, reaching the lower-limit of the salary cap is likely more of an issue than spending to the upper-limit. By buying Kuba out, the team retains a portion of his salary. Kuba will count for $1.2 million against the cap in 2013-14 and $1.4 million against the cap in 2014-15, according to CapGeek.com.
Florida signed Kuba as an unrestricted free agent last offseason. He played in 44 games with the team during the 2013 regular season. He will become an unrestricted free agent on July 5.
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