Oilers have two week window to buy out Souray

[Guest]

The Edmonton Oilers have a two-week window, beginning Wednesday, in which they can buy out the contract of defenceman Sheldon Souray at two-thirds the cost of his salary.

The blueliner, who turns 35 next month, did not appear in the NHL last season. He played 40 games for the AHL's Hershey Bears and scored four goals and 15 assists.

Souray was sent to the minors by Edmonton last October after he had earlier criticized the team for how they treated him while he was injured. Souray had also demanded a trade at the end of the 2009-10 season.

Souray was twice placed on waivers last season and attracted no takers from around the NHL.

He signed a five-year, $27 million contract with the Oilers as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2007. He has one season and $4.5 million remaining on his deal, which includes a cap hit of $5.4 million for any team that is willing to take him.

A buyout would cost the Oilers $3 million

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=368983

Oilers could buy him out, but the question is, will they? They can continue to send him to a minor league club and not have it count against the cap. They still have to pay him, so I wonder what direction they will take.

Souray could still help out a team in a second pairing and would be a solid risk signing for a one year deal if he is bought out.

[leaffan]

The only real reason to buy him out is to save a million or so in his wages. I don't know what kind of cap hit the oilers would take from his buyout though.

[killgod]

I think they'll bury him.

He won't want to play for the Oilers or at least wouldn't be a positive player to have in that locker room, so I doubt he's with the big club at all.

Buying him out will drag out the cap hit, so just suck it up for one more year and he's off the books forever.