NHL teams have no shortage of options when it comes to positioning themselves favorably with regard to the salary cap, but one of the easiest and most popular methods in recent years has been the buyout.
Although organizations no longer have the benefit of compliance buyouts, which totally eliminated cap hits, regular buyouts are still worth exploring in certain situations. According to CapGeek.org, buyouts allow teams to pay either one-third or two-thirds of a player's remaining salary, depending on their age, and it also lessens the cap hit, although it must be paid over double the amount of years remaining on the contract.