Well, this is interesting.
Alexander Wennberg, who has certainly had his ups and downs, seemed to find his footing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However, according to a report from The Athletic, the Blue Jackets may have reached the point of no return (or patience) and are considering buying out the rest of Wennberg's contract.
Amid reports of interest in Jesse Puljujärvi and Patrik Laine, the Blue Jackets will certainly have to be creative if they want to add scoring this offseason. After RFA negotiations with Pierre-Luc Dubois, Josh Anderson, and Vladislav Gavrikov, the Blue Jackets are going to be limited in terms of cap space.
If they pursued a buyout, the Blue Jackets would still have to pay Wennberg $5.35 million (a third of his remaining contract) over the course of six seasons, which is $891,667 through the 2025-26 season.
Importantly, a buyout of Wennberg's contract would free up $4,458,333 in cap space over each of the next three seasons, per CapFriendly. During those three seasons, he would only be a $441,667 cap hit rather than $4.9 million. Then, over the next three years (2023-26), he would be a $891,667 cap hit.
The Blue Jackets would still have to pay Wennberg $5.35 million (a third of his remaining contract) over the course of six seasons, which is $891,667 through the 2025-26 season. While it's more spread out, they would end up saving a significant amount of money — $10.7 million, in fact.
If the Blue Jackets are serious about bolstering their roster (and I suspect they are), a buyout of Wennberg's contract may not be that far-fetched, especially if GM Jarmo Kekalainen has his eye on Laine.
