Florida Panthers to buy out defenseman Keith Yandle

The Florida Panthers are going to cut ties with a veteran defenseman, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the team will buy out Keith Yandle. Because Yandle has a no-movement clause, he will not require unconditional waivers, meaning the buyout process can move forward immediately. With two years left on his contract the Panthers will carry a cap penalty of the following:

• 2021-22: $2,341,667
• 2022-23: $5,391,667
• 2023-24: $1,241,667
• 2024-25: $1,241,667

In actual salary, Yandle will earn just over $1.24M each year. The move gives the Panthers cap savings of just over $4M this season as Yandle’s deal carried an average annual value of $6.35M. That provides them with a good bit of room this year, but it’s a pretty hefty dead cap hit to deal with in 2022-23.

Yandle, 34, was on the edge of the lineup for the Panthers even though he played in all 56 games this season. There was talk in training camp that he would be scratched to start the year, which would have ended his ironman streak of not missing a game in over a decade. With a buyout, Yandle should be able to continue the streak, which is now sitting at 922 games, the second-longest streak of all time (Doug Jarvis, 964).

If postseason games were counted in that streak, it would have already ended, as Yandle played just three of the Panthers games against the Tampa Bay Lightning this year. Despite still being an effective powerplay quarterback and offense play-driving defenseman, his consistency in the defensive end has obviously not pleased the coaching staff or the front office. They’ll cut ties with him now in order to save a little money this year, but will be paying nearly $5.4M for Yandle to not play for them in 2022-23.

That’s another veteran defenseman hitting the market after a buyout, following the news out of Minnesota earlier this week. Even though the Panthers didn’t believe he could help them anymore, Yandle should immediately have a market from teams looking for a third-pairing/power play option. With 600 points in 1,032 NHL games, there’s certainly no lack of experience in the veteran defenseman.