The Philadelphia Flyers have informed veteran forward Danny Briere that his contract will be bought out after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup final, according to CSN Philly.
Briere joined the Flyers in 2007 when he signed an eight-year, $52-million contract as an unrestricted free agent. The deal, which has a team-high annual salary cap hit of $6.5 million, was to expire at the end of the 2014-15.
In 34 games this season Briere registered just 16 points.
In April, Briere said he believed there was a strong possibility his contract would be bought out by the Flyers in the off-season.
“It’s reality. There’s no doubt about it. But at the same time, those are things I can’t control at this moment,” Briere told reporters after a game against the Ottawa Senators.
““I believe in this team. I want to be (here). I can’t control if they decide to buy me out, but this is where I want to be at this point. Kids being here, it’d be tough to go somewhere else. I want to be here and I will try everything in my power to stay here.”
Although his cap hit is $6.5 million, he is only owed $5 million in remaining salary ($3 million in 2013-14 and $2 million in 2014-15).
Meanwhile, amid reports that the team informed Ilya Bryzgalov’s agent Ritch Winter that the goaltender will not be bought out, Philadelphia’s GM Paul Holmgren told Flyers beat writer Tim Panaccio that nothing has been decided on that front.
Bryzgalov earns an average of $5.66 million per season on a contract that does not expire until 2020.
The quirky and quote worthy Russian goaltender struggled this year, posting a record of 19-17-3 with a .900 save percentage and 2.79 goals-against average.
The Flyers have been looking for a way to clear salary cap space to make room for defenceman Mark Streit, who the team is currently working on signing to a multi-year extension.
The salary cap for the 2012-13 NHL season was $70.2 million, but it will drop to $64.3 million on July 5 and according to capgeek.com, the Flyers currently have a payroll of over $75 million.
