The Nashville Predators will buy out forward Matt Duchene, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. This surprising move means the Predators will face salary cap penalties in the future, and Duchene will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Duchene has been with the Predators for the past four seasons, and his first couple of seasons were somewhat disappointing. From 2019 to 2021, Duchene only scored 19 goals in 100 games. However, he had an excellent season in 2021-22, scoring a franchise record-breaking 43 goals. In the 2022-23 season, Duchene scored 22 goals and had 56 points in 71 games.
Duchene signed a seven-year, $56 million contract with Nashville in July 2019. He had three years remaining on that contract, with an annual salary of $8 million. Now, the Predators will pay buyout penalties over the next six seasons, according to CapFriendly.
- 2023-24: $2.55 million
- 2024-25: $5.55 million
- 2025-26: $6.55 million
- 2026-27: $1.55 million
- 2027-28: $1.55 million
- 2028-29: $1.55 million
In addition to Duchene, the Predators have also retained salary on Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Johansen in recent trades. They are also paying Kyle Turris $2 million through the 2027-28 season as part of the buyout penalty for terminating his contract in 2020. As a result, Nashville will have $8.8 million in dead money against the salary cap in 2023-24, which will increase to over $11.8 million in 2025-26.
Following his buyout, Duchene will instantly become one of the top free agents in a shallow market. Despite his inconsistent performance in Nashville, Duchene is still a highly effective scoring winger. Now that the Predators will be paying him handsomely for the next few seasons, Duchene will likely have many options to choose from in free agency.
