Last summer marked a down (or is that up?) year for buyouts: Just eight were made, a drop from double-digit figures the previous three years. The average number over that span is 12, with 25 of the NHL’s 31 teams using the buyout at least once.



The reasons behind a buyout vary. Sometimes a team deliberately places itself in such a situation, taking on a problem contract for assets or accepting the eventual buyout as a way to lower cap hit in the short term. Sometimes a player gets hurt, and although he’s able to return to the ice, is a shadow of his former self.



Garden variety incompetence figures in, too, though ironically it’s often expressed in contracts which can’t be bought out.



Perhaps every NHL front office should be tricked out with flashing red lights and a deafening klaxon keyed to trigger whenever a player agent starts talking about massive signing bonuses on his client’s long-term contract. If said client is a...