Kent Hughes has the opportunity to acquire a defender with a negative salary
As reported by the renowned Frank Seravalli, who is currently doing a lot of work with his sources to identify possible upcoming NHL trades, we could be in for an eventful summer.
In addition to Petry, there are several other defensemen who could change their address, including Philippe Myers.
Myers, 25, has 4 points in 27 games this season with the Nashville Preds (+5 rating) and 7 points in 16 games in the AHL.
He had a very difficult season, but a year ago, the former Rouyn-Noranda Huskies was a good young promising defenseman. He was even traded, along with Nolan Patrick, from the Flyers to the Preds, for the excellent Ryan Ellis (Patrick was immediately traded for Cody Glass)
Anyway, that's not the point here.
The point is that Myers is a unique player in the NHL, thanks to his contract, and he is very interesting for teams who want flexibility under the NHL salary cap (like, well, the Montreal Canadiens).
You read the title correctly. Myers has a negative salary, if bought out.
As Seravalli explains, if a team acquires Philippe Myers, and buys out his contract, the team in question will have a positive "penalty" on its payroll.
Since Myers is 25 years old and is on an exceptional contract, his buyout would give $616,666 in payroll credit to the team that buys him out (for next season).
A situation to watch for this summer!
