Islanders Trade Rights to Johnny Boychuk to Buffalo Sabres

The New York Islanders traded the contract of Johnny Boychuk to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday afternoon for future considerations. The deal helps Buffalo stay above the salary cap floor after trading Jack Eichel early Thursday morning.

Johnny Boychuk announced he would be ending his playing career last November because of an eye injury he sustained during the season. The defenseman carries a $6 million cap hit on his contract and the Islanders have placed him on LTIR this season and last.

“What this transaction does, it really helps both teams,” Isles general manager Lou Lamoriello said. “In our situation, it gives us the ability to take ourselves out of long-term injury, which allows us, with the cap space that we have now, to accumulate as the season progresses. Where even though you have cap space if you’re a long-term injury, you cannot accumulate any more cap space if not used as you go forward. That’s what it does for us.”

The Islanders had been operating above the salary cap because Johnny Boychuk had been placed on LTIR at the start of the season. New York was allowed to go over by $6 million, which is Boychuk’s AAV.

The 2021-22 season is the final year left on Boychuk’s contract.

After trading Boychuk, the #Isles go from being a team over the cap and using LTIR to a team under the cap. This means that cap space will now accrue for them, and at the trade deadline they only need cap space for 20% of a player’s annual cap hit. https://t.co/CwKr7yFHr8

— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) November 4, 2021