Friday: Beleskey has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the AHL. As CapFriendly points out, since the team activated Ryan Spooner yesterday in Beleskey’s roster spot, and moved the waived forward to “Waiver Non-Roster” to clear space, he must immediately report to the Providence Bruins. That doesn’t mean he can’t be traded, much the opposite. Any acquiring team could put Beleskey in the minor leagues right away, without him having to clear again.
Thursday: The Boston Bruins have decided that they’ve waited long enough for Matt Beleskey to make an impact, and have placed the forward on waivers today according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Beleskey has played just 14 games for the Bruins this season, but has been held without a single point.
Beleskey was signed to a five-year, $19MM contract in the summer of 2015 and has two more seasons after this one at a $3.8MM cap hit. His deal has become one of the very worst contracts in the entire league, as even last season saw him register just eight points in 49 games. Friedman reports that he’ll be heading to Providence to play in the AHL if he goes unclaimed.
By burying Beleskey in the minors, the Bruins would save a prorated $1.025MM in cap space. It seems very unlikely that he would be claimed by a team, meaning if the Bruins want to get rid of his contract they’ll have to find a trade partner or buy him out this summer. Beleskey does have a partial no-trade clause, but can be traded to 23 teams around the league. If the Bruins retained salary, perhaps there is someone who believes the 29-year old can still provide some value.
By winning again last night, the Bruins now hold a healthy four point lead over the Montreal Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division, with three additional games in hand. It’s clear the team believes they are a playoff contender this season, and is making sure they can put the best team forward every night. By burying Beleskey, the team opens up some more cap flexibility and the ability to make an addition at some point.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
No way he gets claimed
If he does, huge break for Bruins. Either way, it’s a great opportunity for Beleskey to go to Providence and play every day and maybe get his feet back under him.
If they outright him then his cap hit is reduced for the year. So if they buy him out, does a similar thing happen for future years? Or do they have to just pay him to play in the minors.
A buyout would have the Bruins pay 2/3’s of his remaining salary spread over double the years left on his deal. I highly recommend visiting Cap Friendly because they do the buyout calculations for you. In Beleskey’s case, his buyout cap hit would be as follows over the next 4 seasons:
18/19: $966,667
19/20: $1,966,667
20/21: $1,166,667
21/22: $1,166,667
Perfect, thanks.
No way he gets claimed and no way anyone will trade for that contract. Max they can retain is 50% I believe. So any team trading for him could have him for 1.9 per but I think the Bruins buy him out rather than have 1.9 of dead space for 3 years
Ah, the Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes deals. AKA the initial warning signs that Sweeney was in over his head as Bruins GM.
The AAV wasn’t even horrendous at the time, but it was when combined with a 5 year term.
The Hayes deal was to get Marc Savard’s contract off the books and the Beleskey signing was solid at the time. His first year in Boston was good. Injuries and coaching change/team playing style derailed him.