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Surprising details emerge about Matthew Tkachuk's new contract structure

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C. Ritchie
July 23, 2022 (5:40 PM)

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Matthew Tkachuk was moved to the Florida Panthers on Friday night in one of the biggest trades in recent NHL memory. Tkachuk was traded because he was a restricted-free-agent who was unwilling to sign and stay long-term in Calgary. He was subsequently shipped to Florida where he could reap the rewards of the low tax rate in the state. Now it seems the structure of his new contract will secure more money in Tkachuk's pocket even in sooner.

According to Sportnet's Elliotte Friedman, Matthew Tkachuk's new contract contains only $1 million per year in salary and the rest would be paid in bonuses. Tkachuk reportedly signed an 8-year $76 million contract. His annual salary cap hit would still remain $9.5 million per year as bonuses don't affect the players AAV. But this essentially makes Matthew Tkachuk buyout proof.

Below are the rules as laid out by the last NHL CBA on how the buyouts of contracts are calculated when there are bonuses involved.

Signing bonuses are paid to the player regardless of a buyout. Therefore, as explained in the buyout caphit formula above, signing bonuses are excluded in the equation when determining the total buyout cost, and are included in the AAV value when determining the remaining caphit.

Signing bonuses therefore decrease the buyout caphit savings.

Tkachuk is signed until he is 32-years-old so it is unlikely his production will drop off that significantly during the course of the contract. It would be a long shot that he would be bought out in the first place. It's a smart move by Tkachuk and his agent to structure his contract this way to get as much money as soon as possible.

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