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NHL analyst reveals Penguins player most likely to seek a contract termination next
NHL analyst Josh Cybulski revealed that Penguins' Philip Tomasino could be the next player to seek a contract termination if it allows him to sign with a new club.
The NHL has seen a growing trend of players walking away from guaranteed deals to chase spots that fit better for them. It commonly starts via standard waivers, banking on the player not reporting to the AHL, which develops into a breach of contract.
The breach in contract allows the team to place the player on unconditional waivers, thus ending the contract altogether.
Last year, Brandon Saad took this route, giving up the final year and a half of his contract and more than $3 million in salary. This summer, Conor Sheary did the same with the last year of his deal, saving the Lightning about $1.5 million.
David Kampf and Alexandre Texier have followed, sacrificing substantial money to seek a better fit. All of this begs the question: who might be next?
What Philip Tomasino went through so far this season
Penguins forward Philip Tomasino sits high on that list, per NHL insider Josh Cybulski. He cleared waivers and was sent to the minors after passing through, making him available to every NHL team this month.
He signed a one-year, $1.75 million deal last offseason but has barely made an impact this season, with just one assist in nine NHL games.
He had a rough start last year in Nashville, too, before a midseason trade sparked a turnaround, so a comeback isn't out of the question.
Being waived through clearly indicated that interest was not there at his current price, but a team might take a chance at league minimum.
Why Philip Tomasino may not want to terminate his contract just yet
The Penguins also likely won't be using a salary-retention slot on him, and Tomasino might not want to give up his highest NHL salary yet.
He could play out the rest of the year in the AHL, but after putting up six points in three AHL games, a call-up back to the NHL is not out of the question, much like Ryan Graves and Tristan Jarry did last year.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 5 | 72 ANSWERS NHL analyst reveals Penguins player most likely to seek a contract termination next Will Philip Tomasino be playing for a different NHL team this season? | ||
| Yes | 51 | 70.8 % |
| No | 21 | 29.2 % |
| List of polls | ||