Ottawa Senators place Colin White on waivers for purpose of buyout

The Ottawa Senators have placed center Colin White on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout.

White had three years left on his deal six-year deal with a $4.75 million cap hit. Due to White being only 25, there are several unique circumstances with his buyout. It makes it a one-third buyout as opposed to the usual two-third buyout and will save the Senators $10.5 million in real cash. Also, the cap hit falls to only $875,000 for five of the six years, with the 2024-25 season coming with a $625,000 cap credit.

White has scuffled since his 41-point season in 2018-19 which got him the six-year contract. He’s struggled to stay in the lineup because of a litany of injuries, playing only 130 games since, and has been scoring inconsistently, with no more than 10 goals or 23 points in a season since. The 2021-22 season was even worse for White; he only got into 24 games, and only had three goals and seven assists for 10 points. He was originally a first-round draft pick for the Senators, going 21st overall in 2015.

The age factor was likely a big reason why the Senators bought White out, along with his struggles. He clearly wasn’t performing up to the contract, and if Ottawa didn’t buy him out this season, his buyout would be a normal two-third buyout, and cost the team more cap space, and more money, which is an important detail for a Sens team that struggles financially.

The buyout saves the Senators $3.875 million in cap space, increasing their total to just over $27 million going into the offseason. White will be the third player taking away some of the Sens cap space due to a buyout, joining Bobby Ryan’s $1,833,333 for two more years and Dion Phaneuf’s $354,167 for one more year, although the Los Angeles Kings bought out that contract, with Ottawa retaining salary when they dealt him to the Kings.