Flames to buy out Lance Bouma's $2.3 million contract

Jul 1 2017, 12:32 am

A day ahead of the start of free agency, the Calgary Flames have decided to cut a couple of players loose.

Lance Bouma and the newly acquired Ryan Murphy have been placed on unconditional waivers, the precursor for a buyout.

Calgary wasn’t the only team doing this, as seven players in total were put on unconditional waivers, including former Flames winger Mike Cammalleri.

Bouma, a Flames third round draft pick in 2008, was scheduled to make $2.3 million next season. He was scheduled to enter the last year of a three-year contract that carried at $2.2 million cap hit.

Bouma has played in 304 NHL games, scoring 67 points (27-40-67). A player with grit and intangibles, he failed to produce on the scoreboard. He had just 7 points (3-4-7) in 61 games last season, averaging 11:21 of ice time per game.

That’s a long way from the 27-year-old’s breakout season in 2014-15 when he scored 34 points (16-18-34) in 78 games.

Murphy was acquired from Carolina in the Eddie Lack trade on Thursday. A 12th overall draft pick in 2011, the 24-year-old has failed to make much of an impact in the NHL.

The Flames will get cap relief with these buyouts, which should set them up to make more noise in free agency.

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