Sabres place Cody Hodgson on waivers; buyout coming

The Buffalo Sabres could have given Cody Hodgson a two-year bridge deal in 2013, but decided on a six-year, $25.5 million pact instead. Nearly two years later, the winger has been put on unconditional waivers by the team with the intent of buying out his contract.

Hodgson was dealt to the Sabres at the 2012 trade deadline from the Vancouver Canucks and in three-and-a-half seasons tallied 44 goals and 99 points. This past season was his worst during his tenure in Buffalo where he scored six goals and 13 points over 78 games while watching his ice time diminish nearly six minutes compared to the previous two seasons. As Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald pointed out, the 25-year old had goal droughts of 19, 27 and 47 games in 2014-15.

Things started so promising in Buffalo, though…

Per General Fanager, should Hodgson clear waivers and have the final four years of his deal bought out by the Sabres, he’ll be paid $791,666 over the next eight seasons and Buffalo will carry a cap hit of $1.04 million in 2014-15, $541,667 in 2015-16 and $41,667 in 2017-18. After a $458,334 credit in 2018-19, Hodgson will go back to counting against their cap for $791,666 from 2019-20 to 2022-23.

The NHL’s buyout period ends Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET.

Said Hodgson at the end of the regular season: “This is by far the worst years just I’ve had in my whole life, not just in just in a National Hockey League year.

“I can’t explain what happened or what happened in more than one instance. It wasn’t just one time. It was consistently, whatever is was, missing opportunities, saves, bad luck – whatever you want to call it. I’ll be much better next year.”

Considering the money coming to him over the next eight years, there's certainly some general manager out there willing to take a cheap gamble on a 25-year old forward who has shown promise at certain times of his career. The resurrection will begin next season.

- - - - - - -

Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY: