There appears to be a snafu in the Florida Panthers attempt to buy-out disgruntled forward Dave Bolland.
The Panthers were expected to cut ties with Bolland and shed the memory of his awful five-year, $27.5 million contract in order to gain a small amount of cap relief. Apparently, their efforts at buying out Bolland have failed. Luke Fox of Sportsnet.ca reports Bolland won’t be bought out after issues at his physical.
“Heard from reliable source Dave Bolland failed physical and won’t be bought out, Fox tweeted. Panthers: “no comment at this time.”
If the reports are true, the Panthers are stuck with the remaining $16.5 million cap hit from Bolland’s contract. If they bought him out, they’d still owe him a majority of that money anyway, but with the cap likely staying still, every dollar counts. Not being able to get rid of Bolland is a tough blow.
Bolland had dealt with injury issues and it’s doubtful he plays with the Panthers again, even if a buy-out doesn’t occur. He’s an ineffective player who only managed five points in 25 games last season. It’s impossible to count on him and even if Florida does, he’s likely going to miss time with injuries. He failed a physical which means he’s not in game shape.
It’s a crappy break for the organization but the onus is on the Panthers and Dale Tallon for giving Bolland the ridiculous contract in the first place.
