The Sabres had until noon on Monday to decide whether or not they wanted to buy out Cody Hodgson’s contract. The team has placed him on waivers and, once he clears, will buy him out. By doing so before the deadline, they wouldn’t have to pay him as much than if they waited until after.
Hodgson had the worst season of his short career last year, accumulating 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 78 games. Despite the fact that he was playing on an offense that proved to be one of the lowest-scoring in league history, Hodgson vastly underachieved. He recorded a shooting percentage off 4.7% and was a -28 on the season.
“I’m not going to lie, it was pretty emotionally draining. It’s tough. You have to make sure you take a break. All of us are taking breaks in some capacity. All of us need it and we’ll come back ready and refreshed for next year.” – Cody Hodgson
Hodgson has a cap hit of approximately $4.2 million and is signed through the 2018-19 season.
After the players the Sabres acquired over the weekend, Hodgson’s role with the Sabres was going to be diminished either way. With Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly, David Legwand and even Evander Kane playing this season, Hodgson would’ve likely got pushed down to the third line, which is not where the organization envisioned him when they traded him for Zack Kassian.
The Sabres have also announced that they will not keep Arturs Irbe as the goaltending coach.