The on ice portion of the 2024-25 season has come to an end with the Stanley Cup being awarded to Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers (thank god).

With that, let the off-season shenanigans begin.

One of the first orders of business for teams around the NHL is deciding whether or not to take advantage of the buyout window, which opens 48 hours after the Stanley Cup is awarded.

A buyout is something that is a last ditch effort to move on from a player or contract that isn’t working out. Ideally, you’d like to trade a contact without a sweetener attached to a deal. Or have another team claim that player off waivers. But those avenues aren’t always available. Sometimes you have to use a buyout.

Should the Calgary Flames use a buyout on any of their players who are under contract for the 2025-26 season? Let’s take a look at a few names who could be buyout candidates.

The Flames acquired Miromanov as part of the Noah Hanifin trade in March 2024. Things got off to a good start for the Russian defenceman. He played alongside MacKenzie Weegar at 5-on-5 for the final 20 games of the 2023-24 season and formed a strong pairing. He also played the second most power play minutes among Flames defencemen over that time.

Miromanov led Flames defencemen in CF% and was second in xGF%, SCF%. He put up 3 goals and 7 points in 20 games. Good for a 12 goal, 29 point pace over 82 games.

There was a lot of optimism for Miromanov heading into the 2024-25 season. He started on a pair with Weegar once again. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out the way he and the Flames had hoped.

Miromanov struggled all season long. His lack of foot speed and agility proved to be his downfall. He just couldn’t keep up on a lot of nights in a second pairing role. There were too many glaring mistakes where the puck ended up in the Flames net.

We also don’t know what type of player he is at the NHL level. He doesn’t have a particular skill that he is elite at. He’s not a great offensive defenceman. He is not a great defensive defenceman. He doesn’t play much on special teams. What is he?

On top of that there is a logjam on the right side of the Flames defence at the moment. Weegar, Rasmus Andersson, Zayne Parekh, Brayden Pachal, and Hunter Brzustewicz are all right shots.

Miromanov is signed for one more season making $1.25 million.

Buying out Miromanov wouldn’t be about saving money on the cap. It would be done to open up a roster spot for young players both at the NHL and AHL level.

Craig Conroy signed Jake Bean on day one of free agency as a replacement for Oliver Kylington. The Flames were hoping that Bean would be a second of third pairing left shot defenceman who could make plays and use his skating to his advantage.

He ended up just having an okay season as he was in and out of the lineup. Bean put up 2 goals and 7 points in 64 games, underwhelming offensive numbers for a player as talented as Bean.

The underlying numbers were solid for the Calgary native as he was above 50% in major underlying numbers like CF%, GF%, xGF%, SCF%, and HDCF%.

But similar to Miromanov, it just didn’t seem like Bean was able to find a role on the team.

It might be in the Flames best interest to move on from Bean via trade, waivers, or a buyout to open up a roster spot for a younger player who hasn’t got an opportunity to prove themselves at the NHL level.

We know what Bean is at the NHL level. But we don’t know what Ilya Solovyov, Yan Kuznetsov, Jeremie Poirier, and Artyom Grushnikov are in the NHL. Those type of players need an opportunity to show what they got.

And could the Flames look to upgrade the left side of their defence this summer? Whether it’s a trade, offer sheet, or free agent signing, the left side needs to get a whole lot better.

Bean has one year remaining on his contract that pays him $1.75 million.

This all depends on your outlook for Farabee over the next three years in Calgary.

If you think he can get back to being a 20 goal, 45-50 point player for the rest of his contract, then buying him out makes no sense.

If you think Farabee is going to be closer to the player he was in his 31 games with he Flames last season, then you might want to think about a buyout.

Farabee struggled to find his footing with the Flames after being traded for the first time in his career. There are a lot of reasons for why he might have struggled. Getting used to a new system, teammates, city and country could all have contributed to his struggles. To have to uproot your life at the snap of a finger is not an easy thing to do.

There were also rumours that the relationship between Farabee and Flyers coach John Tortorella was a rocky one which might have effected his confidence as a player.

On the ice, you could make an argument that Farabee was snake-bitten. His underlying numbers were some of the best on the team among forwards from Feb. 1 to the end of the season. He was in the top 3 in CF%, SCF%, HDCF%, and xGF%.

Farabee was 3rd in iHDCF (high danger shot attempts) and 4th among forwards in ixG (individual expected goals). The shots were there. The scoring chances were there. But his 5.77% shooting percentage tanked his offensive results.

All signs point to Farabee getting his game back next season.

But what if it doesn’t? What if Farabee continues to struggle and not find a role with the Flames? The one aspect of Farabee’s game that has been criticized by media and fans in Philadelphia is his consistency. One night he’ll look fantastic. The next couple weeks he’ll go missing.

Then there is the fact the Flames have a lot of wingers on the NHL roster. Huberdeau, Coronato, Zary, Coleman, Sharangovich, Klapka, Pospisil. Where does Farabee fit in with that group?

There are also a lot of young players in the Flames prospect system looking to earn a spot within the next few years. Suniev, Gridin, Basha, Honzek, Stromgren, Kerins, Battaglia, and King. You’re going to want those young player to be given a chance to succeed in the top 9. Where are those spots going to come from?

A buyout for Farabee this off-season would not cost the Flames much on their cap.

You wouldn’t be buying out Farabee for this season. It would be about the following two years. The Flames would save over $5 million in the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. They can use that cap space to go big game hunting to help them turn the corner in their winning cycle and use Farabee’s roster spot for a young player.

Is this likely to happen? No it’s not. But I think an interesting discussion to have.

Get ready for wall-to-wall coverage of one of the biggest days in the calendar — the Daily Faceoff Live Free Agency Special goes live on July 1st at 11 AM EST. Host Tyler Yaremchuk is joined by Carter Hutton, Matthew Barnaby, Jeff Marek, Hart Levine, Colby Cohen, Jonny Lazarus, and insiders from across the Network for three hours of in-depth analysis, live reactions, and real-time updates on every major signing and trade. From blockbuster deals to under-the-radar moves, we’re breaking it all down as it happens. Don’t miss a minute — catch the full special live on DailyFaceoff.com and Daily Faceoff’s YouTube.