The new CBA has made it possible for teams to buyout 2 players this summer without having to keep the cap hit. Without further ado, here is my list of top 20 players that represent potential buyout candidates.

20) Johan Franzen, Detroit Red Wings. 56 points last season, but Franzen has yet to crack the 60 point mark for a season in his career. At 33 years old, he is not getting any younger and this summer he will have 7 years left on his contract at $3.95M cap hit.  He will be 40 when his contract expires.

19) Anton Volchenkov, New Jersey Devils. Reliable defenseman, but only 11 points last season. He turned 30 and he will have 3 more seasons at a pricey cap hit of $4.25M per year.

18) John-Michael Liles, Toronto Maple Leafs. Offensive defenseman who saw hos production go down from 46 to 27 points last season. At 32 years old, his best days are behind him and he will still have 3 years left at $3.875M per season. Not the most reliable guy in his own end either.

17) RJ Umberger, Blue Jackets. 40 points last season is not enough for a guy making $4.6M per season. At 30 years old, RJ will have 4 more year on his deal after this season.

16) Paul Martin, Penguins. Under-producing offensive defenseman, at 51 points in 2 full seasons combined for the Pens. At 31 years old, Martin will have 2 more years on his deal at a cap hit of $5M per season.

15) Mike Komisarek, Leafs. No doubt that Komisarek is over-paid at $4.5M per season. The only reason he is so low on the list is because he has 1 more year to go after this one and the Leafs won’t necessarily need the cap relief. Plus, he can still play at the NHL level, but his contracts is one of the worst; 19 points over 3 seasons in Toronto.

14) David Booth, Vancouver Canucks. Booth had a horrible season, combining for 30 points between Canucks and Panthers. He will need to produce big time this season, as Canucks badly need the cap space and could well buy him out in the summer. He will have 2 years remaining on his deal, at a cap of $4.25M per year.

13)Rotislav Olesz, Chicago. The Hawks buried him in the minors last season, where he had 41 points. After this season, Olesz will still have 1 year left at a $3.125M salary.

12) Ed Jovanovski, Panthers. The 36 year old posted an abysmal 13 points last season, combined with a -11 rating. After this year, he will have 2 years left at  $4.125M per season.

11) Tomas Kaberle, Montreal Canadiens. The 34 year old brought high levels of criticism upon ex-Habs GM Pierre Gauthier for his acquisition. While not reliable defensively, Kaberle still came up with 22 points in 41 games with the Habs last year (on pace for a 44 point full season). His cap hit of $4.25M is unfriendly but he will only have 1 year left on his deal.

10) Ville Leino, Buffalo Sabres. He vastly disappointed in hist 1st year of his new deal, with 25 points. After this season. Leino will still have 4 years at $4.5M per season.

9) Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks. Very likely that Vancouver will be able to move him via trade, but Luongo will have 9 years left on his deal this summer, with a cap hit of $5.33M. Quite pricey in his new role as a backup in Vancouver. If nobody takes him via trade, Canucks could resort to buying him out.

8) Shawn Horcoff, Edmonton Oilers. At 34 years old, Horcoff’s best form is behind him, especially stuck behind RNH and Gagner at the centre position. 3 consecutive years with less than 40 points for Horcoff, who will have 2 more year this summer at $5.5M cap per season.

7) Rene Bourque, Montreal Canadiens. In 38 games since his trade to Montreal, Bourque gathered 8 points. If he does not turn up his game, he could be a buyout candidate, with his 3 years left on his deal at $3.33M annually.

6) Keith Ballard, Vancouver Canucks. For a 5th/6th defenseman who gathered 14 points over the course of the past 2 seasons, the $4.2M annual cap hit for Ballard is hard to explain. Especially since the Canucks need the cap badly. Good chance he gets bought out for his last 2 years on the contract.

5) Ilya Bryzgalov, Flyers. After a shaky season at best, the Flyers have given Bryz their vote of confidence this season by trading backup Bobrovsky. However if Bryzgalov doesn’t perform as expected, his 7 years at a $5.67M cap hit could be coming off the books this summer.

4) Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay. Still a skilled player, but his production has been decreasing each year. Only 49 points last season, and still 7 years to go after this summer on his contract, at $7.73M cap hit. He will be 40 at the end of his contract.

3) Wade Redden,  NY Rangers. Buried in the minors for the past few seasons, the Rangers will finally be able to get Redden off the books for the last year of this deal at the $6.5M cap hit.

2) Scott Gomez, Montreal Canadiens. After 11 points last season, Scott Gomez became the ridicule of many Habs fans. He will have 1 year left this summer at a cap hit of $7.35M and the Canadiens will enjoy the cap relief very much.

1) Rick DiPietro, NY Islanders. This guy has faced huge injury problems, playing only 1 professional game in 2012. He is healthy now but for how long? 9 years left on his contract, at $4.5M cap hit.

Pronger and Savard have not made this list because they are both on LTIR, thus providing the Flyers and Bruins respectively with cap relief.

Your take: who do you feel doesn’t deserve to be on this list? Who would you add? Would love to hear from you.