Brandon Saad agrees to mutual contract termination

A day after Brandon Saad cleared regular waivers, the St. Louis Blues announced that he has agreed to a mutual contract termination. To finalize the process, Saad will be placed on waivers for mutual termination, and once he clears, his contract will officially be terminated.

This is an expensive decision for Saad. By terminating his contract, he forfeits the $1.8 million salary remaining for this season and the $3.625 million owed next season, totaling $5.425 million in lost earnings. However, he will be free to sign with another team starting Friday afternoon, potentially recouping some of that lost income.

For the Blues, this move provides a major salary cap benefit. Saad carried a $4.5 million cap hit, and even if he had been assigned to the minors, he would still have counted for $3.35 million against the cap—resulting in only $1.15 million in savings. With the mutual termination, however, the Blues completely clear his $4.5 million cap hit for both this season and next.

The newfound cap space gives St. Louis flexibility. They could use it to acquire players ahead of the trade deadline or to offset their looming bonus carryover charge next season. Ryan Suter has already earned $1.125 million in performance bonuses this season, with another $600,000 due at 60 games played and an additional $500,000 if the Blues make the playoffs. Since the team has operated in LTIR and has a projected cap hit above $88 million, these bonuses would count against next season's cap. However, with Saad’s contract off the books, and assuming no further moves, the Blues are projected to finish $620,000 below the cap, reducing next season’s overage by that amount.

For Saad, this is a bold and potentially costly decision, as he willingly walks away from a guaranteed $5.425 million. However, by becoming a free agent, he no longer will be assigned to the AHL, and gains the flexibility to choose his next destination.