Duchene (hand) was placed on unconditional waivers by the Predators for the purpose of buying out his contract Friday, Chris Johnston of TSN reports.

EDGE Analysis

Duchene has three years remaining on a seven-year, $56 million contract. The Predators will save approximately $5.4 million on the salary cap in 2023-24, $2.4 million in 2024-25 and $1.4 million in 2025-26. Duchene will carry a $1.55 million salary cap hit for the Predators in each of the following three seasons. Duchene had a career season in 2021-22, tallying 43 goals and 43 assists, but he slumped last season, finding the back of the net only 22 times while chipping in with 34 assists.