NHL News

Buffalo - The Sabres will place forward Ville Leino on waivers Tuesday with the intent of using one of their two compliance buyouts on him, according to multiple reports. Leino, 30, has three years remaining on a six-year, $27 million contract he signed prior to the 2011-12 season. The annual average value of the remaining contract is $4.5 million per season. Leino signed the contract after he set career highs with 19 goals and 53 points for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011-12. He did not have a goal in 58 games this season and had 15 assists. Leino has 10 goals and 46 points in 137 games with the Sabres. The window for teams to offer a compliance buyout to players opened Monday. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams were given two special buyout provisions to be used after the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons that allow them to buy out a player's contract while not having it count toward the salary cap. This would be the first compliance buyout used by the Sabres. Teams have until 5 p.m. ET on June 30 to decide to use a compliance buyout.

"Free agency starts first of July, and we'll go from there," Leino's agent, Markus Lehto, told the Buffalo News, adding Leino was not surprised by the buyout. "His priority is to play in the NHL. He knows he's a very good NHL player. Obviously, the past two seasons have been just average, I would say, but I'm not going to go and try and analyze what happened. I mean, we'll just look forward."

Vancouver - The Canucks placed forward David Booth on waivers Tuesday with the intent of using their second of two compliance buyouts on him, general manager Jim Benning said. Booth, 29, has one season and $4.75 million remaining on a six-year, $25.5 million contract he signed prior to the 2009-10 season while playing for the Florida Panthers. Booth was acquired from Florida early in the 2011-12 season. A 31-goal scorer in 2008-09, he was limited to 28 games the following season because of a concussion. Booth had 16 goals and 29 points in 56 games in his first season with the Canucks but was limited to 10 goals and 22 points in 78 games the past two seasons. The window for teams to offer a compliance buyout to players opened Monday. Per terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams were given two special buyout provisions to be used after either the 2012-13 or 2013-14 seasons that allow them to buy out a player's contract while not having it count toward the salary cap. The Canucks used a compliance buyout on defenseman Keith Ballard following the 2012-13 season.

"We wish David all the success in the future and thank him for his contributions with the Canucks," Benning said in a statement.

Dallas - The Stars on Tuesday used one of their two compliance buyouts on defenseman Aaron Rome after he cleared waivers. Rome, 30, had one year remaining on a three-year, $4.5 million contract. He had one assist and a minus-6 rating in 25 regular-season games for the Stars this season and was scoreless with a minus-1 in one Stanley Cup Playoff game. Stars general manager Jim Nill told the Dallas Morning News on Monday the move was being made with the thought of giving the team's defense prospects a better opportunity to make the roster next season. In eight NHL seasons, Rome has six goals and 28 points in 226 games with the Anaheim Sucks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks and Stars. He went to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final with the Canucks and has one goal and one assist in 19 playoff games. The window for NHL teams to offer a compliance buyout to players opened Monday. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams were given two special buyout provisions to be used after the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons that allow them to buy out a player's contract while not having it count toward the salary cap. This is the first compliance buyout used by the Stars. It will be the only one; Nill said there are no other buyout candidates on the roster.

"We have a lot of young defensemen who are making a good push and we need to create room for them," Nill told the newspaper.

Montreal -  Dale Weise signed a two-year contract with the Canadiens on Tuesday. Financial terms of the contract were not released. Weise could have become a restricted free agent July 1. The 25-year-old right wing had three goals and four points in 17 regular-season games with the Canadiens after being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 3. He had seven points in 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Of his three playoff goals, two were game-winners. Weise set career-bests with six goals and 16 points in 61 regular-season games this season. A 2008 fourth-round pick (No. 111) of the New York Rangers, Weise has 13 goals and 30 points in 179 games with the Rangers, Canucks and Canadiens. It appears defenseman Douglas Murray will be leaving. According to a report in La Presse, the Canadiens likely will not offer Murray a contract, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Murray, 34, had two assists and a minus-12 rating in 53 regular-season games and got into three playoff games, all in the second round against the Boston Bruins.

"The acquisition of Dale Weise contributed to the success of our team this season," Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said. "A young veteran with a lot of character, Dale is an intense player with a strong work ethic. We're very pleased to have him as part of our team moving forward."