Almost four years to the day they signed him, the Nashville Predators are buying out the contract of forward Matt Duchene.

Duchene, 32, who signed a seven-year, $56 million deal with the Predators on July 1, 2019, was placed on unconditional waivers, which means he must be bought out by 4 p.m. CT Friday. He then would become an unrestricted free agent, a day after the NHL Draft ended in Nashville.

Essentially, the Predators will be paying Duchene, whose modified no-movement clause would have kicked in Saturday, to not play for them. According to capfriendly.com, the buyout carries with it a cap hit of $2.56 million next season, $5.56 million in 2024-25, $6.56 million in 2025-26, and $1.57 million from 2026-2029.

The move leaves the Predators with just over $24.2 million in cap space with free agency beginning Saturday.

The move Friday, general manager David Poile's final day on the job, came on the heels of incoming general manager Barry Trotz shipping center Ryan Johansen and half of his $8 million cap hit for the next two seasons to the Colorado Avalanche for an unrestricted free agent he has no intention of signing. The reasoning behind making such a deal was simple: It freed up valuable salary-cap space in a time when the cap has been pretty much dead since COVID.

“This is a continuation of an organizational process that started at the trade deadline – our desire to change the roster, allowing our emerging players the chance to grow and develop while also creating the flexibility to build a team that will become a Stanley Cup contender,” Trotz said in a statement posted on the team’s social media platforms.

“We thank Matt for his contributions to the Preds and our community, wishing he and his family all the best for the future.”

After trading Johansen, Trotz made clear his stance on long-term contracts, at least in the short-term while the team "resets."

"For the most part, we are looking for cultural pieces. We're looking for more short-term people that can help us win, but at the same time, leaving enough room for when our young guys are ready," Trotz said. "I don't want to get tied up into long term contracts for the number of young players that we have. I've been very transparent with the agents and the players on that."

Duchene's time with the Predators has been up and down, though. In four seasons he had 84 goals and 113 assists in 249 regular-season games. More than half of those goals (43) came during the 2021-22 season, when Duchene became the first player in franchise history to score at least 40 in a season, a feat Filip Forsberg soon matched.

During his first 100 games, which accounted for his first two seasons with the team, Duchene managed just 19 goals and 26 assists.

The decision to buy out Duchene's contract was the latest in a flurry of moves Trotz and the Predators have made since late February, when it was announced he would take over for Poile.

First came the trades of Nino Niedierreiter, Mattias Ekholm, Tanner Jeannot and Mikael Granlund.

Then came the firing of head coach John Hynes and the hiring of Andrew Brunette to take his place.

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The Johansen deal followed.

Trotz had been trying to deal Duchene, but when he found no takers decided to go the buyout route. Duchene will become the second player on the Predators buyout list, joining Kyle Turris, who costs the team a $2 million cap hit for the next four seasons.

The money they've agreed to eat on the Johansen and Ekholm contracts, plus the combined buyout money for Duchene and Turris means the Predators will have $8,805,556 worth of cap hits for players they don't have next season. The number jumps to $11,805,556 in 2024-25 and $8,805,556 in 2025-26.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators buying out Matt Duchene's contract, parting ways