The Nashville Predators find themselves in a curious financial position involving former forward Ryan Johansen.

Because of Colorado's surprise move at the trade deadline, the Predators could save nearly $3 million in salary cap room for the 2024-25 season if Johansen's new team, the Philadelphia Flyers, buys him out.

The Avalanche traded a first-round pick and Johansen to Philadelphia for defenseman Nathan Walker. The Flyers immediately waived Johansen, and according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, are considering buying out his contract at the end of the season.

This is where things get complicated — and advantageous — for Nashville.

Last summer, general manager Barry Trotz traded Johansen to Colorado, but the Predators retained half of his $8 million salary. As of now, $4 million is on Nashville's books through 2024-25, with Philadelphia now responsible for the other half of the contract.

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If the Flyers were to buy out Johansen's contract, the total cap savings would be $5.3 million. That would be split evenly between Philadelphia and Nashville, saving each team $2.6 million over two years.

This means Nashville — based solely on decisions made by the Flyers' front office — could have an additional $2.6 million in cap space for the 2024-25 season.

The downside for Nashville is buyouts also extend the length of time a player is paid. According to Cap Friendly, buying out Johansen's contract would extend his contract through 2025-26. Because his contract currently occupies a salary retention slot on the Predators' balance sheet, they would see that slot held for an additional year.

NHL teams are allowed to retain salary on up to three traded contracts. In addition to Johansen, the Predators retained salary on Mattias Ekholm's contract when they traded him to Edmonton in 2023.

Nashville currently has one open salary retention slot, something Trotz says he offered during trade discussions.

This story was updated from an earlier version to reflect the $3 million in savings is for the 2024-25 season only.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Philadelphia could save Nashville Predators nearly $3 million