Deebo said:
The acquiring team has no chance of ever facing a material, if any recapture penalty (I'm not sure if a portion of this season's recapture amount will transfer to the acquiring team if Ehrhoff is dealt before the deadline) since the salaries in remaining years are all at or under the AAV.
The recapture penalty would fall entirely on Buffalo if he's traded, since from this season on, his actual salary is equal to or less than his cap hit. It's only the $10M in cap Buffalo saved in the first two seasons of the contract that create a recapture situation.
For Buffalo, if he's traded this season, the capture penalty would break down like this, depending when he retires:
After this season, Buffalo would have a penalty of ~$1.43M per through 20/21.
After next season, ~$1.67M per through 20/21.
After 15/16, $2M per through 20/21.
After 16/17, $2.5M per through 20/21
After 17/18, $3.33M per through 20/21 (and the team that acquires him gets a benefit of $1M)
After 18/19, $5M per through 20/21 (benefit of $4M for acquiring team)
After 19/20, $10M for 2021, and a benefit of $9M for the acquiring team.
*** I'm not sure how the benefit works out for the other team. I'm not sure it actually has an impact, but, it's information that may be relevant. ***
However, if he stays with Buffalo and retires, the penalties to the Sabres are as such:
After this season: ~$1.43M through 20/21
After next: ~$1.67M through 20/21
15/16: $2M through 20/21
16/17: $2.5M through 20/21
17/18: $3M though 20/21
18/19: $3M through 20/21
19/20: $3M though 20/21
It's unlikely Ehrhoff retires before 17/18, but, after that, it starts to become risky - and that's also where the impact to the Sabres really becomes an issue.