When he signed his four-year, $16 million contract extension before the start of the 2013-14 season, Dennis Seidenberg was rewarded for his hard work and solid defense that helped the Bruins to win the Stanley Cup in 2011 and appear in the Cup Final again in 2013. At that time, some thought the extension might have been risky, but for a guy who helped shutdown defenders with Zdeno Chara for the better half of three seasons, it was well worth it.

Unfortunately for Seidenberg, injuries and age caught up to him. No longer the solid defensive presence on the Bruins blue-line, GM Don Sweeney decided to buy out the remaining two years of Seidenberg’s contract on Thursday just one day before the start of free agency.

According to Cap Friendly’s buyout calculator, the Bruins will save more than $2.8 million in cap sapce in 2016-17 and a little more than $1.8 million in 2017-18. They will be hit with a cap penalty of more than $1.1 million in 2018-19 and 2019-20, however.

A Seidenberg buyout will free the #Bruins 2.83M in 16-17 and 1.83M in 17-18 in cap space, 4 years in length pic.twitter.com/USzFiuNNVZ

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) June 30, 2016

With the Seidenberg buyout, the Bruins have a little more than $24 million in cap space with five roster spots to fill for next season.