The Arizona Coyotes are buying out the contracts of both Zack Kassian and Patrik Nemeth, the team announced on Tuesday.

“Coyotes General Manager Bill Armstrong announced today that forward Zack Kassian and defenseman Patrik Nemeth have been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying out their contracts,” the team wrote on Twitter.

Both players had one year remaining on their contract; Kassian had a cap hit of $3.2 million, with Nemeth at a cap hit of $2.5 million.

Following the buyout, Kassian will be on the books for $1.67 million against the cap next season and $766,667 in 2024-25. Nemeth will count for just $166,667 against the cap in 2023-24, but that increases to $1.17 million the following campaign.

Kassian scored two goals in 51 games for the Coyotes last season in his first year with the team. The 32-year-old was traded to Arizona from the Edmonton Oilers last July as the Canadian franchise aimed to offload salary.

Nemeth played in 75 games in the desert in 2022-23, registering five assists in that span. The 31-year-old was traded from the New York Rangers last summer in another move that was meant to shed salary.

After the two veterans are bought out, the Arizona Coyotes will be swimming in cap space; they will have $32 million heading into next season, according to CapFriendly.

The team currently has 11 players under contract, and four pending restricted free agents in Christian Fischer, Jack McBain, Matias Maccelli and Connor Ingram.

The Coyotes were abysmal in 2022-23 as the rebuild continues, finishing 28-40-14, good enough for seventh place in the Central Division.

Although it will take a few more years for this team to be competitive, Arizona will select No. 6 and No. 12 overall in the NHL Draft at the end of June as they look to continue to stockpile young talent for the future.