Maple Leafs buy out Mike Komisarek

The Toronto Maple Leafs have used one of their compliance buyouts on defenseman Mike Komisarek, making him an unrestricted free agent.

"It was a privilege playing for a first-class organization like the Leafs even though things did not turn out as I would have liked," Komisarek said on his Twitter account after media reports of the buyout emerged.

The buyout will save the Maple Leafs $4.5 million by removing the final season of his five-year deal from their salary cap.

Komisarek, 31, signed the five-year deal in 2009, but not much has gone as intended since then. He was limited to 34 games in 2009-10 due to injuries and missed a substantial amount of playing time in 2011-12.

He was unable to break into the lineup for most of the 2012-13 season, playing in four NHL games. Toronto exposed him to waivers in March and he ended up playing for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.