Blue Jackets buy out Tyutin's contract

The Columbus Blue Jackets bought out the final two years of defenseman Fedor Tyutin's contract Wednesday.
Tyutin, 32, had three points in 61 games this season. He was acquired in a 2008 trade from the New York Rangers with defenseman Christian Backman for forwards Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche. Tyutin is second on the Blue Jackets all-time list with 553 games, behind forward Rick Nash (674). Tyutin had 39 goals and 185 points in eight seasons.

He had a $4.5 million salary-cap charge for 2016-17 and 2017-18, according to General Fanager.
"Fedor Tyutin is a pro in every sense of the word and has been an important player for the Columbus Blue Jackets for many years," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "But this decision is a result of the current depth on our blue line and to add some financial flexibility for our club moving forward. I want to thank Fedor for his many contributions and wish he, his wife, Sarah, and their family all the best moving forward."
Earlier Wednesday the Blue Jackets signed defenseman Seth Jones to a six-year contract. Financial terms were not released, but Sportsnet reported the average annual value to be $5.4 million. Jones would have become a restricted free agent Friday.
The buyout makes Tyutin an unrestricted free agent immediately.