Imagine a world in which the salary cap extends all the way to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Although this is a preliminary discussion, sources say it will be part of the agenda when the NHL The general managers meet Monday and Tuesday in picturesque Palm Beach, Florida.
This is a discussion that could very well go nowhere, so don’t overreact to this little bit of information. But it’s nonetheless rather intriguing that NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly is discussing this topic with general managers.
I understand that there is a group of around ten directors general who have spoken about it over the last month and who are in favor of having the salary cap extend to the playoffs in one form or another. Or at least open to discussing it.
Obviously, nothing would change this year. Change never comes so quickly. If this thing ever gets going, it won’t happen until next season at the earliest. And it’s worth noting that the whole idea of extending the salary cap into the playoffs is actually a CBA matter that requires approval from the NHLPA.
But, at the very least, the league and general managers will be discussing it on a very local level next week, which is news in itself.
By now, every hockey fan should know that there is no salary cap in the playoffs. Why this has always been the case, since 2005 when the cap was introduced, is an interesting subject. On one hand, there is the idea that the salary cap is tied to player compensation and that players’ final paychecks come at the end of the regular season. They don’t get paid in the playoffs. So no ceiling in the playoffs.
But I also heard from another source that when the league was implementing the cap system in 2005, concerns were raised about what a team would do if they were completely hammered by injuries in the playoffs and could not put together a list that was under the hood.
Either way, there was never a ceiling in the playoffs.
Which never really posed a problem until one day in April 2015, Patrick Kane surprised many people by appearing in the first game of the playoffs after recovering from a broken collarbone that had him on LTIR for a while. He was expected to be out longer. Kane’s injury allowed Black hawks to make some additions at the trade deadlines using the cap space created by Kane being on LTIR. Then Kane returned for Game 1 of the playoffs. And some people panicked. And the Blackhawks won the Cup.
Then we had last season, of course, with Nikita Koucherov he missed the entire (albeit shortened) regular season while on LTIR, recovering from hip surgery and, well, showing up for the first game of the playoffs and losing three points on the Florida Panthers that night, en route to the Bolts winning a second straight championship eight weeks later.
First of all, let’s point out one important thing here: the 2015 Blackhawks and last year’s Blackhawks. Lightning took advantage of a legal loophole in the system. They didn’t break the rules. And that sentiment was shared with me by other team executives who praised the Lightning front office last year for being smart in how they handled this whole situation. If there is a loophole in the system, use it.
But for some of these general managers who want to have this discussion next week, it’s about closing this loophole and making the system more representative of the spirit of the salary cap.
Because believe me, there are teams who wonder how Las Vegas dances around his LTIR issues and what it could mean if the Golden Knights make the playoffs.
I’m personally in favor of extending the cap system into the playoffs as long as there’s a hybrid solution – some wiggle room in the system to account for injuries – but there still needs to be a threshold in place so as not to be able to freeze a match. A $98 million playoff roster.
This is one of the hybrid ideas that exist.
I believe this is actually one of the ideas of some general managers. That the playoff lineup on the ice on game day is within the caps. So you’re outfitting a max team of $81.5 million, even though you’re carrying $90 million worth of players.
So a hybrid solution as Gord explains here ⤵️ https://t.co/1O7vqpITYM– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 25, 2022
According to CapFriendly, the Lightning finished last season with a projected cap hit of $98,840,470. Remember that the cap was $81.5 million last season, as is the case this year. Again, not a chance against last season’s Cup champions. Everything they did was perfectly within the rules. This is a really smart front office.
This is potentially about filling that gap, and I’m in favor of it if the solution makes sense. We’ll see where this discussion goes.
No-trade lists
Following some of the questions I raised in my article this week In looking at the potential fallout from the canceled Vegas-Anaheim trade, I was told the league may look to change how no-trade lists are compiled or documented. At the very least, the league should discuss this with general managers in meetings.
But I think what could result from this, in the opinion of the NHL Players’ Association, is an overhaul of the system so that there is a centralized catalog of no-trade lists with the central registry of the NHL (and I assume at the NHLPA too). Or at least a way to add the information to each individual contract where it applies so that when the central registry clicks on the contract, it’s there.
Right now, as I’ve written, no-trade lists are a private matter between player agents and clubs.
There is a feeling that could change now. But not everyone will agree with this.
I received a text from an NHL team executive who, after reading my column, disagreed with my desire to see the NHL centralize information on the no-trade list. He didn’t think we needed to reinvent the wheel. For example, he says, if a team (including a new management group) doesn’t have a no-trade list for a player (which it should ideally go through well before the trade deadline anyway) , she should call the agent and ask if they can provide the timestamped email of the submitted listing. They will either receive the document or be informed that it was not sent.
And I understand what this team manager is saying, and that the information in these lists – players listing teams they don’t want to be traded to – is sensitive.
But I still think it’s crazy right now that the NHL central registry puts out a trade call and doesn’t have, or just a click away from, the information on the player’s no-trade list and has to give some to the club. to share this.
I have a feeling the centralized system is coming for no-trade lists.
Other topics
There will be a number of other agenda topics addressed by the GMs next week, including presentations, as usual, from NHL Hockey Operations on officiating (always a discussion fun a month before the playoffs) and the Department of Player Safety. There will also be a discussion about next season’s salary cap, which my TSN colleague Chris Johnston reported Thursday evening on Insider Trading will increase by $1 million next season to $82.5 million. Every penny counts for so many NHL teams who are hamstrung by a pandemic-flattened cap.
I suspect Bill Daly will also provide an update on international discussions with the NHLPA and IIHF regarding the next World Cup of Hockey, which is scheduled to take place in 2024.
And much more, of course. I will cover the meetings during Athleticism with Michael Russo and we’ll bring it all to you.
(Photo of Nikita Kucherov lifting the Stanley Cup in 2021: David Rosenblum / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
