Weekly Rumours – Teams Still in Cap Trouble
3 years ago
The NHL and the NHLPA are now involved in a rather public war of words as they try to reach an agreement on next season and honestly, it kind of has me feeling down. Like most fans, I just want to have hockey back on my TV and the uglier this dispute between the two sides gets, the more worried I get.
I still believe that we will have a 2020/21 season that starts at some point in late January but I’ll be honest, I’m less confident in saying that than I was a week ago.
It’s clear the NHL already wants to just get this year over with. That makes me believe that they want the regular season to be as short as possible in order to lose as little revenue as possible. It’s starting to sound like a 48 game schedule is a very likely outcome. I was still holding out hope for a regular-season closer to 60 games in length, but that doesn’t sound possible now.
The league and the PA have a lot of things to sort out but if they do come to an agreement soon and announce the start of next season, there are going to be some teams scrambling to figure out their cap situations. Here’s the latest on some of those clubs:
TROUBLE IN TAMPA
Photo Credit: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports
Last week, the Lightning announced that they had signed RFA defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to a three-year contract worth $4.8 million a season. A very good deal for a defenseman with a future as bright as Sergachev’s.
The deal now puts them over the salary cap. As it sits right now, they’ll have to shed around $2 million in cap space before the start of the season. That doesn’t sound too bad until you consider the fact that they only have 12 forwards and five defensemen under contract and still need to negotiate new contracts for forward Anthony Cirelli and defenseman Erik Cernak, who are both RFA’s.
According to Luke Fox of Sportsnet, there has been no progress on a deal for Cirelli which shows me that the Lightning don’t want to do anything with their remaining RFAs until they figure out their cap situation.
They’ll need to trade one of their forwards. It’s as simple as that. Alex Killorn and Tyler Johnson sound like the most likely trade candidates, but they both have trade protection.
The short version of this: life isn’t getting any easier for GM Julien BriseBois.
ARE THE ISLES IN THE CLEAR?
The news that @Johnny Boychuk will either be retiring of placed on LTIR for next season really help clears up the Islanders cap situation. Right now, they have $3.9 million in cap space. That is nowhere near enough to sign RFA forward Matt Barzal, who at least will get a contract similar to the $6.75 million bridge deal that the Brayden Point got last year. Now, with another $6 million about to open up, the Islanders will not only be able to sign Barzal, but they could even look at the free-agent market.
Once Barzal signs, it will be interesting to see how Lou Lamoriello spends the team’s newfound cap space.
QUICK NOTES
Feb 18, 2020; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine (29) takes a shot on the Los Angeles Kings net during the third period at Bell MTS Place. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports
- Ken Wiebe from Sportsnet recently wrote about the possibility of @Patrik Laine becoming a member of the Seattle Kraken. Wiebe mentioned the fact that the Kraken will have the money to sign Laine to a long-term contract when he’s an RFA next offseason. In my opinion, this is a realistic move. If the Kraken can acquire a few players that the Jets have their eyes on and if they have some extra draft picks from making side deals around the expansion draft, a trade for a star player like Laine isn’t that crazy of an idea.
- Ansar Khan of MLive recently said that the Red Wings could be in the market to add a defenseman. The Red Wings could also be a good trade match for the Tampa Bay Lightning as they look to move out some money.
- There are still plenty of quality free agents available and as the season draws closer (hopefully), I expect these players to value opportunity over money to a certain extent, especially when you consider how little of their contract they will get this season with escrow and deferrals.
- Andy Strickland recently tweeted that Carolina and Columbus have interest in free agent @Mikael Granlund while Nashville remains interested in @Mike Hoffman.
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