MANALAPAN. Fla. — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman downplayed league’s desire to implement a postseason wage cap. He said he doesn’t view teams’ use of long term injury reserve as a “front burner issue.”
“Nobody is in that room.” [of NHL general managers]Bettman believes it’s being used,” Bettman stated Tuesday, as the league’s spring general managers meetings closed. It’s just the perception. Nobody was saying that this is a horrible abuse and we must fix it. It has not been.
Manipulation and manipulation of the salary cap have become a topic of conversation in the NHL. It was also on the agenda this week. A source claims that the GMs discussed the possibility of closing the “LTIR loophole”, which allows teams to create non-salary complaint rosters during the regular season by storing high-budget salaries on long term injury reserve. However, the discussion was eventually relegated to the next GM meeting, which will be held in Montreal in July.
ESPN reported that “There are certainly varying opinions on the one.” “But it’s not necessary to charge for reform. It’s probably more of a media thing at the moment.
The NHLPA must approve any change to the collective agreement. Bettman claimed that the NHL has been in contact with the players’ association regarding the matter, but did not reveal much more.
Bettman stated that “overwhelmingly” the view of general managers is that it has not been a problem over the past 17 years. “This is something I would like to change to change the perception but I don’t believe it’s been a problem. It hasn’t,” Bettman said.
Recent examples support the notion of competitive imbalance. Tampa Bay LightningStar Nikita KucherovAfter hip surgery, the Lightning spent last season in long term injury reserve. Therefore, his $9.5million salary didn’t count against that cap. The Lightning ended the regular season with a cap hit exceeding $98million, per Cap Friendly — even though the salary cap was $81.5million. Kucherov was activated to play in Game 1 and led the Lightning to their second straight Cup.
The same situation was seen in Patrick KaneChicago was able buy Blackhawks in 2015 and be buyers at trade deadline, exceeding the cap. Vegas was named captain by many teams this season. Mark Stoneactivated LTIR Jack Eichel. CapFriendly estimates that the Golden Knights will reach a cap of $92.5million thanks to Stone ($9.5million salary). Reilly Smith($5 million each) on LTIR. Both players could be eligible for playoffs, even though Vegas may have difficulty clearing them for the regular season.
Bettman answered directly when asked if he is satisfied with the way Vegas handles its LTIR space.
Bettman stated that she was thinking about the question, and how it would be scrutinized.
General managers were also informed this week that the salary cap will rise to $1 million to $82.5million for the 2022-23 seasons, as league revenues are expected to exceed $5 billion. Bettman stated that the $1 billion of debt players owe to the owners, resulting from the loss of revenue during the pandemic, will be paid by the 2024-25 season.
Bettman stated that the league is working with the NHLPA on a database to allow players’ no-trade lists for Central Registry to be filed. It should avoid another situation such as the one that occurred with Evgeni Dadonov (Golden Knights forward) last week. Dadonov was traded by Anaheim, despite the Ducks being on Dadonov’s 10-team no trade roster. After realizing that Central Registry didn’t have an updated list, the NHL canceled the deal.
The World Cup of Hockey progress report was also provided to the GMs. The NHLPA and NHL have been meeting to discuss the possibility of bringing back the event in 2024. Bettman stated that the goal is to return to a traditional format of countries against countries, though they are still deciding which countries will participate and if Russia will be allowed to.
Bettman stated that the league does not anticipate placing any restrictions on Russian players in the 2022 NHL Draft.