5 NHL teams who should take advantage of their cap space
With the salary cap ceiling sticking at $81.5 million, these 5 NHL teams should weaponize their cap space.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has significantly impacted the sporting world. The NHL has not be exempt from it, as they had to postpone, and later cancel, the rest of their regular season in mid-March. This has caused the league to lose quite a bit of revenue, which is why the salary cap ceiling next season won’t be rising for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
Rather, the cap ceiling will be staying at $81.5 million. Since the 2012-13 lockout, the cap ceiling has risen each season and teams have been operating under this assumption. But as they say, when you assume, you make an a** out of u and me.
Just looking at this season, 13 teams had to dig into their long-term injured reserve list cap savings to avoid being over the cap ceiling. According to Spottrac, 12 teams have less than $10 million of cap space heading into the offseason. Quite a few teams might have more than $10 million of space, but also have several key players to re-sign. The New York Islanders are a great example.
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Teams are going to have to make some tough decisions this offseason thanks to the stagnant salary cap. However, a few teams are in a really good position. They have cap space and could weaponize it to get some good players and maybe some future assets as well.
Cap space is a huge thing in the NHL. You need it to acquire great players (assuming you don’t draft them). Cap space is needed for trades. If you use your cap space wisely, you’ll jump start your rebuild.
Which five teams are in the best position to use their cap space this offseason? Let’s take a look at five of the most interesting teams in the league as the weirdest offseason in NHL history draws near.
New Jersey Devils
Cap space: $26,245,001
Players signed: 13
The New Jersey Devils have the fourth-most cap space in the NHL at just over $26 million. Goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood is their top RFA priority, but they’ve also got to re-sign or non-tender Jesper Bratt, Mirco Mueller, Joseph Anderson, and John Hayden.
Even after signing those players and calling up prospects like Ty Smith and Jesper Boqvist, the Devils should still have over $20 million of cap space. They haven’t been shy about taking on bad contracts in the past, so they’d likely be willing to do it now.
Buffalo Sabres
Cap space: $34,483,333
Players signed: 10
The Buffalo Sabres cap situation is a bit deceiving, as they have to re-sign Sam Reinhart, Victor Olofsson, and Dominik Kahun, along with making a decision about Curtis Lazar and Brandon Montour. But even after taking care of those players, the Sabres are going to have a lot of cap space.
Buffalo will probably target useful players if they decide to weaponize their cap space. After all, it’s been quite some time since the Sabres have made the postseason. Nine years, to be precise. But there will certainly be some useful players available and the Sabres have the assets to make a move or two.
Los Angeles Kings
Cap space: $19,603,940
Players signed: 17
Unlike the other teams on this list, the LA Kings don’t have many key players to re-sign. Defenseman Sean Walker is the only RFA they really need to worry about, though they do have to make some decisions about Joakim Ryan and Ben Hutton. Neither will cost much money to re-sign, though.
After taking care of those players, the Kings will likely have about $15 million of cap space with most of their roster accounted for. In February, the Kings were willing to take on Tim Schaller’s contract to make the Tyler Toffoli deal with the Vancouver Canucks work. It wouldn’t be surprising if they’re willing to be the middle man in a deal if a third team is needed to make the finances work.
Detroit Red Wings
Cap space: $34,675,000
Players signed: 10
The Detroit Red Wings have a ton of money coming off the books. For the first time in a while, they’ll have some wiggle room. The Red Wings have quite a few RFAs, but the only ones who should make significant money are Anthony Mantha (who they might trade anyway) and Tyler Bertuzzi. They’ve also got to find another goalie, but in this free agent market, that shouldn’t be too hard.
It’s worth noting the Red Wings are one of the 10 most valuable franchises in the NHL. They can afford to splurge. If the Red Wings act like the cash cow they are, they could set themselves up quite nicely for the future.
Ottawa Senators
Cap space: $41,904,167
Players signed: 9
On paper, the Ottawa Senators only have 9 roster players signed for next season. However, that’s a tad bit deceiving, as those roster players don’t include Joshua Norris, Logan Brown, Jonathan Davidsson, Drake Batherson, Alex Formenton, J.C. Beaudin, Erik Brännström, or Maxime Lajoie. Each of them could feasibly make the roster next season.
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After the Senators take care of re-signing Connor Brown, Chris Tierney, Anthony Duclair, and the rest of their RFAs, the Senators should have a very good idea how much extra money they could take on. They’ll likely need to take on some cap space just to reach the cap floor.