The five teams with the most salary cap space in the NHL right now
The five teams with the most salary cap space in the NHL right now
With the trade deadline just a few months away, there is one important thing on many minds right now, the salary cap. Teams with cap space are going to be able to take advantage of other teams around the deadline in order to help make a move happen.
Salary cap space can be accounted for using two different methods, those using LTIR to create space on their roster with an injured player and those teams that simply have not signed players with a lot of salary.
LTIR can be used when a player is expected to miss a lot of time due to an injury. However, before they play again in the regular season, they need to be taken off LTIR so the cap hit would come back.
This was a big issue a few years ago when the Lightning kept Nikita Kucherov on LTIR until the playoffs, when it is no longer an issue. Kucherov missed the entire 2020-21 NHL season and came back when the playoffs started, so the Lightning were basically over the salary cap with their roster come playoff time.
This season one team that has a lot of cap space when factoring in LTIR would be the Toronto Maple Leafs. With Jake Muzzin and Morgan Reilly both on long-term injured reserve, the Maple Leafs have about seven million in cap space.
Another team with a lot of cap space when factoring in LTIR would be the Carolina Hurricanes. Both Jake Gardiner and Max Pacioretty are currently on LTIR, making room for the Hurricanes to make some more moves ahead of the 2023 NHL trade deadline.
Considering some teams are going to be looking to move big contracts that could go past this season, we won’t be looking at LTIR for the teams with the most cap space. A lot of these teams are rebuilding, but the first one might surprise you.
5. Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild have about $3.8 million in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly. Their $78.654 million dollar cap hit also takes into account the buyout penalty for both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter that continues to haunt the Wild. This team being good is honestly a miracle when adding the fact that over 1$2 million of their cap hit is used up on those penalties.
Minnesota has a lot of players to re-sign this offseason like Matthew Boldy, Sam Steel, Matt Dumba and Calen Addison. It will be interesting to see if they will use their cap space to add another star toward the deadline to buy in for a playoff run.
4. Chicago Blackhawks
At number four, we have the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks have $5.9 million in cap space before factoring in LTIR, according to CapFriendly. That space could be used to take on a bad contract or help take on a part of a contract in a three-way trade.
Considering the Blackhawks are rebuilding, they will be looking to do anything to add some more assets for the future. Taking on a bad contract from a team like Dallas that doesn’t have a lot of cap space could help bring in more assets like draft picks and prospects.
3. Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks have a little over $13 million in projected cap space. That number actually goes up even higher when factoring in LTIR. The Ducks have an additional $7.925 million on LTIR right now, which means their current cap hit is actually over $21 million.
Anaheim is another great team that could be used to take on a bad contract for the season. However, with some young stars looking for extensions in the next few years, I do not think they would be willing to commit to a long-term contract that a team wants to trade away.
2. Buffalo Sabres
The first team in the top two has to be the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo has around $16 million in projected cap space, and when factoring in LTIR, that number goes up to about $26 million with players like Ben Bishop, Ilya Lyubskin and Henri Jokiharju on LTIR.
Buffalo could be a great team to try and take on a bad contract. They only have 43 contracts in their organization so they have space to take on another player or two to free up a playoff team.
1. Arizona Coyotes
Finally, we have the Arizona Coyotes. No one should be surprised they are the top team here. Arizona has a projected cap hit of over $18 million, and with LTIR, that goes up to almost $30 million in space.
Teams are only able to retain contracts on three players at a time, and Arizona already has one covered in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who currently plays for the Vancouver Canucks. So, they would only be able to retain the salary of two players this season. Arizona could be a great team to help take on a bad contract, and I think that is going to be the case for the next handful of years.