The Jig Is Up, And The NHL Is Finally Closing The LTIR Loophole That Allows Team To Be Millions Of Dollars Over The Cap In The Playoffs
Brian Babineau. Getty Images.ESPN -- The NHL and NHLPA are in the final stages of agreeing to a four-year extension of the CBA that includes an 84-game regular season, provides a solution for emergency goalies and limits player contract lengths to seven years, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
…Both sides discussed eliminating the long-term injured reserve loophole to ensure teams are salary cap compliant in the playoffs, and revised language is expected in the new CBA, sources told ESPN.
The NHL is close to signing off on a new CBA, so we don't have to worry about any potential strikes over the next 5 years. The meat of the new CBA has to do with expanding the season to 84 games, limiting contract lengths by a year, and establishing full-time EBUGs.
Lengthening the season is obviously a quick way for the league to make more money. Even if it's just by 2 games, that's any extra 64 games a year for the league. But it should also be beneficial to the players. Now they'll have an extra 2 games per year to hit the numbers they need for contract bonuses. And they'll be playing in a contract year one season earlier from now on, so they'll have even more opportunities to make a shit ton more money.
But the real nugget to come out of the new CBA negotiations is that they'll be adding some "revised language" to close up the LTIR loophole that seemingly every team over the last decade has used to win the Stanley Cup.
You think back to 2015. Patrick Kane ended up breaking his collarbone right before the trade deadline. The Blackhawks put him on LTIR, and all of a sudden his cap comes off the books. That opens up the room for Chicago to trade for Antoine Vermette. Then right as the playoffs roll around, Kane's collarbone is magically healed just in time for game 1. Surely it couldn't have been healed up when there were still games left to be played in the regular season, and the Blackhawks would have to be cap compliant. But once the playoffs come around, the salary cap means nothing and Chicago is able to play over the cap with Kane and Vermette both in the lineup. They went on to win their 3rd Cup in 5 years.
You think about this run that the Florida Panthers were able to go on. Matthew Tkachuk gets injured at the 4 Nations FaceOff. Florida puts him on LTIR, and all of a sudden some cap space opens up for the Panthers to trade for Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. Then right as the playoffs roll around, Matthew Tkachuk is magically healthy enough to go for game 1. Surely he wouldn't have been able to play when there were still games left in the regular season and Florida had to be cap compliant. But he's good for game 1, the Florida Panthers are millions upon millions of dollars over the cap, and the Panthers go on to win their 2nd consecutive Cup.
Kucherov with Tampa. Mark Stone with Vegas. The list goes on and on of teams stashing players on LTIR right before the deadline, opening up the cap space to make some big trades, and then winning the Cup with a team that is wildly over the salary cap in the playoffs.
And let me make myself clear on this one--there's absolutely nothing wrong with teams doing this. It's not like they're cheating or anything. The rules are the rules, and they are using them to their advantage. It takes a team that is good enough to sustain losing a great player for the final portion of the regular season, a GM who is savvy enough to make the right moves, and a bit of luck to pull off. It's not like just any team can do it. But the fact that the salary cap doesn't exist for the playoffs in the first place creates a system where teams like Florida and Tampa and Vegas and Chicago can manipulate their way to having a super team in the playoffs. It's almost like you're better off breaking your best player's hand in February if you want to win a Cup.
So now the NHL is at least trying to address is somehow. It doesn't say exactly what "revised language" is going into the new CBA to close the loophole. We don't know if it means teams will have to be cap compliant in the playoffs, or if there's only a certain limit you can be over. But at least teams will have a fighting chance now of not having to go up against a team that is $20 million over the cap in the 1st round.