Gary Bettman Reportedly May Change His Mind on Controversial Playoff Salary Cap Rule
Photo credit: The Sporting News
NHL analyst Chris Johnston recently reported that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman could consider making changes to the playoff salary cap if it proves unsatisfactory.
One of the biggest areas of concern for the NHL in recent years has been the multiple examples of teams playing fast and loose with the salary cap, especially Long Term Injured Reserve.
Now, there have been changes made in the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement that closes some of the loopholes that teams have exploited to add more players before the playoffs.
Per analyst Chris Johnston of The Athletic, there could be even more changes coming up if the upcoming system proves to be unsatisfactory.
The NHL and NHL Players' Association have left open the possibility of making adjustments to the playoff salary cap if they don't like how it's working, so where these rules start in 2025-26 may not be where they end up. And in the surging salary-cap environment to come, fewer teams will be spending right to the cap ceiling, which should lessen the impact of losing retention rules for trades.
-Chris Johnston
-Chris Johnston
Multiple teams have played fast and loose with the salary cap
Multiple teams have faced scrutiny for how they have handled players being placed on Long Term Injured Reserve.
Under the current system, that player's salary won't count against the cap, meaning that their team can add additional players for a postseason run and still allow the injured player to return.
Notable examples of this include the Tampa Bay Lightning with Nikita Kucherov, the Vegas Golden Knights with Mark Stone, and the Edmonton Oilers with Evander Kane.
In each of those cases, those players were placed on LTIR while their clubs added more talent to the team in their absence, drawing criticism.
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