Sure, the theory is sound and it used to be much easier. When teams got too close to the salary cap or even exceeded it in the offseason, there were always some of the smaller ones willing to take a solid player’s salary, or take a reasonable asset with the high-salary player. Easy Pea Lemon Squeeze. Now, the NHL’s trade market is clogged, and for the Pittsburgh Penguins and a host of other teams, it’s not that easy anymore.
While NHL trade rumors run wild, let’s set the real scene.
The Penguins are one of 12 teams that are either over the NHL’s salary cap or don’t have enough cap space to sign a minimum-salary player.
Five other teams have less than $2 million in cap space. Five other teams have less than $10 million in cap space, and only 18-20 players signed, meaning they need to add three to five more players with less than $10 million.
The combination of cap and over cap teams equals at least 22, which is two-thirds of the league.
So just make a trade?
The National Hockey Now family is following the rumor that Nazem Kadri is expecting a team, but that team is currently unable to pay the expected price. The team is quietly trying to move some salaries to get things going. Naturally, all sides are super secret because if word gets out, that could screw up the whole thing. We apologize in advance to that fanbase if we break the story.
Teams with salary-cap space know how valuable he is. It’s not just $5 million. They are Stanley Cup hopes for one team. He’s making the jump to contender status for another.
Those teams that are flush with the salary cap aren’t selling their cap space. They are selling hope and ambition, which are much more valuable.
When asked in June what his team needed this summer, pittsburgh penguins General manager Ron Hextall joked, “more cap space.”
It was funny because it’s true.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are more than $7 million over the cap.
The Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers all have about $3 million over the cap.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights and Penguins are about $1.5 million over the limit.
(The Washington Capitals are more than $6 million over the cap, but Nick Backstrom and tom wilson will be placed on LTIR after off-season surgeries).
Unlike any offseason in recent memory, the GMs are confident of finding a business partner. There are more teams over the cap than in any other summer, and when the music stops, some teams can be left without a seat.
Yes, the Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabers are still millions under the salary cap and need to add players. Your butt space will be in high demand. Both Buffalo and Anaheim will be able to demand a ransom for any transaction. Your cap space is a rare and coveted commodity, like water and gasoline on Fury Road, cigarettes in jail, or intelligence in politics.
From the salary cap, those teams can push through much tougher deals. They can pit teams against each other in a bidding war. defending marcus pettersson it is often mentioned as a commercial candidate for the penguins. A team with cap space to burn can compare Pettersson to another available defenseman and then ask for additional assets.
The team that is most willing to part with an additional asset wins.
In days gone by, it was a second or third round pick that was attached to a player. Then it became a first round.
Now?
The Carolina Hurricanes were able to snag max pacioretty Y Dylan Coghlan Not at all. Carolina actually acquired a highly paid, high-end blue-chip center for nothing because the Vegas Golden Knights were in a capitalization crisis.
Vegas literally couldn’t get a better deal for very good players than NOTHING.
Even renowned horse trader Jim Rutherford and his protégé Patrik Allvin are having trouble in Vancouver. On the Bob McCown podcast, Rutherford said that attempts to trade in the NHL trade market have so far failed.
Rutherford: It looks like it will take longer to tackle the defense than we would have liked and we’ll have to do it through trades.
(Bob McCown’s pod)
— Taj (@taj1944) July 27, 2022
So how much is a player like Jason Zucker or Pettersson worth? What is Patric Hornqvist, a 35-year-old fourth row player for the Florida Panthers with a salary of $5.3 million? The average 32-year-old Vancouver Canucks defenseman, Tyle Myers, who has a $6 million salary for a couple more years?
A better question is how much more would a team need to bring those players together? Or will inferior teams simply demand better players to the exclusion of being paid to accept expendable players, as the league and Carolina did in Las Vegas?
Resources across the league are tight, but the difference in the summer of 2022 is increased competition for those resources.
Just make a trade?
