Yvon Pedneault well known columnist in Montreal and the NHL, mentions in his daily column*, that Gm’s should beware of the salary cap in what is left of the life of the CBA. (* it is in french, you may need to translate it. )
Pedneault, states that since the lockout the Upper limit has gone up 10 % every season, but like the stock Market, there is a risk of a slight tumble. The days of the cap going up 10 %, are pretty much gone. During their meeting on Tuesday, the Board of governors took notice of the financial health of all 30 teams, they concluded, that there will be an adjustement to make. The possibilities of seeing the cap go up to 62 million are slim, it may just stay where it is, or go up to 57 or 58 million. Would this mean that the NHL has reached the limit as far as revenues go ? It’s a possibility, how long can teams that are not in hockey hotbeds, like those in Canada, continue to ask fans to fork out more money to watch a team that seems to be turning circles and showing no signs of progression ?
This season the NHL removed the cap cushion that was in the previous three seasons. What is that you ask ? In the CBA, under article 50, there is a sub-article that deals with that issue. Teams are allowed to go over the cap due to bonuses, and what is paid out, can be forwarded to the next season. Because technically this is the last year of the CBA, the NHLPA, have the option to extend it, since they did not before Sept 15th, it will not be permitted for teams to exceed the cap, other than for teams with validated long term injury exemptions.
Around the NHL
The Carolina Hurricanes received bad news this past week, as Justin Williams will be out 4 to 6 months due to an injury to his achille’s heel. The Hurricanes won’t have any problems replacing him, as they are at 49 million plus in the cap, and would not go over with his replacement.
As bad news never comes alone, the St-Louis Blues are high alert due to a freak accident to defenceman Erik Johnson. If the Blues look outside the organization, it is mentionned they could look at Schneider. Nothing wrong there, but he could not be placed on the replacement list, he’s cap hit is higher than Johnson’s. The CBA is clear on that. The only way Schneider could appear on that list, is if the Ducks put him on recall waivers, which they won’t, as they would be held accountable for half the cap hit, which they don’t want.
Former Philadelphia Inquirer hockey writer, Tim Panaccio, who also blogs on a certain person’s site, mentions that Philadelphia has gained cap space by putting Derian Hatcher and Niittymaki on LTIR. That is false. The Flyers will be permitted to be over cap come October 9th, and will be to replace them with players making the same salaries, but caution, they can’t go over the full amount. They have not gained any cap space.
