I thought those were limited, or does that only count after the deadline ?
For some reason I thought there was a gain from doing this, with potential repercussions.
Basically I thought something sneaky was going on, but I guess I over thought it
Teams only have 4 standard recalls after the TDL. You can still make emergency recalls, though, which don't count as part of the 4.
Emergency recalls are only if you don't have enough bodies to ice a line-up, whether through injuries, illness or suspensions. There is nothing else to it. Nothing to do with cap or trying to circumvent the counter for games played and days. And they can't do emergency recalls after the TDL just so they don't waste their 4 standard recalls. It is only if they don't have enough bodies.
Just to clarify, a player who requires waivers has a 10-game/30-day counter for emergency recalls and a separate 10-game/30-day counter for standard recalls.
Belzile for instance, already played 5 games on an emergency recall before the All-Star break. So he can play another 4 games. If Canadiens intend to keep him up, they'd need to send him back to Laval and call him up on a standard recall, which would start another 10-game/30-day counter before requiring waivers.
If they don't intend to keep him, they have to send him down to Laval and possibly recall someone else on emergency basis.