So it's awesome to hear from Laurence Gilman again on S&P (why didn't Aquaman just go simple in 2014 and promote him to GM?), but I learned something about the practicalities of cap management from him in today's hit --
When the Canucks send down Bains and Brännström between games, it is not a paper transaction, and they are obliged to report to Abbotsford in person. Now Gilman didn't know how rigorously the NHL would actually be checking for their car moving down Highway 1, but (i) it does matter if they are caught practicing with the NHL team while officially off the roster, and (ii) when the 2011-era Canucks were sending players down to the Moose to maximize cap space, they did literally send them on planes to Winnipeg and the NHL apparently did require proof.
I find this kind of bewildering (and also kind of an environmental disaster). And while I never felt the urgency to get the farm team out of Utica before, knowing this now, that's a huge difference-maker. That's two flights plus an hour's ride from Syracuse, and not something that can be done casually or repeatedly.
