Speculation: Vegas cap reduction need

[CupInSIX]

They have until the deadline to see how Eichel/Stone are recovering. If both are on track to come back before the start of playoffs then Vegas will look to ship out Smith/Dadonov/McNabb at the deadline. I know fans will say don’t help out Vegas, but Smith/McNabb are valuable for a playoff run to other teams

They can't be loading up for a playoff run and dump McNabb & Smith.

Maybe if the playoff picture looks bleak by then...

 

[mouser]

If everyone on Vegas was healthy the team would be about $6.3m over the cap with a 22 player roster.

Cutting down to a 20 player roster moves that number down to about $4.7m.

In short, moving Smith or Dadonov out creates enough space. Or if any other player with a $5m+ contract is on LTIR they can field a legal roster with Eichel on it.

Swapping Brossoit for a cheaper backup might be another option to free up some space.

 

[CupInSIX]

If everyone on Vegas was healthy the team would be about $6.3m over the cap with a 22 player roster.

Cutting down to a 20 player roster moves that number down to about $4.7m.

In short, moving Smith or Dadonov out creates enough space. Or if any other player with a $5m+ contract is on LTIR they can field a legal roster with Eichel on it.

300k should be enough for game day call ups. Hopefully.

 

[mouser]

300k should be enough for game day call ups. Hopefully.

Depends on how soon the $300k is freed up. Remember the team won’t start accruing any cap space until they exit LTIR.

 

[VivaLasVegas]

So with Eichel on board see approximately $4.3mm over the cap. I predict Dadanov will get a new address. Any other option for cap compliance?

As others have written, Eichel stays on LTIR until he's healthy. We all know that he's not likely to be healthy until after the regular season ends, so there is not going to be a cap issue until the 22-23 season.

The implicit assumption is that Eichel will actually play in a VGK uniform. Consider, however, that if the surgery goes well and Eichel gets healthy, then a healthy Eichel could be traded by the VGK for a treasure chest of goodies with an aggregate value much greater than the VGK gave for Eichel in the first place.

If the surgery doesn't go well, then Eichel stays on LTIR and the VGK have lost Tuch (no small loss) and Krebs (meh), but their compensation also comes off the salary cap immediately.

The VGK salary cap problem also presumes that Pach and Stone get healthy, and everybody stays healthy. But in the NHL, how realistic is that? If somebody else goes down then their compensation goes into LTIR and Eichel gets fitted in with little difficulty. And so far this season, the injury bugs have been swarming over the VGK like mosquitos at a Mississippi bar-b-que. Assuming that Eichel gets healthy, by the time he gets healthy it might not be so difficult to deal with his cap hit.

 

[VivaLasVegas]

Eichel says he should be back before the playoffs. I’m sure Vegas management will tell him otherwise lol

Leading surgical specialists say that Eichel will not be cleared for play until May 2, and not one day before.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Knights are fine till next off season

 

[VivaLasVegas]

If everyone on Vegas was healthy the team would be about $6.3m over the cap with a 22 player roster.

Cutting down to a 20 player roster moves that number down to about $4.7m.

In short, moving Smith or Dadonov out creates enough space. Or if any other player with a $5m+ contract is on LTIR they can field a legal roster with Eichel on it.

Swapping Brossoit for a cheaper backup might be another option to free up some space.

Unless Robin Lehner starts playing more consistently, he's going to move into trade bait territory and that would free up $5M against the cap. Lots of local grousing as to whether Lehner is worth his contract.

Frankly, it would not surprise me at all that if Eichel gets healthy, the VGK trade him as part of a blockbuster deal that brings in a top goalie. I really wonder if Eichel will ever actually play in a VGK uniform, and speculate that the VGK have just made a monumental gamble that Eichel will get healthy and then they'll deal him for a lot more than they paid for him.

 

[Stuzchuk]

With Eichel they're going to be 10 million over the cap if everyone is healthy. Nothing needs to be done unless Eichel is ready to play.

Although there is some speculation Stone might be out for the whole regular season. If that's the case they can punt the cap issues to the offseason.

the NHL cap is a daily thing... as soon as a NHL player hits LTIR their revenue stops being added to to yearly total (in a way)...

IE: Max Pacioretty:
YEARLY CAPHIT: $7,000,000
CAP HIT PER GAME: $85,365.85
MISSED TO DATE: 7 games (15 days)
LTIR RELIEF TO DATE: $597,560.97

so if they manage to save enough combining, Pacioretty, Stone, Eichel and Karlsson.... well they may be able to play them all after the Olympics

The tricky part will be this summer

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Unless Robin Lehner starts playing more consistently, he's going to move into trade bait territory and that would free up $5M against the cap. Lots of local grousing as to whether Lehner is worth his contract.

Frankly, it would not surprise me at all that if Eichel gets healthy, the VGK trade him as part of a blockbuster deal that brings in a top goalie. I really wonder if Eichel will ever actually play in a VGK uniform, and speculate that the VGK have just made a monumental gamble that Eichel will get healthy and then they'll deal him for a lot more than they paid for him.

So you think VGK trades Eichel now?

Cmon

 

[CupInSIX]

the NHL cap is a daily thing... as soon as a NHL player hits LTIR their revenue stops being added to to yearly total (in a way)...

IE: Max Pacioretty:
YEARLY CAPHIT: $7,000,000
CAP HIT PER GAME: $85,365.85
MISSED TO DATE: 7 games (15 days)
LTIR RELIEF TO DATE: $597,560.97

so if they manage to save enough combining, Pacioretty, Stone, Eichel and Karlsson.... well they may be able to play them all after the Olympics

The tricky part will be this summer

They should be relying on Dorofeyev, Morozov, Dugan & Miromanov, all of whom are waiver exempt next season so they won't count against the cap on days off in between games.

 

[VivaLasVegas]

So you think VGK trades Eichel now?

Cmon

Not now, but they might next summer if Eichel gets healthy and the VGK can get a blockbuster deal in exchange, far more than what they paid for him now. At that point, they'll have a player who has no chemistry with the team and is a big cap hit, but is worth oodles in trade value. I don't know if it will happen, but I'd bet good money it crosses somebody's mind as much as the VGK ownership likes to wheel and deal.

 

[mouser]

the NHL cap is a daily thing... as soon as a NHL player hits LTIR their revenue stops being added to to yearly total (in a way)...

IE: Max Pacioretty:
YEARLY CAPHIT: $7,000,000
CAP HIT PER GAME: $85,365.85
MISSED TO DATE: 7 games (15 days)
LTIR RELIEF TO DATE: $597,560.97

so if they manage to save enough combining, Pacioretty, Stone, Eichel and Karlsson.... well they may be able to play them all after the Olympics

The tricky part will be this summer

No. This is completely wrong.

When players go to LTIR their daily cap hits continue to accumulate. LTIR does not remove a player’s cap hit. LTIR allows the team to temporarily replace the player even if that causes the team to exceed the cap during the period of injury.

Why does this difference matter?

- While a team is using LTIR no free cap space is accumulated.

- Activating a player off LTIR requires the team to remove contracts equal to the used relief, with no pro-ration for the injured player or replacement players.

The short TLDR version: Vegas is not accumulating any cap space to activate Eichel or any of their LTIR players. Whether that’s today, tomorrow, next month or next year.

 

[mouser]

They should be relying on Dorofeyev, Morozov, Dugan & Miromanov, all of whom are waiver exempt next season so they won't count against the cap on days off in between games.

When a team is using LTIR it doesn’t matter whether they use cheap players or expensive players. Doesn’t matter whether they bounce players up and down from the AHL on off days.

Teams don’t accumulate cap space when using LTIR.

If you look at CapFriendly that’s why you’ll find most of the teams using LTIR are at full 23 player rosters. There’s no cap space benefit to running shorter 20-22 player rosters unless it causes the team to exit LTIR.


note: there are teams in LTIR that are bouncing players up and down for Waivers reasons. After a player clears Waivers they are exempt from waivers again until they play in 10 NHL games or spend 30 days on the NHL roster. So there are some teams bouncing previously waived and cleared players up and down to extend the 30 day requirement.

 

[Three On Zero]

Anyone they can send to the Canucks for a 3rd?

 

[abbbaron]

Leading surgical specialists say that Eichel will not be cleared for play until May 2, and not one day before.

Maybe I'm no longer up to speed, but wasn't 6+ months the expected rehab period for the fusion surgery (and not the implant surgery that Eichel is electing to have)? My understanding is that the primary reason Eichel wants the implant procedure is because the rehab period is significantly shorter, and the way Eichel has been talking it sounds like he imagines returning this season.

As others have written, Eichel stays on LTIR until he's healthy. We all know that he's not likely to be healthy until after the regular season ends, so there is not going to be a cap issue until the 22-23 season.

The implicit assumption is that Eichel will actually play in a VGK uniform. Consider, however, that if the surgery goes well and Eichel gets healthy, then a healthy Eichel could be traded by the VGK for a treasure chest of goodies with an aggregate value much greater than the VGK gave for Eichel in the first place.

If the surgery doesn't go well, then Eichel stays on LTIR and the VGK have lost Tuch (no small loss) and Krebs (meh), but their compensation also comes off the salary cap immediately.

The VGK salary cap problem also presumes that Pach and Stone get healthy, and everybody stays healthy. But in the NHL, how realistic is that? If somebody else goes down then their compensation goes into LTIR and Eichel gets fitted in with little difficulty. And so far this season, the injury bugs have been swarming over the VGK like mosquitos at a Mississippi bar-b-que. Assuming that Eichel gets healthy, by the time he gets healthy it might not be so difficult to deal with his cap hit.

The risk with Eichel isn't just a one-shot event; it doesn't completely abate when he declares himself pain-free months after the operation. Given the full-contact nature of hockey, there will be an ongoing risk that the implant could get jostled loose and potentially paralyze (or even kill) him. That's why he's damned near uninsurable

 

[Thechozen1]

Schmidt for a 3rd.

Eichel probably won't be back to playoffs would be my bet.. I also don't think Vegas is a 100% guarantee to make it.

Schmidt hasn’t played in Vegas since the 2019-2020 season

 

[duckpuck]

VGK trade for a guy and go $10 million over the cap and no one bats an eye. The Lightning lose their best player all year and everyone loses their minds. HA!

People lost their mind because Kucherov was clearly healthy enough to return (practicing with the team, etc.), but didn't purely for cap circumvention reasons. If Eichel does the same thing, people will be equally critical. But at this point, no one knows if Eichel will recover prior to the playoffs.

 

[abbbaron]

People lost their mind because Kucherov was clearly healthy enough to return (practicing with the team, etc.), but didn't purely for cap circumvention reasons. If Eichel does the same thing, people will be equally critical. But at this point, no one knows if Eichel will recover prior to the playoffs.

Eichel and VGK front office maybe need to huddle up and get their messaging on the same page: Eichel is talking 3 months, McCrimmon is hedging with 4-5 "but we really don't know". Imagine if Eichel declares himself ready to go after the Olympic break but McCrimmon hasn't cleared the requisite cap space and isn't able to at the deadline because everybody knows his predicament and can bend him over barrel. This honeymoon could end abruptly.

 

[CupInSIX]

When a team is using LTIR it doesn’t matter whether they use cheap players or expensive players. Doesn’t matter whether they bounce players up and down from the AHL on off days.

Teams don’t accumulate cap space when using LTIR.

If you look at CapFriendly that’s why you’ll find most of the teams using LTIR are at full 23 player rosters. There’s no cap space benefit to running shorter 20-22 player rosters unless it causes the team to exit LTIR.


note: there are teams in LTIR that are bouncing players up and down for Waivers reasons. After a player clears Waivers they are exempt from waivers again until they play in 10 NHL games or spend 30 days on the NHL roster. So there are some teams bouncing previously waived and cleared players up and down to extend the 30 day requirement.

I was talking about next season.

 

[These Are The Days]

People lost their mind because Kucherov was clearly healthy enough to return (practicing with the team, etc.), but didn't purely for cap circumvention reasons. If Eichel does the same thing, people will be equally critical. But at this point, no one knows if Eichel will recover prior to the playoffs.

? His timeline was/ is exactly the same as guys like Tukka Rask who had the same surgery...

 

[NHL Dude 120]

Give us a 1st round pick(to the sens) and a bad short term(say no more than 3 years) contract and that will do.

 

[duckpuck]

Eichel and VGK front office maybe need to huddle up and get their messaging on the same page: Eichel is talking 3 months, McCrimmon is hedging with 4-5 "but we really don't know". Imagine if Eichel declares himself ready to go after the Olympic break but McCrimmon hasn't cleared the requisite cap space and isn't able to at the deadline because everybody knows his predicament and can bend him over barrel. This honeymoon could end abruptly.

Eichel is going to want to play in the olympics. If he does - or if he trys out and practices and declares himself ready for the olympics - then Vegas is going to have a hard time not activating him. But I'm sure they'll wait as long as they can to make that decision to see what other injuries are in play. It may cost them, but they'll find a solution.

? His timeline was/ is exactly the same as guys like Tukka Rask who had the same surgery...

Please stop. Kucherov was skating in practice for TWO MONTHS prior to being activated. And don't compare a goalies recovery from hip surgery to a non goalies' - not even comparable.

The Tampa Bay Lightning Are Illegally Circumventing the Salary Cap -

 

[These Are The Days]

Eichel is going to want to play in the olympics. If he does - or if he trys out and practices and declares himself ready for the olympics - then Vegas is going to have a hard time not activating him. But I'm sure they'll wait as long as they can to make that decision to see what other injuries are in play. It may cost them, but they'll find a solution.



Please stop. Kucherov was skating in practice for TWO MONTHS prior to being activated. And don't compare a goalies recovery from hip surgery to a non goalies' - not even comparable.

The Tampa Bay Lightning Are Illegally Circumventing the Salary Cap -

So you're supposed to skate willy nilly at full pace without any rehab recovering from a labral tear? Thank God you're not a physician. But hey, he's hurt again clearly as a complication of that injury he was faking.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

No...

A tax cap needs to be introduced where tax is included after. A flat cap which is guaranteed money no matter where they player is going, but wherever they may go, taxes are included say they go to California/NY/Canada, but reduced if say they head to Florida/Nashville/Vegas/Seattle.

I see Winnipeg is unpopular because not only is it cold and high pressure, but the taxes in Manitoba are really high.