Ranking the 10 NHL Teams with the Worst Long-Term Salary Cap Issues
The summer shopping sprees by NHL teams have everyone excited and looking forward to 2015-16. Some teams have issues unresolved and there are more than the usual number of free agents waiting for their new address.
Part of the issue is NHL teams are looking at their spending and attempting to fit under the cap with enough wiggle room to be able to maneuver freely in the coming year. There are cap issues that can impact entry-level players with large bonus opportunities and we may see trades from some clubs in an effort to get under the cap.
Here are the 10 NHL teams with the most difficult futures in regard to cap issues.
10. Nashville Predators
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Their Current Cap Situation: The Nashville Predators have major room, as NHL Numbers indicates they are $12.489 million under the current cap.
Their Long-Term Cap Situation: The Predators have some issues on the horizon, as a large number of RFA's will need new deals in the summer of 2016. The biggest deals will likely be doled out to Filip Forsberg and Seth Jones, although Mattias Ekholm will also receive a nice raise.
Possible Solutions: There are few teams who manage their cap with the expertise of Nashville, so expect them to be aggressive and get most of these contracts done long before crunch time. Despite appearances, it's extremely likely the Predators have their 2016-17 contracts wrapped up early again next summer.
9. New York Islanders
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Their Current Cap Situation: The New York Islanders have their cap under control currently. NHL Numbers tell us there is $9.2 million in cap room at this time.
Their Long-Term Cap Situation: The Islanders have several contracts due in the summer of 2018. John Tavares, Josh Bailey, Mikhail Grabovski and Jaroslav Halak are all free agents that summer, and New York may have to make some difficult decisions.
Possible Solutions: It's three years away so there's plenty of time. One thing Garth Snow may do is sign younger players like Kyle Okposo, Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome and Calvin de Haan to longer deals, ensuring cost certainty with a major part of the roster before signing the core of the team.
8. Los Angeles Kings
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Their Current Cap Situation: The Los Angeles Kings have plenty of cap space, according to NHL Numbers. Their current cap number gives them $6.945 million in room for the coming year.
Their Long-Term Cap Situation: The Kings have a number of exceptional talents to sign before the summer of 2016. Anze Kopitar and Milan Lucic are going to be extremely expensive and the team isn't going to lose any other expensive free agents next year.
Possible Solutions: The smart play is trading captain Dustin Brown or sniper Marian Gaborik. Los Angeles has a chance to retain dual impact forwards Kopitar and Lucic, but it must make room. Count on it happening before July 1, 2016.
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7. Calgary Flames
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Their Current Cap Situation: The Calgary Flames have $3.946 million in cap room, according to NHL Numbers.
Their Long-Term Cap Situation: The Flames are overrun with fabulous youth and they're going to get paid. Next summer, RFA's Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau will receive handsome raises, and veterans Mark Giordano, Jiri Hudler and Kris Russell will also need new contracts.
Possible Solutions: The Flames will lose veterans like Dennis Wideman, Ladislav Smid, Deryk Engelland and Mason Raymond to free agency next summer, somewhat offsetting the cap urgency. It might be wise for the Flames to trade some of those players during the 2015-16 season for players under control and making reasonable dollars. Value contracts will become vital for the Flames next summer.
6. Edmonton Oilers
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Their Current Cap Situation: The Edmonton Oilers have $3.144 million in cap room as the summer of 2015 winds down.
Their Long-Term Cap Situation: The Oilers did a fine job in signing Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle to long-term deals at $6 million each. Those contracts will still have value after Connor McDavid's entry-level deal is done, but at that point—this will be summer 2018—the team may have a difficult time keeping all of their impact forwards together.
Possible Solutions: Edmonton is going to have a difficult decision ahead, and it will probably involve a winger. The Oilers may have a center depth chart of McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl in a few years and that is an awesome trio. A player like Jordan Eberle may have to be sacrificed before McDavid signs his second contract.
5. St. Louis Blues
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Their Current Cap Situation: The St. Louis Blues have $1.139 million in cap room currently, according to NHL Numbers.
Their Long-Term Cap Situation: The Blues have a great deal of pressure and a lot of freedom in their future. The freedom comes from a large number of players who will be unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2016. Names include David Backes, Troy Brouwer, Steve Ott and Carl Gunnarsson.
The pressure comes in replacing Backes should he move on, or getting him signed to a contract that keeps the team under the cap moving forward. It's going to be even more difficult in 2017, when Kevin Shattenkirk and Alexander Steen reach free agency.
Possible Solutions: The Blues need their amateur procurement department to deliver quality replacements and that may happen with youngsters like Robby Fabbri and Ivan Barbashev working toward the NHL. It's also possible we see a player like Shattenkirk traded for a less expensive defender who is under control in terms of free agency. St. Louis has some very difficult decisions to make in the next 18 months.
4. Philadelphia Flyers
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Their Current Cap Situation: The Philadelphia Flyers have $583,000 in cap room right now, according to NHL Numbers.
Their Long-Term Cap Situation: Philadelphia is doing some strong business this summer and it will impact their future in a big way. Long-term deals with Jakub Voracek and Sean Couturier mean cost certainty on two big pieces. Added to the Claude Giroux deal, this represents the heart of Philadelphia's future locked up for a long time.
Possible Solutions: Ron Hextall and the Flyers now have a clear template for the future. There's a good chance they lock Steve Mason up long term before next summer and then it's a matter of building around the cluster that constitutes the future.
A contract like Couturier's represents exceptional value and gives the organization an enormous opportunity to pass teams who have cap issues. It's been a long time climbing out from under a plethora of bad deals, but the Flyers are getting there finally.
3. New York Rangers
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Their Current Cap Situation: The New York Rangers find themselves entering August with $425,000 in cap space, according to NHL Numbers.
Their Long-Term Cap Situation: The Rangers have a large amount of money invested in two players: Henrik Lundqvist and Rick Nash. Beyond that, there are four more players making $5 million or more. Added to their issues are a few RFA markers that come due next summer—including Kevin Hayes and Chris Kreider. The Nash deal expires in 2018 and things are likely to be tight until then.
Possible Solutions: New York eased some of their pain this summer by dealing Carl Hagelin for Emerson Etem. They are also going to be forced into walking some of their NHL veteran defensemen who are free agents a year from now. That list includes productive players like Keith Yandle and Dan Boyle.
2. Chicago Blackhawks
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Their Current Cap Situation: The Chicago Blackhawks had to perform all kinds of cap gymnastics in order to get close this summer but as of now they are $343,000 above the cap with Marcus Kruger still to be signed.
Their Long-Term Cap Situation: The signing of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to twin contracts of over $10 million per season means every year will be an issue until the cap increases tremendously. Chicago made a bet based on the cap increasing and so far that hasn't happened, which could impact their bid for dynasty status.
Possible Solutions: Brent Seabrook is in an interesting spot on the roster. The 'Hawks have him for one more season. A new deal is going to increase his cap number substantially. Bryan Bickell is also a strong candidate for trade, possibly as early as the exhibition season this fall.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
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Their Current Cap Situation: The Tampa Bay Lightning are $1.546 million over the cap at this time, according to NHL Numbers. The club will need to do something before the start of the season to get under, but that could include an internal move like sending Jonathan Drouin—who has substantial bonuses in his deal—to the minor leagues.
Their Long-Term Cap Situation: The big issue for the Lightning is Steven Stamkos and his next contract. He'll be unrestricted next summer and is an impact player of the highest order. If he reached free agency, Stamkos' contract could rival most in the entire NHL.
Possible Solutions: Tampa Bay could trade away a big-ticket item, someone like Matt Carle, Jason Garrison or Valtteri Filppula. Another scenario we could see play out this winter? Backup goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy wrestling the No. 1 job from Ben Bishop, allowing the Lightning to trade their starter without losing anything in terms of quality.
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