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Hamilton Upset Hurricanes Lost to Lightning Team $18M Over Salary Cap

Dougie Hamilton says the Hurricanes lost to a team that was $18 million over the salary cap, hinting it was unfair advantage.

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton sat down for a media avail to end his season and discussed the disappointment that comes with being out of the playoffs. Noting that the Tampa Bay Lightning are a very good team, he felt good about his Carolina Hurricanes roster and noted that they faced off against an incredibly difficult team to be beat and one had a decisive advantage.

“We’re definitely close,” Hamilton said. “We had a great season and lost to a team that’s $18 million over the cap or whatever they are.” He added that the Lightning have an unbelievable goalie and the Hurricanes played them pretty well in the early part of the series, but that team is deep.

When asked if he was making a statement or hinting that the rules regarding salary cap overages is unfair, Hamilton clarified, “I’m wasn’t knocking the rules or anything.” He added, “You realize how many weapons they have. If you think about how many more players you could add with that money, you realize how much deeper you’d be.”


He noted that’s just how it worked out and that it’s happened with teams in the past. He doesn’t have a problem with it, but “you realize just how good that team was.”

Related: How “In’ Are the Flyers on D-Men Seth Jones and Dougie Hamilton?

Tampa Bay Lightning Facing Cap Criticism

If the Lightning do move on to win the Stanley Cup, or for that matter come anywhere close, there will be plenty of talk about how the cap works and how teams can circumvent it. The Lightning got the NHL’s top scorer in the playoffs back just in time for postseason action when Nikita Kucherov came back after missing the entire regular season thanks to hip surgery. The Lightning put him on LTIR and with that money, were able to land defenseman David Savard from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Kucherov returned for the postseason, and his annual salary of $9.5 million does not impact the Lightning’s cap.

Nikita Kucherov Tampa Bay Lightning
via lightninginsider.com Nikita Kucherov Tampa Bay Lightning

Scott Burnside, senior NHL writer notes that a of people share Hamilton’s view regarding Tampa’s exploitation of the salary-cap rules. They don’t know why the NHL is letting this sort of thing go on.

In defense of the Lightning, they haven’t broken any rules. This sort of thing is permitted and has been set up through the CBA. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league looked into LTIR cases like this and that there were “no issues.”

Next: Boston Bruins Offseason Plans: Hall, Reilly, Rask, Krejci

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Pingback: Jack Eichel's Market Value Drops, Sabres Rethinking Trade Strategy

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  3. Pingback: Kucherov Fires Back at Dougie Hamilton: "I Didn't Make the Rules"

  4. Pingback: Kucherov Fires Back at Dougie Hamilton: "I Didn't Make the Rules" » 观看直播

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