NHL Grants Cap Relief for Players Tied to 2018 Team Canada Charges

According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the NHL has informed the teams who have players missing time due to the 2018 Team Canada World Junior criminal charges and court proceedings will get salary cap relief. This includes the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, and Calgary Flames. Dreger didn’t report how much cap relief, but if it is the total amount of the contracts for each missing player left for the season, it potentially changes a few things each team can do before the NHL Trade Deadline.

That’s huge for the Flyers, depending on what that cap relief is.

— NHL Trade Talk (@nhl_tradetalk) February 5, 2024

In the case of the Devils, they may be the only buyer among the three teams. It would be a pro-rated $2.2 million in cap space the team could spend on a player or players to replace Michael McLeod and Cal Foote. In Calgary, it’s a bit more as Dillon Dube has a cap hit of $2.3 million. The biggest difference comes for the Flyers. Goaltender Carter Hart is a $3.979 cap hit.

Whether the Flyers choose to be buyers or sellers, that kind of extra cap space gives the team some flexibility to make deals. If they stay in the hunt and choose to buy, they can use the cap space to add at the deadline. Should they ultimately decide to sell, the Flyers can take on contracts in exchange for assets. This essentially recreates a scenario where the Flyers figuratively traded Hart’s contract for nothing and then weaponized the cap space to make other deals.

Will These 3 Teams Make Deals Over the Next Few Weeks?

While all of these 2018 Team Canada players were coming to the end of their respective contracts this season, there is a window here for the teams who didn’t see this coming to make strategic moves. Where they are respectively positioned at the deadline could motivate teams to wheel and deal for bad contracts or include sweeteners in an attempt to have the Flames, Devils, or Flyers retain or take on salary.

Daniel Briere has already shown his willingness to be creative. What will he do with an extra prorated cap amount close to $4 million? Can he add more prospects and picks to his already expanding pool of assets?

Next: Wild Likely to Approach Marc-Andre Fleury About Trade Potential