NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 21, 2024
The Bruins downed the Leafs and the Hurricanes beat the Islanders in the opening games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Get the details plus the latest on other postseason clubs in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk scored twice and collected an assist as his club rolled to a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of their best-of-seven opening-round series. Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman kicked out 35 shots as David Kampf was the only Leaf to score in this contest. Game 2 of this series goes Monday night in Boston.
Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Leafs’ efforts to establish a physical presence against the Bruins backfired. They were undisciplined, took too many bad penalties and were sloppy defensively against savvy opponents who emerged victorious by sticking to their game plan.
Leafs forwards William Nylander and Bobby McMann missed this game due to injuries. We have no more details because the Leafs won’t have daily injury updates during the playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes drew first blood against the New York Islanders by beating them 3-1 to take a 1-0 lead in their first-round series. Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped 33 shots while Evgeny Kuznetsov and Martin Necas each had a goal and an assist. Kyle MacLean replied for the Islanders. Game 2 is Monday in Carolina.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Islanders dominated large stretches of this game defensively, especially in the second period. However, they were unable to capitalize offensively. Andersen played a big part in that but the Isles best scorers didn’t get more quality scoring chances against him.
PLAYOFF NOTES
NHL.COM: Four other first-round series begin on Sunday. The Tampa Bay Lightning face off against the Florida Panthers (12:30 ET), the Washington Capitals meet the New York Rangers (3 PM ET), the Colorado Avalanche square off against the Winnipeg Jets (7 pm ET) and the Nashville Predators face the Vancouver Canucks (10 pm ET).
COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: The Avalanche announced on Saturday that winger Jonathan Drouin will miss the series against the Jets with a lower-body injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A tough break for Drouin and the Avalanche. The 29-year-old winger enjoyed a career-best 56-point performance this season.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone (lacerated spleen) and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (appendectomy) are good to go for Game 1 of their first-round series against the Dallas Stars on Monday.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon sought to address critics for his club placing Stone on long-term injury reserve for the second straight year. They used the salary cap savings to bring in Anthony Mantha, Noah Hanifin and Tomas Hertl before the trade deadline.
It was originally reported that Stone wouldn’t be ready to return until later in the playoffs if the Golden Knights advanced past the first round. His clearance for Game 1 of their opening-round series drew accusations of salary-cap circumvention from their critics.
McCrimmon said the NHL is “100 percent involved in any of these LTIR situations”, pointing out the league had access to all medical information on Stone’s condition.
The Golden Knights did nothing wrong. Per the collective bargaining agreement, every NHL team can use LTIR for salary-cap relief whenever their players are sidelined for at least 10 games and 24 days of the regular season. Every club has at some point since LTIR was implemented in 2005.
Nevertheless, these instances have drawn grumbling in some corners that could lead to changes in LTIR rules, perhaps by making the salary cap count during the playoffs. Those changes, however, won’t occur until the next round of collective bargaining between the NHL and NHL Players Association in 2026.
IN OTHER NEWS…
SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Sharks captain Logan Couture hopes that next season is better for him than the current one. The 35-year-old center missed all but six games due to a deep groin injury revealed to be Osteitis pubis.
Couture plans to resume skating in July. He said he’s drawn encouragement from other players around the league who suffered a similar condition. The Sharks medical staff are optimistic he’ll be ready for training camp in September.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Chicago Blackhawks rookie star Connor Bedard will suit up for Canada at next month’s IIHF World Championships in Czechia.
TML tried to change the way they played against Boston! Didn t work!What s with Nylander!
Nylander means “very soft” på Svenska.
It also means a rink with no corners.
Won’t sacrifice and take a hit to make a play.
Will not go to tough areas.
And, nice figure skating.
I’d bet a fair bit that he has an injury a lot of guys would tough out.
You really don’t know what you’re talking about regarding Nylander, do you? He’s been consistently their best playoff performer since 2021, better than Matthews, Marner and Tavares.
Lyle,
This was about Nylander… the others suck too.
The best from a group of poor performers is still a poor performer.
That he has more points… big whoop. How much have they won? Once.
All the above applies to Nylander. Rink with no corners, no grit, won’t take a hit to make a play, and doesn’t go to the tough areas.
Those criticisms about Nylander were valid five years ago. That’s simply not the case anymore. The Leafs inability to win in the playoffs isn’t on him. He and Morgan Rielly are the two Leafs regulars who can hold their heads up regarding their playoff performances in recent years. They’ve improved, the others havent’.
Your hatred of the Leafs is clouding your judgement.
I never said it was entirely on him…
I’m talking playoffs… and everything applies to Nylander as written. Maybe this year will be different, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Let’s see how he does… should he suit up… but nursing an injury… my bet is he’ll be “in typical playoff form”.
I like to see the Leafs fail… because of their entertaining fan base.
Oil are Canada’s Team!!!!
Leaf’s are way to soft!!!!
Not in this part of Canada. Could not possibly care less about how the Oilers fare.
Leafs this Leafs that and we Will probably have to use your Announcers after round one again!!!!
Oil Canada’s TEAM
Understand that I am NOT a Leafs fans – never have been …. never will be.
I understand that LTIR applies to every team evenly and while it is legal and a sensible benefit, real life says that hints of impropriety are enough to delve into and resolve regulations.
We frequently see players missing training camp, contract disputes joining the team late and it takes quite a while to get up to speed, and that is sensible.
When players step out of LTIR and are all in right off the bat with no signs of adjusting to the faster harder pace of playoff hockey, something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
It’s a bit surprising that the increased presence of gambling/betting doesn’t increase the pressure on the NHL to fix this.
That’s one subject on which you won’t see me disagreeing. It is a “loophole” farce.
Maybe using “NHL doctors” to verify the condition and the prognosis of the injury as a bag of money can sway the recovery time, and in Stones case at first sounded as if Stone may or may not play in the postseason and was labeled as having a “unpredictable recovery time”, but was conveniently ready for round one albeit with a high cap number that helped in getting Hertl on the roster.
So what are you saying, Rob?
“Hints of impropriety” isn’t proof of impropriety.
Nevertheless, trying to address that issue isn’t going to be easy. Making the salary cap count during the playoffs opens up a different can of worms that could force healthy players to the sidelines, which won’t sit with the NHLPA.
The easiest way to fix the problem is eliminate the salary cap, but that’s not going to happen.
How does it open up a ‘different can of worms’? How can the system be perfectly fine for 82 games, then suddenly not on game 83?
Yes, you’ve pointed out the players aren’t paid (directly) in the playoffs, but actual pay and salary cap are 2 entirely different things.
This is easily fixable, provided the parties wish to fix it.
Alas.
Easily fixable? How?
How about they cannot activate LTIR players in the 1st round?
Make it past that, they’re good to go.
As I said, that won’t sit well with the NHLPA. You’ll be punishing players for getting injured, which opens up the threat of violating labor laws.
Unless I’m missing something (which seems to be likely at this point, because I’m clearly not getting it), the purported ‘punishment’ for being healthy but not playing, would be not being eligible for the playoff bonus pool?
Solution: you keep the salary cap structure in place, but anyone who is healthy but can’t play due to Cap constraints remains eligible for the bonus pool anyway.
oversimplification?
and as an aside, if the playoff bonus pool is fixed per round per team, why would the NHLPA care either way? Whether player A gets the bonus or Player B gets the bonus, why would the NHLPA care? As long as the full bonuses are paid out by the team/league, the NHLPA should be fine.
Yes, that’s an oversimplication. It comes down to labor laws. If you’re preventing a player from returning to action in the playoffs because his team put him on LTIR up to the end of the season but he’s ready to play and wants to play, the PA will consider that to be punishing the player for a workplace injury. That risks violating labor laws. The last thing the NHL wants is for the PA to get the US National Labor Relations Board involved.
I agree with Lyle that this cap issue in the playoffs shouldn’t be characterized as hinting of impropriety. There are rules and scrutiny, so it’s most unlikely that the team is fudging.
But Lyle, players are held out, aka scratched, all the time in playoffs. If that were the NHLPAs issue with a cap during playoffs, then it is as hollow as suggesting impropriety.
Hasn’t the suggestion of applying the cap limit to game rosters in playoffs been suggested here before? Seems both logical and easy to me.
LJ, it’s one thing for players to be scratched from the lineup in the playoffs. What I’m talking about is keeping a player out of the lineup because he was placed on LTIR by his team for a serious injury. Again, if you’re trying to convince the NHLPA to accept a player being prevented from playing in the postseason simply because he was on LTIR up to the end of the regular season and is now ready to return to action, that’s not going to fly. You will be punishing the player because the team placed him on LTIR as per the CBA. That risks violating labor laws.
Lyle, how would it be perceived as violating labor laws if the player is still raking in his hefty monthly pay?
I could see the authorities stepping in, or the NHLPA becoming upset if salary was docked … but being out of the line-up – whether a coach’s decision or a rule … has nothing to do with either.
Players aren’t paid during the postseason. George. They only make bonus money from the league based on how far they advance in the playoffs.
Perhaps allow teams to acquire the players during the regular season using the existing LTIR rules & then come playoff time, keep the cap active based on players being dressed for each playoff game & players that are press boxed are not counted in the cap that night. Allows for replacements when injuries occur as well.
Its probably the only way to keep the playing field level while keeping the existing rule the same.
That might be the best way, Potlicker, though it could be a capologist’s nightmare, especially if the team is well over the cap ceiling.
Well, if that’s the case Lyle, it makes my point more or less. They have been fully paid in accordance with their contract – but that contract doesn’t guarantee they’ll be in the lineup if the coach decides otherwise – so why would labor authorities or the NHLPA be upset if they’re kept from the line-up by a league rule?
Because you’re advocating for a player who was injured and placed on LTIR by his team to be held out of playing in the postseason if he’s fully recovered and ready to return to action. That is not going to fly with the NHLPA and could violate labor laws because you’re punishing the player for a workplace injury by denying him the right to return.
But, nevertheless, fully paid.
Are YOU saying, in effect “That is not going to fly with the NHLPA and could violate labor laws because the player is being punished for a coach’s decision to make him a healthy scratch and so denying him the right to play?”
I realize that that comes across as being ludicrous … but no more so than a high-cap player being out with a legitimate injury but having recovered before season’s end but not activated for “cap convenience” and then, miraculously, suddenly fit to go with no consequential practice time to get him into game shape” just 48 hours after the final season buzzer … and he’s fully ready to go in the toughest hockey of the entire year.
No, George, because being a healthy scratch is not the same as being on LTIR.
Your beef with LTIR is players receiving medical clearance to play in the first game of the playoffs when they didn’t receive medical clearance to play in the last game of the regular season because those dates are so close to each other. You believe it sounds “fishy”. However, it’s up to the team doctors in consultation with the league and its third-party medical staff, to make that decision. Rush a player back too soon, he aggravates that injury, and now he can’t play in the postseason.
Every team operates under the same rules. They’re not perfect (none ever are) but they’ve worked well for the most part. Perhaps some tweaks can be made to address this. However, as I pointed out to WhalerCane, they have to be careful how they address this because of the labor issues involved.
By denying the player the right to play you deny them the ability to showcase their talents for future contracts.
So, chrisms, a coach’s decision to scratch a player for several games in a row could get him into trouble with the NHLPA or whatever because he’s denying him, in effect, “the opportunity to showcase his talents?”
Again, George, a coach scratching a player from the lineup and a player going on LTIR is not the same thing.
Hey Zimmer,
100 % Nylander has been there Best Playoff player since 2021
The other top 3, Matthews, Marner and Tavares cant get going in the playoffs
last night they missed TJ Brodie on d & big Bobby McMann up front with Nylander
The Leafs forwards need to play defence also if they dont they are golfing again in MAY❗️
Next season is JT last year at $11.M
They need to invest that in there D….
if he wants to come back, do a 1 year deal at $3-$4.M Tops
.
As noted… the best of poor performers isn’t much to sing about.
Nobody is denying his rink has no corners, he won’t take a hit… sacrifice himself to make a play, and he’s not a guy to go to tough areas.
I’ve watched… and his stats aren’t too hot… he’s a -2 overall, was -4 last year.
And… he hasn’t seen much playoff hockey… out every year except last year.
When things get brutal, my expectation based on his thin and weak performances… is he’d be a puddle.
He’s soft. 6’2”… 200lbs of Pilsbury Dough Boy.
So Sheldon Keefe decides to start a one dimensional stiff in the playoffs top do what exactly “set the tone in just over 7 minutes of ice time?”
This is the same coach who once blew a playoff series by refusing to match lines in a key home game.
I realize this is just one game in a best of seven and that they only need one win in Boston to win the series in 6 – as I called yesterday – but if that performance is indicative of their approach, they won’t be around long.
At least the Islanders went into Carolina’s barn and made them work their asses off for the 1st win.
You either have a gritty team that takes it to the next level during the playoffs, or not.
Grit does not come in a pouch with add water instructions.
They’ve been gritless for years… not playoff winning material.
I hope Toronto gets swept.
You should watch some TML games because your comments are ay off.
Apropos Nylander, he has been the best performer in a few years, goes to the front of the net, the corners and backchecks. You talk about him as a stereotypical Swede of Don Cherry.
Team toughness and grit does exist on the TML today and went overboard yesterday.
Keefe loses his cool, and apparently doesn’t get the team to buy in successfully . A coach needs players to go to the wall for him and believe in him as a tactician. They have the players.
I’d love Nylander as a Hab.
And I’d take him in a New York Minute on the Senators.
Habfan30
Playoffs…
Regular season means nothing.
First, your team has to GET to the playoffs. Ask Buffalo and Ottawa if they’d like to have had a Nylander over the past 7 to 13 years.
George O…
You’d take him for 11.5 until 2032?
Reaves had less than 8 minutes of playing time last night, the least of all players on both teams. He made a bad play on the important first goal of the game and got an assist on a lucky bounce, or he would have been a minus – again.
While he was not the main reason the Leafs lost last night, why someone who is such a detriment gets ice time on a team that sorely needs better depth is an enduring mystery.
Hey LJ,
Reaves is a Big GOON,
His role in the playoffs need’s to be spelt out to him in Black & White for the playoffs.
if Not, Dont play him and put an other player in the line up that can help you
WIN Games
Yeah, I agree. I will take Nylander any day. Recall him being the best Maple Leaf in prior playoffs series with a lethal shot! ……
A lot of good items today. I thought the Hurricanes were fortunate to win that game. If not for Anderson, the Islanders may have prevailed….
Don’t like how the Golden Knights seem to take advantage of LTIR. I guess, it’s legal from what others point out but something definitely seems fishy? ……
Drouin injury is huge but Avalanche are going to be up against it regardless. Everyone on deck. They are going to have to be defensively sound if they want to prevail in this series. They are capable of it, the question with the Avalanche is will they do it? GO AVS!!!!!
@Caper and habfan30
I am in total agreement , as per your remarks on Sheldon Keefe
The negative comments on Nylander from a passenger on her is mind boggling !
I would imagine Treliving is going to make a move on a goaltender in the offseason
Step in the right direction, one win doesn’t make a series.
It was easy to tell Toronto game plan, do what Florida did, hit anything and everything, ref won’t call all the penalties.
Big difference it’s Florida best players leading the way and they have very good defense.
I hope Toronto doesn’t change their defense, leave it, no changes necessary.
The best way to have a team stop the cheap shots is be productive on the PP. The bruins went 2-5 on the PP and killed of the 3 pp that Toronto got.
The player i least like in the NHL is Max Domi, he too often sucker punches a guy before the guy knows he’s in a fight.
Sheldon Keefe called out Domi for a dirty penalty he took last night saying “he crossed the line” he did and Boston scored while he was in the penalty box. Max is looking more and more like his dad every day, his next and head are much bigger then when he came in the league. The player has skill but for some reason he has turned more into a thug.
However, if i’m consistent i don’t like a coach calling out his team in the media, that’s a conversation for the coach and player in private. He could’ve praised his energy in public and in private you’re hurting the team, you need to be smarter.
Who is in net for both teams Monday night?
If you don’t play in one of games 80, 81 or 82 then you shouldn’t be eligible to play in the playoffs until game 4. Simple, easy fix.
Again, the NHLPA won’t stand for that. They’ll argue the player is being punished for getting injured.
Punished by their own team for using LTIR. That said, I agree it won’t happen because it’s a good idea, something the NHL is generally allergic to.
Brock, it won’t happen because it’s Gary Bettman’s legacy and all the owners love it.
Everything is negotiable.
You say it’s a money thing… well, what’s the solution?
They are permitted to activate said player(s) and though they don’t play in the 1st round… they receive full compensation.
Problem solved.
Isn’t a cap a hindrance to the earnings of players? It is… but there is a cap for the good of the league. This is no different.
I love these clowns saying everything is negotiable. Sure but once they’ve been negotiated, you be a man and accept it as in a form like the CBA ie collective bargaining agreement.
I’m sure a team doctor will give estimates on when they feel a player is able to return to work(play). If that date is close to the end of the season, I’m sure no one will dispute it would be wise to error on the side of more time given to heal than rush a player back. If it helps the team is debatable.
Ron Moore,
Everything is negotiable.
In life, you don’t get what you deserve or desire… you get what you negotiate.
This LTIR situation has a bad smell to it regarding activating players come playoff time. It’s been abused, and will be further abused.
There will be a tipping point in favor of a correction because there is no putting the Genie back in the bottle. The abuse will only get worse with time.
There is a solution… which must be negotiated.
Will be interesting to see what it is.
Bookmarking this page 😉
I like that formula. And not just dress and take one shift in games 80 to 82 either. Full participation.
How do you enforce that formula? If the team doctors and the league determine that a player isn’t ready to return from an injury until the first game of the playoffs, are you seriously suggesting the player be forced to return in one of the final games of the season?
What I find fishy – and I’m not alone apparently – is a “condition” that keeps them out of games 80-82 but, two days after the final season whistle and the start of the playoffs, without any serious practice time to get them back into game condition, suddenly it’s the Miracle of Fatima time and they’re ready to step in in top form.
So Stone, for example, is perfectly healthy for game 82, doesn’t play, and the NHLPA (and league, by extension) is good with it.
Stone, perfectly healthy for game 83, doesn’t play, and the NHLPA would throw a fit? Is that the argument?
(i find that ridiculous, but moving on…)
So, let’s say they do have a problem with it – is the problem the lack of payment for game 83? I and several others have already offered solutions there.
Unless he miraculously was cured (George’s Miracle of Fatima). If so, I’m starting to wonder if the US’s Department of Health and Human Services and Canada’s Equivalent might be interested in these cures.
If Stone is “perfectly healthy” for Game 82, that would be determined by teams doctors. Under the CBA, the Golden Knights would have to take him off LTIR for that game whether he plays or not and would incur salary-cap penalties as a result. They wouldn’t be able to pull a fast one because the league closely monitors all LTIR situations, especially near the end of the season.
The NHLPA will NOT stand for any player being denied the opportunity to participate in the playoffs under the scenario you and other suggest about them being penalized for being on LTIR until season’s end and then being healthy enough to play in the postseason. As I’ve explained, the player suffered a workplace injury and was placed on LTIR by the team. It’s team doctors consulting with league officials and third-party medical staff that determine when the player is healthy enough to return to action.
If the league tried to implement a ruling preventing the player from skating in the postseason when given medical clearance to resume playing, yes, the PA will “pitch a fit.” By banning the player from skating in any amount of games in the opening round, you’re trying to punish the player for a workplace injury that saw him placed on LTIR as per CBA rules. They won’t stand for it. That’s why I said it runs the risk of violating labor laws.
and just to clarify- I’m not biased against LV. They are doing nothing wrong and playing within the system as designed.
I-and many of the others-are saying that the system, for lack of better words, is stupid.
(and I’m pretty sure that the NHL and the NHLPA know it’s stupid, too, but they don’t really want to do anything about it)
To use a clumsy baseball analogy – It’s like saying on every 3rd Thursday of the month, it now takes 4 strikes for a strikeout.
Fair to all teams? Sure. But still stupid and unrelated to the game as it is normally played.
They are playing within the system. It’s the result of the salary cap that was implemented nearly twenty years ago. Few team owners have any real complaint about LTIR as they know the rules work the same for all of them. The PA, meanwhile, knows they won’t win a labor war to get rid of the cap system so they’ve learned to work within it.
There was some talk during last month’s meeting of NHL general managers about it. They know this can’t be raised until the next round of collective bargaining in 2026. Maybe there will be some tweaks, but you’re not going to see anything that prevents a player from playing in the postseason because he was on LTIR to the end of the season.
You also won’t see LTIR abolished because that would prevent teams from replacing a sidelined player. Situations like Stone, Kucherov and Patrick Kane were the unintended consequences. Of course, if their clubs hadn’t won the Stanley Cup in the years they were sidelined, no one would be upset about it.
As I said earlier, the best way to address it is to do away with the salary cap entirely. But we all know that’s not going to happen.
OK, I can see your point about questionable legalities.
Can you please answer this (potentially related) question?:
What would happen if a team was up against the Cap in, say, game 67, and a high-salary player came off LTIR prior to game 68 and they were unable to clear enough Cap? I don’t know if this has happened. But I’m assuming that the high-salaried player would have to sit out game 68 (and potentially others), no?
If not, how would that work?
As per the CBA, a team must activate a player off LTIR when he is deemed medically fit to return. The team must ensure they have sufficient cap space ahead of that expected date to accommodate this. If they don’t have the cap space, the league can levy hefty fines for each game that they’re not cap compliant plus the team risks being penalized by the loss of draft picks. That’s why you always see a flurry of player movement by trades or demotions before a player returns to action.
The key point being that the team is penalized, and the returning LTIR player is not effectively penalized.
That answers that whole line of questions, and I will retreat quietly.
For now, anyway.
No need to retreat, Whalercane. I enjoyed the discussion. You raised good points.
Tml coach isn’t head coach material if he thinks tml can physically intimidate bruins.
Domi is a goon. His antics being allowed are on poor officiating and the nhl if he doesn’t get at least 1 game for slash on Marchand. Even tml coach called it excessive. Domi should have been penalized before 1st puck drop for his cross checking but instead ref puts his arm around Domi back and talks to him, for 2 cross checks to players head in front of bruins net, usually a 5, a game plus additional from nhl, and then slash, 5 min for intent to injure. Officials just allowed retaliation actions on tml players, Mathew’s, nylander when he returns. NHL doesn’t protect its skilled players.
Rease is rease, no threat just a goon.
To keep nhlpa happy pay players during playoffs same per day rate as regular season. Keep same cap rules, problem solved.
Lyle you seem very biased tml today and not a professional writer. Don’t understand.
Hard to be Canadian and support tml actions.
For citing facts to point out that Nylander isn’t a bum as Zimmer claimed?
I was more detailed than simply saying he is a bum in the playoffs.
He’s notoriously soft… dreads corners and contact.
I hope he suits up… perhaps he’ll show some grit this time… I don’t expect it… but should he… I’ll come out and say he stepped up for a change.
Richard making any comment that doesn’t align with what you think especially if it’s about the Leafs doesn’t make someone less of anything. It makes you less of (blank) for feeling and thinking that way.
Nice game by the B’s last night with good solid pushback … series will probably go 7
How can TML be down 2 forwards and dress a guy who plays 8 minutes!That s poor roster management! Now they have guys like Domi imitating Reaves! Watch Maroon! Very physical,clean,had a key assist on Beechers goal! Why is Boston dressing Lauko over JVR!
Lye the fix is easy, the willingness to apply the fix is what’s difficult.
So what’s the easy fix, Caper?
WOW, as of this minute, 70 comments with much debate. Since reading Spector’s Hockey by far the most seen Lyle comment. Kudos for entertaining readings !!
This loophole is open to every team. I’d get it if it were only some teams that could use it, but that’s not the case.
How many teams are currently over the cap?
I understand that some of these move look very suspicious (hello there Stone / Vegas knights! 3 years in a row he gets better come the playoffs.
Maybe other teams need to hire Tanya Hardings hit crew to go free up some cap space?
The solution would require negotiating in the collective bargaining agreement. Have teams pay their players for the playoffs and then have the salary cap throughout the playoffs, just as it is in the regular season. It makes absolutely no sense to have a salary cap in effect for 82 games and then remove it for the playoffs. This would prevent teams loading up on star players , secure in the knowledge that the cap disappears after game 82. As far as the salary cap is concerned, it was never a good solution to escalating player salaries. Follow the baseball model and let teams spend what the want but impose a luxury tax on anything above a certain amount to be spread amongst the small market teams.
I like this thinking concerning the cap and having it apply into the playoffs.
Simple, clean, 100% makes sense.
David, during the 1994-95 lockout, Bettman offered a luxury-tax system but then-NHLPA director Bob Goodenow rejected. 10 years later, during the season-killing 04-05 lockout, the PA proposed a luxury tax but Bettman stood firm on the salary cap. That system is not going to change. It’s been in place for nearly 20 years now. The owners are used to it and so are the players. Everyone has found a way to work within it despite the obvious obstacles to maintaining a roster.
If there are changes there could be tweaks to the current system regarding LTIR rules but nothing happens without the NHLPA onboard. Trust me, this isn’t the hill the league will die on in the next round of collective bargaining if the PA digs in its heels.