One of the most highly debated topics in the NHL in recent years has been the use of long-term injured reserve (LTIR) by contending teams and the alleged exploitation of cap relief to assemble the best possible playoff roster, as there is no salary cap in the postseason.
The issue was first popularized in 2015 when Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane missed the final 21 games of the season before playing in Game 1 of that year’s playoffs. Then, Nikita Kucherov sat out the entire 2020-21 regular season for the Tampa Bay Lightning before making a miraculous playoff recovery, and Mark Stone did almost the same for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023. All three teams went on to win that year’s Stanley Cup.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun in May that the league and the NHLPA have agreed to tweak the loophole, and the NHLPA’s assistant executive director, Ron Hainsey, added his thoughts on Wednesday ahead of Game 1 of this year’s Stanley Cup Final.
“I don’t want to get too into one item or another, but obviously it’s an issue that the league has made a priority for them, right?” Hainsey said, per The Athletic’s Chris Johnston. “And we continue to discuss a mechanism to deal with that, right? And I think there is some evidence that it’s being used more and more, right? When it was like one every couple years, that was one thing. So it has come up with the players, certainly at different times, either publicly or privately.”
Hainsey added that the problem will be addressed by the league and the players’ association in the next collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA is set to expire in September 2026, and the two parties are reportedly getting closer on an extension.
One solution to the problem, floated in 2022 by then-Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland, is that the roster chosen to play in each individual playoff game should fit under the salary cap. Meaning, whichever 20 players a team decides to line up must fit under the cap.
The NHL’s salary cap is expected to increase each of the next three seasons, giving teams ample time to reconfigure their rosters if the league were to adopt Holland’s idea or a similar policy.
