"It's easier": Allvin speaks on Canucks cap situation after avoiding LTIR
Patrik Allvin and the Vancouver Canucks have pulled off an incredibly difficult task.
The organization is starting the season with a full roster below the salary cap, all while not using long-term injury reserve (LTIR). This has massive cap implications, which will make it much easier for the team to add via trade this season.
The Canucks managed to trade Tucker Poolman’s contract just a few days before opening night to stay out of LTIR.
“It’s easier to work not being in LTIR,” explained Allvin today. “This definitely gives us more flexibility… I’m excited about the competition here.”
“We had different options, different ideas if we weren’t able to execute a trade there, but [the trade] definitely helps us.”
“All good teams have depth, and all good teams have internal competition, so I’m happy [our] coaches have harder decisions to make here now.”
The NHL’s salary cap is calculated on a daily basis. Teams below the salary cap get that day’s space carried over to the next day. If you use long-term injury reserve, you lose this privilege. On the other hand, if you start the year below the salary cap, you’ll accrue space every day, allowing you to add salary later in the season.
The opening-day roster the Canucks submitted today has just shy of $500,000 in cap space per PuckPedia. As it stands right now, the team could fit a player making $2.2 million at the trade deadline.
That number will change depending on the team’s daily cap hit, but as it stands, the Canucks have more cap flexibility than they’ve ever had in the Jim Rutherford and Allvin era.
The #Canucks opening roster has $479K Projected Cap Space with 23 active players (13F/8D/2G).
Can fit $2.2M Annual Cap Hit @ Deadline
IR: Joshua, Demko
Includes $3.6M Dead Cap Hit: OEL $2.35M Buyout, Mikheyev $712.5K & Poolman $500K retainedhttps://t.co/SSgBAPpXpi
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) October 7, 2024
Injuries to players like Thatcher Demko, Dakota Joshua, Pius Suter, and Akito Hirose meant that it looked practically impossible for the Canucks to avoid using LTIR just a few days ago. Injured players can’t be removed off the roster until fully healthy.
Some quick recoveries and the savvy trade of Poolman’s contract helped open up more possibilities for the Canucks. It was a shrewd deal by Allvin, which also returned an intriguing young defenceman in Erik Brannstrom.
The Canucks currently have 23 players on their roster, including 13 forwards, eight defencemen, and two goalies. That count does not include the injured Joshua or Demko. When those players return, the fact the team is out of LTIR will provide them with a flexible roster structure.
“We have options,” said Allvin about what the roster might look like in a few months’ time once more players are healthy. “If we want to keep three goalies, [12-13 forwards], that’s something the coaches and myself will work through here in the next days, weeks, months. Nothing is set.”
The Canucks front office has shown itself to be one of the most aggressive management groups in the NHL. They made several trades last season despite being handcuffed by their financial situation. With the cap flexibility to pull off big moves this year, the possibilities are endless.