Canucks put together NHL's first-ever "perfect" salary cap
The Vancouver Canucks haven’t exactly been known for salary cap wizardry in recent years.
And that’s putting it lightly.
But after the Toronto Maple Leafs drew praise for coming within just four dollars of the salary cap, utilizing nearly all of the $2.15 million long-term injured reserve (LTIR) available, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin one-upped them.
The Canucks did something that’s never been done before, according to CapFriendly, after they set their opening day roster. They have spent their cap space to the maximum amount, perfectly utilizing all $3.5 million of LTIR available to them from Micheal Ferland’s contract.
It leaves them with precisely $0 of cap space.
That means the Canucks will be able to spend up to $86 million this season — $3.5 million above the NHL’s $82.5 million upper cap limit — leaving “no dollars wasted whatsoever.” No team has ever done that since the NHL introduced the salary cap in 2005.
Salary cap sites like CapFriendly and PuckPedia were seemingly blown away by the precision.
This is a first ever! The Vancouver #Canucks have a perfect LTIR upper limit of $82.5M. No Dollars wasted whatsoever!
Cap Hit: $86M
Cap Space: $0 ($3.5M in LTIR Use)
Roster: 22 (13F – 7D – 2G)
LTIR: Ferland ($3.5M)https://t.co/JjmQ2p1EFd— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) October 10, 2022
We have a new LTIR optimizing champ!#Canucks opening roster of 22 active players (13F/6D/2G) + Mikheyev/Myers/Dermott IR + Di Giuseppe $146K Season Opening IR + Ferland LTIR is EXACTLY $3.5M over cap, the max potential LTIR with Ferland on LTIR.
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) October 10, 2022
LTIR is the extremely complicated process that allows NHL teams to spend above the salary cap when players miss a minimum of 10 games or 24 days during the regular season. It can’t be banked for future use, rather LTIR only provides cap relief when a team’s payroll exceeds the upper limit.
That’s why teams sometimes make peculiar moves when setting their opening-day rosters, as the Canucks did by calling up Danila Klimovich on Monday. The 19-year-old is expected to play in Abbotsford for the foreseeable future.
The Canucks tinkered with their roster over the weekend, trading away Jason Dickinson and his $2.65 million salary to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defenceman Riley Stillman, who carries just a $1.35 million cap hit.
Vancouver’s opening day roster has just 22 players, one less than the maximum allowable 23. Three players — Travis Dermott, Ilya Mikheyev, and Tyler Myers — are beginning the season on injured reserve.
That’s in addition to Ferland (LTIR), and injured non-roster players Phil Di Giuseppe and Karel Plasek.
The regular season begins on Wednesday for the Canucks, when they travel to Edmonton for opening night. Their first five games are on the road, in Edmonton, Philadelphia, Washington, Columbus, and Minnesota.
The Canucks’ home opener won’t take place until October 22, against the Buffalo Sabres, at Rogers Arena.
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