14 teams without enough cap space to call up one player!

The salary cap in the National Hockey League in the past seasons has been an issue for several teams, and it was made clear for everyone on Friday when new information emerged to clearly demonstrate its magnitude. At the moment, clubs are so cap-strapped on their respective payroll that, at the start of the season, almost half of the 32 teams cannot even afford to recall a player from the American League in the event of an injury.

According to Puck Pedia, 14 teams are currently unable to carry out a recall due to their current payroll too close to the salary cap. The teams are the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and New York Rangers.

The issue was especially made public last week when the Oilers were not able to recall a player from their affiliate team when the announcement of captain Connor McDavid’s injury was made. The Oilers were forced to play the following game with only 11 forwards in their lineup. The Oilers are up against the cap and McDavid won’t be out long enough for the team to place him on long term injured reserve which means Edmonton will get no salary cap relief during his absence.

We bet teams are already looking forward to the increase in the salary cap next season. During the offseason, it was reported that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had made the “very preliminary” estimate for cap next year, saying the salary cap could be $87-$88M for the 2024-25 season. The 2023-24 season kicked off with an $83.5 million salary cap. It would be a more significant jump than we’ve seen in the past seasons, as the salary-cap limits were no higher than $82.5 million and no lower than $61 million just a year ago.

Clearly, most teams need more money. Don’t we all?

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