The NHL and NHLPA have been working quietly in the weeks following the ratification of a new CBA to begin next season. Later Tuesday afternoon, the sides announced a Memorandum of Understanding via significant rule changes that will take place, effective immediately, and some of the news is good for the Pittsburgh Penguins .
Perhaps the biggest challenge league-wide deals with long-term injured reserve usage. The "Kucherov" or " Mark Stone " LTIR loophole has been closed, as of today.
The LTIR cap-circumvention techniques in which players might take their time healing to be ready for the playoffs, thus allowing their team the extra cap space to add at the trade deadline, then play with a roster that far exceeded the cap in the playoffs, are over.
Teams were not able to simply replace an LTIR player's salary. In an often misunderstood rule, LTIR relief was equal to the player's salary minus available salary cap space when the player was placed on LTIR (That's why you saw teams get as close to the cap as possible before putting a player on the injured list).
LTIR relief is now limited to the previous season's average league salary. The league's average salary in 2024-25 was $3,817,293, meaning that LTIR relief for any player with a higher cap hit would be limited to $3,817,283.
For a real-world example, the Montreal Canadiens now MUST trade Carey Price because instead of getting relief on most of his $10.5 million salary, they will only get $3.8 million.
Montreal is almost $6 million over the salary cap, and placing Price on LTIR will no longer get them under the cap.
There is a caveat–teams may get full salary relief for players who are declared unfit for the remainder of the regular season AND the playoffs. So, teams can still get 100% relief, but they must forfeit the chance to get that player back at any point in that season.
However, the new rule will affect the trade market in several ways. Most notably, contending teams with an injured player will be forced to offload additional salary at the trade deadline if they anticipate getting a key player back for the playoffs. Such moves would immediately benefit the Penguins, who have accepted draft picks to acquire several salary dumps over the last 14 months.
Quite simply, the NHL swung a big stick Tuesday. In a swift departure from the norms, the NHL is instituting a playoff salary cap.
The dressed players may not exceed that year's salary cap.
However, the caveats are a little dense.
Salary bonuses are excluded.
Cap hits are not prorated. The player's full salary, no matter if the team acquired him at mid-season or at the deadline, counts toward the cap.
Dead cap space incurred during that season, such as buyouts, salary retentions, and buried contracts, also count.
For the team that retains a cap hit in a trade, the retention is prorated based on the remaining regular-season days at the time of the transaction .
Our friends at Puckpedia.com did an extraordinary analysis of the changes, and what the team's salaries would have been for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final (hint: Florida would have been well over the cap).
No more salary deferrals.
**Teams can no longer send players to the minors on off days and then recall them on game days to save salary cap space. Penguins GMs Kyle Dubas and Jim Rutherford have used this technique to maximize cap space in the past.
Players sent down must now report to the AHL team and play at least one game before being recalled.
**Teams can no longer overly frontload multi-year deals. The drop in subsequent years in a contract is restricted to 20% of the first year of the deal. The lowest in any year is limited to 71% of the highest year.
**Signing bonuses are now capped at 60% of the contract value.
**Minor league compensation levels on entry-level contracts have been capped.
The new league minimum salary will be $850,000, up from $775,000.
ELC deals are capped at $1 million for next season, then the league minimum salary plus $175,000.
**The NHL increased the post-trade deadline recall maximum from four to five.
**The Emergency Backup Goalie rules have changed. Now EBUGS must be employed by the team. Still, the goalies cannot have played an NHL game with a standard player contract, have played more than 80 professional hockey games, or have played professional hockey in the last three years.
The EBUGS must not have another current contractual obligation that would preclude the ability to serve as the club's Emergency Goaltender Replacement, or be on another team's reserve free agent list.
**Teams without enough cap space to make a recall in an emergency situation were allowed to play short for one game, but then were able to recall a player at the league minimum salary plus $100,000 without a cap charge. That rule is changing, and teams will now be charged whatever cap space they have and an overage against the following year's salary cap.
If the team decides to play short instead of utilizing the exception, they will still be charged for the available space and have a carryover charge
**Currently, players under 35 and not on an ELC are not eligible for performance bonuses. That is changing. Now, if a player spent more than 100 days on injured reserve. If or spent the final 70 days on IR and played in less than two playoff games, he is eligible for performance bonuses.
*Qualifying Offer values have been updated. Restricted free agents making under $1.25 million must be offered 110% to retain their rights. Players between $1.25 million and $1.75 million must be offered 105%, and players over $1.75 million must be offered 100% of their current salary.
The post NHL Rule Changes on LTIR & Cap Effective Immediately; How They Affect Penguins appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
Related Headlines
