A staggering number of teams will enter the 2022-23 season with absolutely ZERO cap space
For all of the talk about the Leafs and their salary cap situation because so much money is tied up in the "Core 4" the Leafs are in a better position than quite a few teams. To begin the season, there are 12 teams - yes, TWELVE teams - that have zero cap space. Each of the 12 teams are using LTIR to begin the season, with Vegas and Montreal leading the way. Both teams have 6 players on LTIR for opening night - most notably Carey Price, Robin Lehner and Shea Weber.
All three of those players are out for the season, so the Habs and Knights won't face any major cap issues this season, but the remaining teams, including the Leafs, could be forced to play shorthanded at times and may even be forced to subtract a player via trade to remain compliant with the salary cap.
With LTIR, teams try to get as close as possible to the cap before placing players on it, to allow for maximum cap flexibility. This season, 4 teams were able to come within a few dollars of the cap limit. Courtesy of CapFriendly, 5 teams were within $175 of the cap - Vancouver ($0), Toronto ($4), Vegas ($16), Tampa Bay ($33) and Edmonton ($167). Of those five, only Tampa and Toronto have current rosters of 20 players instead of the usual 22 or 23.
What does that mean exactly? If Tampa and/or Toronto were to play a game where a player is injured or begin a game with only 19 instead of 20 players, the following game they would be able to recall someone on an emergency basis, meaning the recalled player's salary would not count against the cap. Something we could see as soon as Thursday night for the Leafs if John Tavares in unable to play Wednesday in the season opener and if he is expected to miss Thursday's home opener in Toronto as well.
Thanks to the almost flat cap again this season, one third of the entire league will be playing "cap gymnastics" all season to stay compliant and that could mean we see a few key players being offloaded for draft picks or prospects.
