He's under an enormous amount of pressure. I think he done a great job in MTL, but his job is surprisingly "on the line". What to do???
- MexicoHawk

Should've traded for Sharp when he had the chance...........

I love Super PAK line. Great one in an election year.

Agree on all points.
- tredbrta

I still love KaneGB line

...And opens the door for sure for a Ladd trade.
- Al

That is my guess why everything ramped up today. Getting Ladd keeps him away from LA.

I love Super PAK line. Great one in an election year.

Agree on all points.
- tredbrta

Yeah suprised that nickname hasn't popped up (maybe it has and I'm a loon)

I still love KaneGB line
- maria_wyeth

Haven't seen that one. Nice.

Because hopefully next year the $3mil of Bickels cap hit still on the books is gone via trade or buyout.
- TheTrob

Yup, may be another option or two out there as well.

That is my guess why everything ramped up today. Getting Ladd keeps him away from LA.
- JHawkBlackhawk

LA will come hard is my guess...

LA will come hard is my guess...
- Al

yes

Duh, brain fart on my part. I remember looking into this before Kane's injury, which is why that example came to mind. Maybe a better example here would be Andrew Ladd, this year. No doubt the Hawks can't fit his full AAV in under the cap, even if they put Kruger on LTIR. But they could acquire him as a rental without moving salary the other direction, at least under the cap rules.



The answer is a qualified yes. The qualification is that the acquired player can't put you over cap next year, when his cap hit goes back to his AAV. So $48m of the $64m would have to be in rentals.

Of course, that scenario is extremely unlikely. I doubt any team in the NHL has the assets to make player acquisitions totaling $64m. And if that happened, I'd bet they'd amend the CBA to prevent it from happening again.

(Also, we keep saying 3/4 of the way through the season. I'm not actually sure where the trade deadline sits, but there's no way it's much further than that.)

Now, I realize that this looks like a daily accrual, but it's not. If you had daily accrual, then the Penguins (in your hypo) would be allowed to operate ABOVE $71.4m before trading Malkin and Crosby. If the rest of their roster had an AAV of $56.4, they would be able to pay out $15m (3/4 of a $20m AAV) to Sid and Geno and then trade them away for picks at the 3/4 point of the season. But that's not how it works. Malkin and Crosby started the year with the Penguins, so their cap hit is always their AAV under the current CBA. On the flip side, when they're traded, their cap hit disappears completely; the $15m in salary Pittsburgh would have paid out to them doesn't count against them.

Confused yet?

What's interesting is that there's a way that GMs could be abusing this system that hasn't happened. Let's say there's a left wing out there on a cap ceiling team named Ryan Rickell. He makes $4m a year, this year and next. He also sucks. He's so bad, in fact, that he's playing in the AHL.

Under the CBA, Rickell's team could open up cap space by trading him to Chicago in exchange for Brian Bickell. Why? Because Bickell would be a midseason acquisition. If it's halfway through the season, Bickell's cap hit on the new team is only $2m, at least for that year. (It's back up to $4m next year, but hey, you can just trade them back again before the deadline to open up space.)
- darklighter

a) Ahah! I understand now. Although seriously, if a team acquired the All-Star team for the last 20 games of the regular season, won the Cup going 16-0, and then traded everyone away (or let them go as UFAs), that'd be kinda sweet. Toronto: take heed! You may win a Cup before the year 2200!

b) 3/4 is a beautiful fraction.

c) Not confused as this is another great hypothetical. In other words, you can't assemble a team that will put you over the cap limit if you project forward each player's daily salary for the rest of the year. At the beginning of the year, that daily salary number is the AAV divided by all n days of the season including the upcoming first day. On day 2 of the season, it's the daily salary number projected out for n-1. With our current contracts on the k-th day of the season, there are n-k days left.

A helpful number example from CapFriendly.com but using games remaining for the Hawks rather than days left of the season (it's easier).
--> Projected Cap Space is $468,169 before Scudballs is reassigned. The Current Cap Space is $1,612,582. The Hawks have 22 games left of 82. That fraction (22/82) * Current Cap Space is VERY close to the Projected Cap Space. The calculation is probably exactly right when done with days rather than games remaining to account for variations in schedules from team to team.

--> Same example but with the Deadline Cap Space of $2,176,986. On the day of the deadline, the Hawks have 18 games left of 82. That fraction (18/82) * Deadline Cap Space is only a few grand away from the Projected Cap Space. Same idea about the calculation.

NOW THE IMPORTANT PART:
With Scuds re-assigned, we will have about $1.42M in cap space today, so a deadline day deal is (82/18)*$1.42M = $6.46M. That's a ton of money to play with. Go on a spree, Stan!

LA will come hard is my guess...
- Al

Going to be hard for LAK to swing a trade for Ladd without giving up a TOP prospect

everyone remember that by missing the playoffs last year, the 1st round pick given up for Sekera that went to Carolina rolled into 2016

LAK has no 1st this year

Question for the "insiders" (JJ, Mex, DaBear, etc)....the type of trade for Vermette last year....come over for the cup run and then become a FA and get signed by the original trading team......is that more of a coincidence or a true "wink wink" kind of deal between the player and his old team?

Seems that is something that was alluded to earlier regarding Ladd. Just curious if these type of "things" happen via orchestration more than chance.

LA will come hard is my guess...
- Al

That's a tough team to handle in the WCF if Gaborik makes it back by then.

No salary cap in the playoffs is not fair. LA in 14 and U.S. In 15 makes it tough for teams with no significant injuries.

How could Paciretty's AAV of $4.5 mill work for another three years even if they figure out a way to make it work this season?
- 333inthe3rd

Doesn't matter. They are up against it anyway. They could conceivably deal Crow this summer or next year. They could flip him (Pacioretty) at the draft. They have options.

Pacioretty has an exceptionally reasonable hit for 35 goals per, is a big body and superior to all of the other players mentioned (though Staal plays center which is appealing).

If he is available and all it will cost is TT + Dunno then that is a no brainier IMO

I cant see LAK giving up their 2017 1st either.

Teams RARELY give up 3 straight years of their 1st round pick

Unless your team is the NY Rangers

Good afternoon all. Just caught up with the blog and saw Pacioretty trade talk. If bergevin trades him he will probably lose his job. But in utopian terms -
67-19-81
72-15-88
DAMN that is really a pick your poison.

Still think we are going to get Purcell or (hopefully) Rask or Skinner.

That's a tough team to handle in the WCF if Gaborik makes it back by then.

No salary cap in the playoffs is not fair. LA in 14 and U.S. In 15 makes it tough for teams with no significant injuries.
- JHawkBlackhawk

It is and it isn't. Losing those top guys opens salary but leaves you exposed to missing the playoffs. Say minnesota lost vanek and opened up 7MIL or Parise, they sign Ladd or someone and make a run. They could just as easily be playing golf in April. if the blues lost tarasenko they might even tank out from here.

if youre a shoe in for the playoffs it sucks for other teams but you have to get in without one of your top guys down the stretch

LA will come hard is my guess...
- Al

LA only has 4 picks left this year. No 1st rounder either. I could see Lombardi having to be all in though because the Brown and Gaborik deals are going to cost him. If he signs Lucic then they will be losing someone like Pearson or Toffoli.... and Doughty's next deal will be monstrous. He certainly looks like he will trade whatever he has to right now.

Good afternoon all. Just caught up with the blog and saw Pacioretty trade talk. If bergevin trades him he will probably lose his job. But in utopian terms -
67-19-81
72-15-88
DAMN that is really a pick your poison.

Still think we are going to get Purcell or (hopefully) Rask or Skinner.
- 93Joe

Versteeg

All this Pacioretty speculation is crazy talk. What in the world would cause Montreal to trade a 27 year old 30+ goal scorer with a $4.5M cap hit for a couple more years. Answer = nothing!

Stop the madness!

I really don't see Ladd coming here. It would be cool, but too much for a rental.
- Hank3Henshaw

Hadn't heard the price yet, but I'd expect it to be similar to Vermette last year. Which in retrospect worked out pretty good.

LA only has 4 picks left this year. No 1st rounder either. I could see Lombardi having to be all in though because the Brown and Gaborik deals are going to cost him. If he signs Lucic then they will be losing someone like Pearson or Toffoli.... and Doughty's next deal will be monstrous. He certainly looks like he will trade whatever he has to right now.
- tredbrta

Not to mention LAK has really started to thin the cupboard in recent years. All these prospect trades, depth trades, and pick trades will catch up to them.

Stan has offset a lot of the same in Chicago with key euro and NCAA free agent signings.

Lombardi really hasnt hit on any of those. Lombardi has pretty much depleted much of his organizational depth to round out the bottom half of his defense and bottom 6 forwards. He doesnt have much left worth talking about in the AHL besides Kempe or Mersch and you have to imagine without a first round pick this year, every team will tell Dean that Kempe or Mersch is the price

All this Pacioretty speculation is crazy talk. What in the world would cause Montreal to trade a 27 year old 30+ goal scorer with a $4.5M cap hit for a couple more years. Answer = nothing!

Stop the madness!
- EbonyRaptor

Thank Dreger and EK. The more you look at it the more absurd it appears. If he is selling Pacioretty then why not Price and Subban too. He has 3 core players there that have essentially the same windows. More likely to be anyone but those 3 unless he was getting someone just as good back.... and that isn't coming from the Hawks.

It is and it isn't. Losing those top guys opens salary but leaves you exposed to missing the playoffs. Say minnesota lost vanek and opened up 7MIL or Parise, they sign Ladd or someone and make a run. They could just as easily be playing golf in April. if the blues lost tarasenko they might even tank out from here.

if youre a shoe in for the playoffs it sucks for other teams but you have to get in without one of your top guys down the stretch
- TheCore

Timing is the key. LA is in good shape and the Pacific is a mess. I just think the Hawks have to max out every penny they can and load up because Kings will do the same.
It is too good an opportunity for Lombardi to pass up. He can add a 6 mil a year player. Sure it will cost him but a 3rd cup is within reach.

For Pacioretty you give them TT and Dano IMO. Multiple sources say Bergy wants Danault though.

The deal will be more likely Fleishman or at best Galchenyuk if a forward. I really do not want Emelin or Markov.
- tredbrta

Can't get rid of both. you still need a future top line RW.

Not to mention LAK has really started to thin the cupboard in recent years. All these prospect trades, depth trades, and pick trades will catch up to them.

Stan has offset a lot of the same in Chicago with key euro and NCAA free agent signings.

Lombardi really hasnt hit on any of those. Lombardi has pretty much depleted much of his organizational depth to round out the bottom half of his defense and bottom 6 forwards. He doesnt have much left worth talking about in the AHL besides Kempe or Mersch and you have to imagine without a first round pick this year, every team will tell Dean that Kempe or Mersch is the price
- hawkeytalkman

They are solid drafters and have some other prospects like Zykov and Gravel but I think any deal DL does may require sending back someone like King or even Pearson. They haven't hit on amateur free agents but their drafting has been better than the Hawks the last 3-4 years.