Of the 2 options, I would prefer Hamonic on a PTO, if they go that route...at least he isn't softer than melted butter.
- Reubenkincade

For a halfling, you sure talk about toughness a lot. Loui could sh!t kick you 🤦🏻‍♂️

For a halfling, you sure talk about toughness a lot. Loui could sh!t kick you 🤦🏻‍♂️
- CanuckDon

And happy new year to you.

Does it really matter?
Next rounds are what count & I expect Wallstedt to carry the load.
- Nighthawk

Heck yeah it matters. Now they have to face Finland

And happy new year to you.
- Marwood

I drank a bottle of champagne through some giants titts. And then a bottle of tequila. A bit rough today 🤮

Those too lazy to use capfriendly need not bother reading this either lol

Here's the article. I don't know why he sources and links to an article that he has to know a lot of people aren't dumb enough to pay. (I am)

This NHL season is going to be unusual for several reasons.

A shortened schedule with only two-thirds of a season (56 games) played. A flat salary cap. Four new divisions – and regular-season play only within each division. Plus, there’s the Toews Schedule, where teams will play multiple games in most road cities on every trip.

And, of course, the taxi squad.

The taxi squad – a group of four to six players beyond traditional NHL roster limits – is going to be necessary for a few reasons in 2021. For one, we don’t know when or if the AHL will be playing and if it’ll be possible for players from those teams to travel back and forth from their NHL clubs.

The other big factor is the coronavirus, which has led to numerous positive tests in other leagues (like the NFL) causing havoc with active rosters. In some cases, there have even been games postponed. Logistically, it makes sense for NHL teams to have additional players on hand all year.

But the other thing the taxi squad will allow for is some creative accounting practices. It’s clear, after talking to multiple executives the past week, that the new roster rules will be used for more than simply COVID-19 insurance.

Teams will be permitted to repeatedly move players back and forth from the taxi squad – potentially every day. This will be especially true for clubs that need additional cap space.

“The cap shenanigans around the league this year are going to be next level,” one team source said this week.


The biggest thing the taxi squad will allow for is smaller NHL rosters.

In a typical season, teams usually carry 22 or 23 players, with the two or three extras serving as “healthy scratches” in games they don’t play. Occasionally teams will dip down to the minimum 20 players – 18 skaters and two goalies – but it’s usually temporary and only in extreme circumstances.

Teams often have last-minute injuries and, especially when on the road, they need those extra players there to fill in. It’s not always possible to call someone up from the minors quickly, given most NHL teams are in different cities than their AHL affiliates.

With a taxi squad of up to six extra players on hand, however, this practice won’t be necessary. If someone is hurt or falls ill at a morning skate, teams will be able to simply pull from the taxi squad – a group that doesn’t count against the cap – rather than having an extra player always on the roster.

When on the road, meanwhile, teams could “send down” players to the taxi squad without them having to board a plane and fly across the country. In most cases, they’d simply be like everyone else on the team – except they suddenly wouldn’t count against the cap.

Why does this matter?

Well, assuming teams take advantage of this in an aggressive fashion and carry fewer roster players for the bulk of the season, we could be talking about millions in savings per team. If the 21st, 22nd and 23rd players on rosters are all on a taxi squad instead of the NHL roster, and they’re on two-way contracts (which carry a lower salary in the minors), the cap savings could in extreme cases add up to more than $3 million per team.

If a team saving that much money kept that space open to accrue all season, using the taxi squad, they could then have roughly $14 million more available to spend by the trade deadline. A trade deadline that will occur just 26 days before the end of the regular season.

Like I said, it’s going to be an unusual year.

The easiest way to illustrate all this is probably with an example. And there’s not really a better one than the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Unlike some of the other teams near the cap (Tampa, St. Louis, Washington, etc.), the Leafs will not enter the season with anyone on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and thus will be able to accrue cap space. They also have a lot of players on two-way contracts, which is important for using the taxi squad to its full benefit.

Here is a sample 20 player roster the Leafs could potentially employ if they were going to send down all of their players who don’t require waivers and keep most of their one-way contracts in the NHL.



The Leafs could then have a taxi squad group of three forwards, two defencemen and one goaltender: Pierre Engvall, Alexander Barabanov, Nick Robertson, Mikko Lehtonen, Rasmus Sandin and Aaron Dell.

If there are injuries, teams are allowed to sub players in and out. Coronavirus-related absences allow for the same thing.

This gives a team like the Leafs a pretty deep group of 26 players to choose from night to night. And the only taxi squad player that requires waivers to go down is Dell. (If they want to put someone like Boyd on the squad in order to dress, say, Lehtonen or Barabanov, Boyd would have to clear waivers first.)

Every day a player like Lehtonen or Barabanov is on the taxi squad and off the cap, it adds up to an extra $7,974 in cap space – which is the equivalent of their $925,000 cap hit divided by the 116 days in the 2020-21 season. That nearly $8,000 per day adds up over the course of several months.

While the Leafs would be over the cap with a 22-player roster with both those players accounted for, the 20-player roster and six-player taxi squad above is more than $1.5 million under the cap. That might not sound like a lot, but it’s enough space that, if they can keep it open until the trade deadline, could accrue to be more than $6 million.

Which could make for a pretty nice addition at the deadline.

That’s a very extreme example of what a team like Toronto could do, and it might not be entirely practical. There will be injuries, and injuries often have a way of slowly eating away at cap flexibility.

Teams might also be skittish about going with a bare minimum 20-player roster given all taxi squad callups have to be made by 5 p.m. the night of a game. What if someone gets hurt in warmup?

Still, teams are preparing for some unique maneuvering here. We will likely see a lot more daily roster movement than we’re used to, as teams try to accrue more space on off days.

After all, if the taxi squad gets to practice, train and travel with the main group, why not demote as many waiver-exempt players as you can to save money?

The other interesting wrinkle here is with players like Robertson, who in a normal season wouldn’t be allowed to play in the AHL due to his age. With the major junior leagues currently on hiatus, and some uncertainty about when they’ll resume, the NHL has told teams that they can keep these junior players on taxi squads as long as they have nowhere else to play.

Since Robertson is on an entry-level contract, he is waiver exempt, which means he could go up and down from the NHL roster to the taxi squad without risk.

The other thing I expect we’ll see is teams getting creative with the waiver process. Players only have to clear a second time after they’ve played 10 games or been on the NHL roster for 30 days, so you could theoretically yo-yo them around a lot before getting to those benchmarks.

That could mean teams put a large number of players on waivers at the end of training camp, securing their eligibility to go back and forth from the taxi squad without waivers for a while. They could then save money as often as possible with paper transactions moving them around over and over, as needed, without risking losing the player each time.

The good news with all of this? It should give teams a lot more flexibility to make trades throughout the year. Even with the flat cap and many teams tight to the upper limit, all of the creative accounting could add up to far more room around the league by the trade deadline on April 12.

Having a good capologist is about to pay off more than ever.


- Leafs43

Very curious to see what Barzal gets. Last big RFA to sign.

Heck yeah it matters. Now they have to face Finland
- manvanfan

The Finns are a thorn in anyones ass. Amazing how they play & move the needle over the years. Russia is the enigma.

I drank a bottle of champagne through some giants titts. And then a bottle of tequila. A bit rough today 🤮
- CanuckDon

Too funny 😂👍

Very curious to see what Barzal gets. Last big RFA to sign.
- VANTEL

Lou is a grinder. What’s your guess?

Lou is a grinder. What’s your guess?
- Nighthawk

I think 7.5 x 2 . I think both Barzal and PLD will do bridge deals but at the same time want out.

I think 7.5 x 2 . I think both Barzal and PLD will do bridge deals but at the same time want out.
- VANTEL

Sounds about right but idk about wanting out. I’ll believe it when I see it on both accounts.

The Finns are a thorn in anyones ass. Amazing how they play & move the needle over the years. Russia is the enigma.
- Nighthawk

So why would the swedes want to face them then?

Lou is a grinder. What’s your guess?
- Nighthawk

6x 9.35

I heard Burkie say something interesting yesterday that made sense. He talked about teams carrying a 20 man roster .He was talking about Vegas . If you have a 6 man taxi squad why do you need to carry a 23 man roster?

It could make some interesting choices for clubs on who stays and who gets sent down .

Very curious to see what Barzal gets. Last big RFA to sign.
- VANTEL

Similar to Dubois but with a higher 2nd year. Remember, the last year’s number is the basis for the qualifying offer if I’m not mistaken. This will ensure he gets paid well in the subsequent contract.

Similar to Dubois but with a higher 2nd year. Remember, the last year’s number is the basis for the qualifying offer if I’m not mistaken. This will ensure he gets paid well in the subsequent contract.
- Shuswap Wap

I think higher AAV around 7.5

I think 7.5 x 2 . I think both Barzal and PLD will do bridge deals but at the same time want out.
- VANTEL

I think this is pretty accurate all around. Not a lot keepinv guys in either place

So why would the swedes want to face them then?
- manvanfan

Mortal enemies when it comes to a rivalry.
I expect a very good game.

I heard Burkie say something interesting yesterday that made sense. He talked about teams carrying a 20 man roster .He was talking about Vegas . If you have a 6 man taxi squad why do you need to carry a 23 man roster?

It could make some interesting choices for clubs on who stays and who gets sent down .
- VANTEL

Ok sent down to where? Not taxi squadders
What if a pregame injury? Just play short.
Less than 23 roster is less depth to draw from & get kids experience from coaching & practice.

26 or 29 players on the entire teams?

Pros & cons galore.
1 has to be a 3rd goalie
Call ups are by 5pm goalies last minute.
26 roster is only 5 extra skaters for 56 games
Injuries can pile up in a hurry

Ok sent down to where?
What if a pregame injury? Just play short.
Less than 23 roster is less depth to draw from & get kids experience from coaching & practice.
- Nighthawk

I think wrong on all accounts.

Do you really give a rats ass where you send Loui and Sven to?
Pre-game injury you have 6 guys on your taxi squad sitting in the press box
The taxi squad and prospects are still getting ice time . Loui Sven and another player like Benn would not

26 or 29 players on the entire teams?

Pros & cons galore.
1 has to be a 3rd goalie
Call ups are by 5pm goalies last minute.
26 roster is only 5 extra skaters for 56 games
Injuries can pile up in a hurry
- Nighthawk

You do know you can adjust the rosters daily. On non game days you can send down three players .

Hi, Happy New Year!

Kicking off 2021 with lots of hockey talk as Canucks' training camp is just around the corner and Podkolzin & Costmar have been making noise at World Juniors.

https://www.hockeybuzz.co...ld-Jrs-updates/194/108978

Sounds about right but idk about wanting out. I’ll believe it when I see it on both accounts.
- Nighthawk

I think luc wants out, not Barzal