Matthew Schaefer’s breakout rookie season triggered a significant financial penalty. Discover how heavy LTIR usage transformed his performance bonuses into a lingering multi-million dollar salary cap headache.
The New York Islanders have the seventh-most dead cap space in the NHL, per PuckPedia.
The $3.5 million the Islanders have is solely Matthew Schaefer's bonuses after his Calder Trophy-winning rookie campaign.
The Islanders had around $3.5 million in available space come the end of the season, but that was because they were using Long-Term Injured Reserve to stay under the salary cap limit.
When LTIR is used to stay under the cap, that automatically triggers cap-overage penalties for bonuses.
The Islanders $2.997 in available cap space right now includes Schaefer's bonuses.
That number is closer to $4 million if goaltender Vitek Vanecek begins this season in the minors, with the Islanders burying his entire $1 million cap hit in the minors.
Expect Schaefer to continue to get the $3.5 million bonus in each of the next two seasons. So, unless the Islanders avoid using LTIR to stay under the cap, expect to see this trend continue for the totality of his entry-level deal.
