Islanders possess over $6 million in cap space, ready to acquire talent or absorb contracts before the NHL trade deadline.
Despite a series of seasons in which the New York Islanders were very much in salary cap hell, that narrative is no more.
Not only that, but the Islanders have a new general manager in town in Mathieu Darche, who not only specializes in handling the salary cap but also comes from a team in the Tampa Bay Lightning that used every trick in the CBA book to make the money books work.
Yes, that is a reference to weaponizing Long-Term Injured Reserve cap space.
When someone is injured and placed on LTIR, their full salary-cap hit comes off the books, which allows a team to use that space. However, there is a caveat: before the injured player can be activated, there must be sufficient room on the books.
There's a new rule that took effect this season requiring playoff on-ice rosters to be cap-compliant, but we'll touch on that later this week.
Unfortunately for the Islanders, they have a tremendous amount of LTIR cap relief because of how many players they have out long-term.
Forward Kyle Palmieri is out for the season with a torn ACL, meaning his $4.75 million cap hit comes off the books. Forward Pierre Engvall is out for the season due to an ankle injury, along with a hip injury, both of which required surgery, giving the Islanders an additional $3 million. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov and his $2.75 million are off the books due to a lower-body injury that required surgery.
And lastly is defenseman Alexander Romanov, who is out for the regular season after undergoing right shoulder surgery, clearing an additional $6.25 million.
That totals $16.75 million in cap relief. After the acquisitions of forward Ondrej Palat and his $6 million — Maxim Tsyplakov and his $2.25 million went to New Jersey — and defenseman Carson Soucy, who carries a cap hit of $3.25 million.
After those two deals, the Islanders have $6.021 million in available space ahead of March 6th’s NHL Trade Deadline.
Whether the Islanders look to add players to bolster their club or take on cap, whether that’s in a two-team or three-team trade, they have the ability to do so.