Stefen Rosner Discusses Salary Cap Situation on Hockey Night in New York Who doesn't love a hard salary cap? On Monday, by 5 PM, every team in the National Hockey League needed to be roster compliant and cap compliant with the regular season beginning on Tuesday. That led to many teams waiving an abundance of players, with 29 teams going with 22-man rosters out of the gate due to financial issues. Many teams are teetering on that $83.5 million threshold, but there's one team in particular that is so cap-strapped that it's disallowing them to sign a young, promising player. That team is the Ottawa Senators, and that player is Shane Pinto. As we sit here on this Wednesday, Ottawa has just $62,620 in available cap space [https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/senators] after bringing in players like goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and Vladimir Tarasenko in free agency, with only 20 players rostered (Joshua Norris LTIR). If you remember, the Senators had to move stud forward Alex DeBrincat this summer as the two sides couldn't come to an agreement, and he was shipped off to his hometown Detroit Red Wings. Per Newsday's Andrew Gross and a few industry sources, the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-day/new-york-islanders-2023-24-opening-night-roster-stan-fischler-buffalo-sabres] were active in their attempt to acquire the two-time 41-goal scorer. The players rumored to be in play were Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom. Three months later, could there still be something brewing between the Islanders and Senators? There are a few ways that the Islanders and Senators can help one another, whether it be financially or on-ice performance, so why not discuss it on this off day? We mentioned that the Senators have no room to add anyone at this very moment, so if they are to sign Franklin Square native Shane Pinto, at least someone needs to go. The Senators could waive a few players, as our Ottawa reporter Steven Warne [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/news/signing-shane-pinto-how-the-ottawa-senators-might-find-the-cap-space#:%7e:text=They%20have%20%244%2C729%2C167%20in%20cap,a%20pick%20or%20a%20prospect.&text=The%20Sens%20could%20try%20to,cap%20they%20could%20free%20up.] mentioned in his Pinto piece: > The Sens could try to waive Joseph along with prospects Parker Kelly and Jacob > Bernard-Docker and see how much cap they could free up. Kelly would yield > $762,500 in cap space and Bernard-Docker $805,000 if both players cleared > waivers and went to Belleville or if they were claimed by another team. If > Joseph cleared waivers, which is highly likely, and the Sens sent him down to > the minors, Joseph’s contract would go from 2.95 to 1.825 (according to > Puckpedia) and create an extra $1.125 million dollars off the cap. - So, let's say Joseph clears waivers. That would give the Senators $1.7512 million in cap space, which wouldn't be enough to sign Pinto. They could trade Joseph as well, which creates even more space, but let's stick with the waiving for this exercise since he hasn't been moved yet. Could 24-year-old third-pairing defenseman Erik Brannstrom [https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/b/branner01.html], who carries a $2 million cap hit, be on the move? Brannstrom was taken 15th overall by Vegas in the 2017 NHL Draft. That was the pick the Islanders sent Vegas so that they would take netminder J.F. Berube in the expansion draft. The young Swede is coming off his best NHL season, tying a career-high with two goals with a career-best 16 assists for 18 points. But where Brannstrom really took off was on the defensive side of the puck, setting career-highs in blocks (103), hits (49), and takeaways (28) while playing in a career-low 16:07 minutes per game. He can play both sides and has played on the penalty kill. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNDIzODA3Nzc5NDQ4NjY0/usatsi_21516184.jpg] It wouldn't be an ideal player for Ottawa to move, but tough decisions will need to be made, and given their blue-line depth, it's certainly doable. Brannstrom, coming off the Senators books, along with Joseph, would give them $3.7512 million in cap space. That would be enough to sign Pinto, with The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun [https://twitter.com/PierreVLeBrun] sharing that the young centerman was looking for around $2.5 million annually on a short-term deal. Because the Islanders waived Ross Johnston and his $1.1 million on Monday, with the Anaheim Ducks claiming him, the Islanders have $1.388 million in cap space. Now, it's incredibly likely that Simon Holmstrom [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/news/islanders-simon-holmstrom-goes-1-on-1-i-have-more-to-give], who was sent to the Bridgeport Islanders Monday (waiver-exempt) for the franchise to be compliant, will be back up with the club before Saturday's season opener. Holmstrom carries a cap hit of $863,333, meaning the Islanders would only have $524,667 after he's recalled, which is not enough to fit Brannstrom. So, the Islanders would have to send a player or two back the other way. With 22-year-old Samuel Bolduc [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/news/new-york-islanders-samuel-bolduc-two-year-extension-defenseman-rfa] failing to win the Islanders' sixth defenseman starting gig, the Islanders' plan seems to be to keep him as the seventh defenseman, given that he needs waivers to head to Bridgeport. Brannstrom, just two years older, is already established and seems to be less of a question mark. How badly do the Senators want to create cap space, and what are they willing to do? The Islanders, whose prospect pool isn't touted, do have picks that can be in play, and with Bolduc's cap hit at $800,000, that would create just a little over $1.3 million, but still not enough to bring in Brannstrom. Another $700,000 would need to be cleared. Wahlstrom, who has struggled to get into game form after an ACL injury, carries a cap hit of $874,125. If Wahlstrom doesn't figure things out this season, it's entirely possible that he would be included in some trade, given that he's on an expiring deal. If this move happens, as explained, the Islanders would roll with a 22-man roster that has them around $900,000 under the cap. Is it probable that the Islanders and Senators come together on a deal? Probably not. But is it possible? It sure is.
