Why the roster will be decided by the salary cap

With their current roster, the New York Rangers have $235,201 in cap space.  That means that their final roster decisions could be determined by the salary cap and not by ability.

The New York Rangers are in salary cap hell.  They are not one of the ten teams currently over the salary cap ceiling of $81.5 million.  However, they are thisclose with only $235,201 in cap space left.  Here’s how it could affect their roster decisions.

The current 23-man roster includes Boo Nieves, Greg McKegg, and Filip Chytil, all players who are fighting to stay with the team.  It does not include Vitali Kravstov or Ryan Lindgren, two players who have made a case to stay with the big club.

Kravtsov has a cap hit  of $925k.  Ryan Lindgren’s is $925k.

Theoretically, Kravtsov would make the team instead of Chytil and Lindgren could make the team instead of Boo Nieves or Greg McKegg.

Here’s the issue.  Chytil’s cap hit  is $894,166.  Nieves’s is $700k and McKegg is at $750.

That means that keeping Kravtsov over Chytil costs the team an additional $31k in cap space and if Lindgren sticks instead of Nieves, it would cost the team an additional $225k.

So, if Lindgren and Kravtsov  make the team instead of Chytil and Nieves, the Rangers are over the cap by $255,834.

All salary information is courtesy of capfriendly.com.

Going over the cap

Don’t even think about it.  Teams are not allowed to exceed the salary cap.  They just cannot do it.  The only option for a team that is so near the cap is to carry 21 or 22 players on the major league roster so they have fewer salaries counting against the cap.

That really isn’t an issue for the Blueshirts as they can solve their cap issues by swapping out players.  Another consideration for the team is that both Nieves and McKegg would have to clear waivers if they were sent to Hartford.  With bargain basement salaries, it’s possible that another team would grab them if they were waived.

Meanwhile, Lindgren, Kravtsov and Chytil remain waivers exempt so there is no risk of losing them if they go to the AHL.

The idea of burying Brendan Smith in the AHL is actually an option though he has made a great case for staying with the team.  Smith’s cap hit is $4.35 million. If he is buried in the AHL it will save the team $1.075 million (per CBA rules).   While that isn’t a huge savings, it could still provide the cushion for the team to keep Kravtsov and Lindgren.

Another factor to consider

Performance bonuses are a big issue for NHL teams.  While they don’t count against teams during the season, if a player earns performance bonuses that put the team over the salary cap the penalty is incurred the following season.   Six NHL teams have been penalized this season for going over the cap last season.

Considering the well documented cap issues facing the Rangers next year, the last thing they need is to incur any penalties.  While most of the established players don’t have performance bonuses, the younger players do as a means of circumventing entry level contract restrictions.

Managing to the salary cap is more than a financial challenge.  The sad part is that teams are forced to keep players in the minor leagues who deserve to be in the NHL. It makes the salary a player makes more important than quality of his play, which doesn’t seem fair.

We can argue for hours about who will make the roster and who won’t, but the question of who deserves to be on the roster may be purely financial.  And that may explain some curious decisions that will be made over the next few days.