Wow that D is atrocious!

I had to create a template showing the Hawks have cap space.

It seems anytime I bring that up in any hockey discussion it's always "hawks are in cap hell"... And naturally I have to prove them wrong.

well technically you have to have Hossa on pro mode... so they would have 5M less essentially

also the cap will likely be in the 77-80M range for next season most likely

Crawford only played 28 games this year - there are only 3-4 teams in the entire league that have a d-core that could survive the loss of their starting goalie for two thirds of the year.

That has zero bearing on how bad this D is. There are 2 AHL players, 2 3rd pairing guys, Seabrook who is more likely a 2nd pairing guy now and Keith. That is not a good way to try and win games.

Its easy to be 20 mill under cap when you have half a roster, dont use LTIR properly, and bump the cap ceiling by 3 million extra

Do you know how the cap is formulated and determined?

The salary cap is formulated with gross league revenue... You better believe that the success of the Vegas franchise has significantly added to gross league revenue.. I mean Vegas has sold out every home game and their attendance for a home game is 103% - not to mention factor in a growing economy and you're going to see a major increase in the cap..

Why do you think guys like Nylander or Tavares haven't signed extensions yet?

I'll tell you why - because they know the cap is going up significantly and they don't want to commit until they know just how much they can get and that is based on the salary cap.

Obviously Bowman is going to have to sign some experienced defenseman - you cant go with that next fall..... I totally agree that D is awful... Just too damn inexperienced.

Do you have any evidence to prove any of that?

I mean the NHL only added an entire franchise - a very successful franchise - and it seems you believe that will have no effect on the cap at all....

And I am using Hossa's LTIR space correctly - or it would be used correctly once the team gets filled out...

That's funny because here on CapFriendly with a $80 million salary cap it's only showing the Hawks with $11.9 million with a 17 man roster. Not sure how you're getting close to $20 million here.

I guess you win? The Blackhawks have been tight up against the cap and unable to sign players they wanted to keep since 2010, right? And they had cap space after 2010, just not enough to keep everyone.
Starting with this offseason with the cap going up a little the Blackhawks will have some space.
As you show, they have only 16 skaters signed. They have 4 RFA's this offseason and two after the next season. I'm hoping they will figure out a way to keep Schmaltz and I believe they can sign him to an extension this summer. That'll go a long way to seeing how much cap space they have for UFA's.
They probably should avoid any of the top free agents, imo, even if they have $20M in cap space. One, it will put them up near the cap again once they round out the RFA's and depth players to have 22 on the roster, and two, most importantly, signing a player who's 27 or 28 for 6+ years means a team will be signing them into their mid-30's. How are those contracts for Seabs, Keith, and Toews looking right now? Keep in mind those are guys who actually won three Cups as well.

Thats not how LTIR works, their are more nuances to it than just getting your money back. An 82 Million cap ceiling is the high end of specualtions, people want to latch on to that. Expect the middle area of their estimations.

It's just a reality of a dynasty coming to its end. Seabrook's contract isn't a good one, but he - along with Toews, Kane, Hossa, Keith, Hjalm, Crawford - made the Wirtz's MILLIONS so they repaid the favour. Having Crawford for a full season probably gives Chicago another 8-10 wins and likely has them as a wildcard team. Their D is not elite and definitely needs restructuring, but it's unfair to assess them without having your 2x Cup winning goalie for most of the season.

Dude you're 100% wrong...

You do realize that teams (any team) can go 10% over the salary cap in the offseason right? - there is a reason for that -so teams with LTIR contracts are not handcuffed by injury in the off season...... So the Hawks can ABSOLUTELY SPEND Hossa's cap hit this summer....

Hossa's contract may as well NOT even exist if you're making a Hawks roster - because it wont be on the books next fall.

It's quite clear you know absolutely nothing about the cap.

I have no idea why you're claiming my 82 speculation is "out there"........ I think 82 is a CONSERVATIVE estimate.

The Hawks do have 20 million in cap space with 16 players signed.

I agree staying away from the top free agents would be a good idea. However the Hawks aren't "major players" away from winning - the hawks have the foundation to win, the Hawks just need the right supporting cast to do it and most of the players they need to win another Cup will be UFA's - players like Vermette, Wingels or maybe even Tyler Bozak and defenseman like John Moore & Hamhuis.... Those guys would significantly improve this team and that's what they need.

The only essential RFA's are Duclair, Hayden, Hinostroza and Dylan Sikura (if he chooses to sign)... Those 4 players can be signed for 7 million collectively - that would bring the roster to 20 players with 11-13 million to spend on UFA's depending on what cap number you're using 80 or 82....

Sorry but you can sign a few quality UFA's with 11-13 million...... That's more than enough space to do what needs to be done....

A. I never said it was "out there". I actually very calmly explained that is the higher end of earlier estimations, and a lot of people are leaning more towards the middle of that estimation because that's how businesses work.
B. I also never said they couldn't spend his cap hit, I said it's way more nuanced than just getting his money back: https://www.capfriendly.com/ltir-faq.
"LTIR is a very complicated aspect of the NHL operations and the vast majority of details are not specified in the CBA"
"When a player is placed on LTIR, their cap hit remains on the teams cap payroll and it continues to count as it always did. It also does not provide the club with additional cap-space savings that can be banked for future use while the team operates above the salary cap. Instead, LTIR provides relief if the club's averaged club salary, or payroll, begins to exceed the upper limit. The amount of relief that the club receives is calculated on the day the player is placed on LTIR."
Dont try to call someone out on how the LTIR works when you barely even read the cliff notes or the comment left for that matter...

I know how LTIR works...

Hossa WILL count against the cap this summer, however teams are also allowed to go 10% over the salary cap in the offseason (Philly does it all the time) knowing that on day one of the 2018-19 regular season Hossa will be placed on LTIR, hence getting the Hawks under the cap...

Hossa's cap savings cant be used during the regular season, but the savings can certainly be used during the offseason and carry into the following regular season.

Players cannot be placed on LTIR in the summer for that very reason.

As far as the cap - I know how the cap works... You better believe the addition of new franchise will boost the salary cap significantly given the revenue generated by Vegas - not only that but Vegas has had a really good year financially - they're selling out every home game - their attendance rate is 103%. Also, the economy plays a role too, we all know in a better economy people spend more money - especially on entertainment..... With all that said I find it really difficult to believe that the addition of a franchise and the boost in the economy will only boost the salary cap by 3-5 million... I think 8-10 million would be much better estimate..... I mean I don't have access to the franchises finances - If I did tho I would be able to give you the exact numbers considering I'm an accountant and that's what I do for a living - keep track of businesses finances.....

So with that said - you can disagree with me all you like but I believe the salary cap will be 82 conservatively...

As far as Hossa and LTIR - Hossa's contract has no affect on what Bowman can or cant do this summer just as long as Hossa is placed on LTIR by the start of the regular season. Hossa's contract will NOT handcuff Bowman because like I pointed out earlier Bowman can go 10% over the salary cap for this very reason just as long as placing Hossa on LTIR gets the Hawks under the cap ceiling by the first day of the regular season...

And yes, what you're saying would be true if the Hossa situation occurred during the regular season... For example a team just cant place a player with a 5 million dollar cap hit on LTIR in November then go out and trade for a guy with a 5 million dollar cap hit if they originally didn't have the space to begin with..

So yes, I understand LTIR and the salary cap very well.