It definitely isn't the first time its happened, but at least one hockey analyst believes it shouldn't be allowed to happen again. On Sunday, Ottawa and Tampa Bay made a trade with two names going to the Lightning that will not play for the team this season, with one of them never playing in the NHL again. Marion Gaborik and Anders Nilsson were picked up by Tampa Bay in order to solve their cap problems. TSN's Gord Miller doesn't like it.
"I think this loophole needs to be closed," said Miller. "Cap relief from Long Term Injury Reserve should only count for players who were playing for that team at the time they went on LTIR, not acquired from someone else. It's legal, but it's cap circumvention."
Gaborik hasn't played since the 2017-18 season and has stated he will not return due to a rare skin condition. As for Nilsson, the goaltender missed the last 36 games of the 2019-20 season due to a concussion and Ottawa has said he will not play in 2020-21. In fact, if or when he ever returns to the NHL is anyone's guess at the moment.
There is a different take on this whole matter.
"Maple Leafs collect players on LTIR to exceed cap: «Brilliant moves," said Matt Kalman, who covers Boston Sports for Forbes.
"Lightning collect players on LTIR to exceed cap: 'We must close this loophole now!'"
"#OhCanada."
In order to gain the LTIR cap relief through Gaborik and Nilsson, Tampa Bay gave up defenceman Braydon Coburn, forward Cedric Paquette and a second-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft. A hefty price, but worth it on order to keep their more high-profile players together in the hopes of making another run at the Stanley Cup. As mentioned by Miller, this is perfectly acceptable under the current collective bargaining agreement.
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