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How To Offload An Unwanted Salary
by PuckStopsHere on 10/23/09 at 11:33 AM ET
Comments (6)
Michael Nylander has one of the larger contracts on the Washington Capitals. He has a salary cap hit of $4.875 million and is signed through the end of the 2010/11 season. This makes him the third highest paid player on the Capitals (behind Alexander Ovechkin and Mike Green). However, he has fallen out of favor with his Capitals team. He only scored nine goals last season and that had the Capitals reconsidering his contract. The Capitals tried to get Nylander signed in the KHL last summer and failed. So far this season, they have yet to play Nylander in a game and have sent him to the AHL in Grand Rapids (the Detroit Red Wings affiliate - not their own affiliate) for a conditioning stint. Conditioning stints can last up to two weeks. Many expect that Washington does not want him back and hope to have found him a KHL suitor by the end of that period.
The salary cap loophole of sending unwanted players to Russia is not new. It has been exploited in the past, but it shows the NHL’s hypocrisy. The NHL screams bloody murder when Alexander Radulov is signed by the league, while at the same time trying to send players to the KHL to hide their salary cap hits.
A player in the KHL is no longer on the books for an NHL team. From an NHL salary cap perspective, it is a way for teams to make bad salaries disappear. All they have to do is find a KHL team interested.
Washington has spent a while trying to market Nylander to the KHL as they do not want him anymore. Should this be allowed? Whatever happened to teams having to be conscientious with salary cap space - wasn’t that one of the promised appeals of a salary cap?
Washington signed Michael Nylander to a large four year contract in 2007. By 2009, they decided it was a mistake. It looks like they have found a way to walk away without a salary cap hit and without paying him.
If you are interested in where Nylander might wind up in Russia here is a Puck Daddy article on the topic.
Filed in: | The Puck Stops Here | Permalink
Tags: KHL, Michael+Nylander, Washington+Capitals,
Comments
Nylander has been sent to Grand Rapids. Apologies for calling it Washington’s affiliate that is being corrected.
I guess Washington didn’t even want him on their AHL team.
Posted by PuckStopsHere on 10/23/09 at 10:52 AM ET
It looks like they have found a way to walk away without a salary cap hit and without paying him
Another fallacy. The Caps are on the hook for Nylander’s $5.5 million this season no matter where he plays.
http://www.japersrink.com/2009/6/15/906639/a-potential-nylander-move-to-the
Posted by Hooks Orpik on 10/23/09 at 11:45 AM ET
Nylander’s salary does not count against the salary cap. So his salary comes of the books. The KHL team would be paying him. While it is possible an agreement may be reached where the KHL team only pays part of his salary and the Washington Capitals must pay the rest, it is also possible that a KHL team will assume Nylander’s entire salary.
This is a way to essentially erase a contract from the Capitals books. Other teams have done it and Washington looks likely to do it soon.
Posted by PuckStopsHere on 10/23/09 at 01:18 PM ET
Thank you like 4 days ago.
Posted by moore00 from the Ohio State University on 10/23/09 at 03:00 PM ET
I’m pretty sure that if Nylander is loaned to a KHL team, the Caps will still pay a bunch of his salary. You are right that it wouldn’t count against the salary cap but it’s like sending him to the minors. No cap hit but still paying him the big bucks.
And the difference between Nylander’s situation and Radulov’s is that Radulov had a contract with the Preds that he failed to honor. If this happened in the business world he’d probably be sued.
If Nylander is loaned to the KHL it only occurs because an agreement is reached between the Caps, Nylander and the KHL team.
Hypocrisy does exist though; the NHL seemed fine with Malkin bailing on another year of his contract to play for the Pens. That is exactly what Radulov did to the Preds.
Posted by Mike from Edmonton on 10/24/09 at 12:48 AM ET
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God this blog is the worst. GR is the Wings AHL affiliate. Hershey is the Caps’. They won the Calder Cup last year. Buy a clue for god sakes.
Posted by You Clown on 10/23/09 at 10:49 AM ET