Bill Daly breaks silence on teams exploiting LTIR salary cap loophole

Long-term injured reserve (LTIR) is always a big talking point in the NHL. But what about teams having a salary cap on their rosters during the playoffs, to avoid teams taking advantage of this loophole? Bill Daly provided an explanation for this.

Bill Daly states that with the way accrual accounting works, a team can take on an expensive contract toward the end of the season and not have the full cap hit. But if a $1 million contract suddenly counts as $5 million at the start of the playoffs, and that player can't be used because of it, that doesn't seem fair since the teams followed the rules, which is why it would be a challenge trying to add a playoff salary cap.

That said, there is a way to remedy it. Bill Daly has talked to all 32 general managers, and most of them feel they should continue to see if they can make some changes that will help alleviate the problems. They will continue to talk with the general managers about it before they do anything with the Players' Association.

Could this be done before the current CBA expires after the 2025-26 season? Bill Daly said absolutely, there is always a way to make an amendment regardless of when contracts expire. It would require an agreement between the parties. Preliminary talks with the Players' Association have already taken place to ensure that they too are fully aware of the issue at hand. They've seen the reports as well. Bill Daly does not know on which side the players weigh in, as to whether their response was positive, but he said that also depends on how complex the solution is.

It will interesting to see if the NHL makes any changes at all this season regarding LTIR before the 2025 playoffs roll in.

Source: The Athletic
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