Three NHL Teams Who Could Make Next Big Move

Several teams in the NHL will need to make another move or two to become salary cap compliant.

Jun 18, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues (17) celebrates scoring against Edmonton Oilers during the second period in game five of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL offseason is an incredibly exciting time. Franchises make huge swings in free agency and the trade market in an effort to make their team a Stanley Cup contender.

There have been some wild moves already with over a billion dollars handed out in free-agent contracts so far. As entertaining and exciting as this time is, the reality will soon hit for some of these organizations.

According to PuckPedia there are six teams currently over the salary cap limit of $88 million. Every team must be salary cap compliant by the start of the regular season, giving these teams a few months to lower their cap number. Here are a few teams to keep an eye on as the regular seasons nears.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals have had one of their most aggressive offseasons of the Alex Ovechkin era. They acquired defenseman Jakob Chychrun via trade and signed Matt Roy in free agency. They also swung separate trades for Pierre-Luc Dubois, Logan Thompson, and Andrew Mangiapane.

The efforts to insulate their aging captain are sure to put the Capitals in a better position in 2024. They should be on the heels of the Rangers and Devils for a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.

The problem is that they are currently $14 million over the salary cap limit. They have some options available, like utilizing long-term injured reserve (LTIR) with someone like T.J. Oshie or Niklas Backstrom, but that won't solve the problem entirely.

Instead, the Capitals will need to make another trade to free up some cap space. They could be forced to part with a veteran like Nic Dowd or Ethan Bear to get under that $88 million mark.

Las Vegas Golden Knights

This is familiar territory for the Golden Knights. They are the kings of salary cap and LTIR manipulation, so fans shouldn't worry. There will be subsequent moves made by the Knights' front office, however, in order to become compliant.

The team is roughly $3.5 million over the upper limit currently. There are several options available to get them under the cap, and the most likely is goaltender Robin Lehner beginning the season on LTIR. They brought in Ilya Samsonov to pair with Adin Hill which indicates Lehner won't be ready any time soon.

They also are devoting at least $2.75 million to every top-six defender on their roster. It's an area of strength, but it's also a luxury to devote that much money to your defense. Subsequently, the Golden Knights could be forced to move out one of Zac Whitecloud or Nicolas Hague before the season begins.

Florida Panthers

The defending Stanley Cup champions have some work to do if they want to repeat in 2024-2025. Losing Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Anthony Stolarz are tough blows to a team that relied so much on its depth.

They've made some efforts to replace them. Nate Schmidt and Adam Boqvist signed cheap deals to round out their defensive group and Spencer Knight should be ready to back-up Sergei Bobrovsky in net.

Still, the team is just about one million dollars over the salary cap, and will need to make some sort of move to become compliant. Knight will count $4.5 million against the cap in 2024, and as promising a goaltender as he is, devoting $14.5 million to your goaltending tandem isn't a recipe for success.

The cap troubles could also mean one of the Panthers' bottom-six forwards are shipped out. Evan Rodrigues and Eetu Luostarinen both make $3 million. And while the contracts are fair prices for both players, the Cats may be forced to choose only one.

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