One of the best ways to acquire “free” assets in the NHL is to take on bad money. The league always sees quite a few of these trades happen in the offseason. As teams rotate around the carousel of being competitive versus rebuilding, needs differ and cap space becomes all the more important.
Last summer, the New York Islanders traded Josh Bailey and his $5.0M cap hit for 2023–24, along with a 2026 second-round pick, to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations. The Blackhawks bought out Bailey’s contract shortly after acquiring him, giving them a cap charge of $2.667M for 2023–24 and $1.167M for 2024-25. In all, they essentially paid those buyout costs in exchange for a high draft pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. For a team that wasn’t going to be using their cap space, it’s a super smart way to add future assets.
Right now, the Flames have $20.1M in cap space available for the 2024–25 season after the salary cap increase. Most of their roster is already set. They currently have a pair of unrestricted free agents (UFAs) in Oliver Kylington and A.J. Greer, who should cost somewhere around $3M to keep both. Dustin Wolf and Jakob Pelletier are restricted free agents (RFAs), but I doubt either is in for a massive payday.
If we assume they strictly run it back as is, they’d have around $16M in cap space with a full roster. And that’s still accounting for Jacob Markstrom‘s $6M cap hit. Markstrom has resurfaced in trade rumours and it is very likely he is traded this summer.
Some potential cap dumps that will be traded this summer
If the Flames are (hopefully) not planning on rushing this reset, they’ll have ample cap space and could take on some bad contracts in exchange for future picks and/or prospects. Let’s look at some names that might be available. All salary cap data from CapFriendly.com while they still remain online.
Cody Ceci (1x$3.25M) / Jack Campbell (3x$5M)
Because of bonus overages and their current contractual commitments, the Oilers only have $10M in cap space. Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg are RFAs, but shouldn’t command a hefty payday. The problems occur with the amount of UFAs they have. Vincent Desharnais is the lone UFA defenceman, but Ryan McLeod is their only bottom-six forward under contract next year.
If they want to keep the group together, the Oilers will likely need to make some cap space. The two names that strike out to you are Cody Ceci and Jack Campbell.
The Oilers offered the Flames Cody Ceci and a first-round pick in exchange for Chris Tanev ahead of the trade deadline, so they are looking for an upgrade on Ceci. Ceci was scratched for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. He’s a popular teammate but just has not been an effective NHLer for quite some time.
Campbell was sent to the AHL after four NHL games to start the season and never came back up. His contract would be costly to move, so the Oilers may just try to keep and fix him themselves. I’m not suggesting the Flames help out their bitter rivals, but it’s an option.
Cam Atkinson (1x$5.875M)
The Flyers find themselves in a weird position. They were in a playoff spot for most of the year but tailed off by season’s end. Right now, they sit with $803K in cap space. However, they do have Ryan Ellis and his $6.25M cap hit to throw on LTIR after they become cap-compliant to start the season.
Depending on if they want to do anything this offseason, Cam Atkinson could be someone they look to move. However, he does have a ten-team no-trade list, so it’s likely he’d have to waive that to come to Calgary.
Justin Holl (2x$3.4M)
The Red Wings enter the offseason with a plethora of cap space ($29.3M), but have a lot of things they need to do. First, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond are both RFAs and are bound to receive long-term contracts. David Perron, Patrick Kane, and Shayne Gostisbehere are all UFAs if the Red Wings want to keep them around.
Holl was signed by the Red Wings in free agency last summer, but it hasn’t worked out for either side. Holl only played in 38 games for the Red Wings, spending the majority of the season as a healthy scratch. Like Atkinson, Holl also has a ten-team no-trade list, so that might be a hurdle in him being traded to Calgary.
Joonas Korpisalo (4x$4M) or Anton Forsberg (1x$2.75M)
The Ottawa Senators’ goaltending was horrific in 2023–24. They gave a decent chunk of change to Joonas Korpisalo to be their answer in goal last summer, but it didn’t work out. Korpisalo ended the season with a -16.1 GSAx in 55 games. Anton Forsberg wasn’t any better, ending the season with -7.3 GSAx in 30 games. The Sens have been one of the teams linked to Jacob Markstrom.
If Markstrom would waive to go there, maybe the Flames take back one of these two goalie contracts to spice up the return. You’d definitely have to spice it up quite a bit more to take on Korpisalo’s deal. Either Korpisalo or Forsberg are interesting options to split duties with Dustin Wolf (and maybe Daniel Vladar) next year. Korpisalo has a ten-team no-trade list, while Forsberg has zero trade protection.
Nate Schmidt (1x$5.95M)
After getting bounced in the first round, the Winnipeg Jets are going to be interesting to watch this offseason. They currently have $13.65M in space but that will dwindle fast if a few guys stick around. It sounds like UFA defenceman Brendan Dillon is heading to market. But, Dylan DeMelo, Tyler Toffoli, and Sean Monahan could stay.
If the Jets want to make some big moves, Nate Schmidt might be a player they move. He’s paid way too much money for where he’s at in his career. Schmidt played 63 regular season games, but only three playoff games. He figured lower in the lineup this season than where he had previously. He has a ten-team no-trade list as well.
Using cap space as a strategy
With the salary cap going up as much as it is, a lot of teams are seeing some much-needed relief. However, there are still huge opportunities for rebuilding and retooling teams to use cap space to acquire assets. The Flames are in a perfect position to do so and they should look to take advantage of their situation.
