New CBA provision prevents Knights defenseman from possible return
From the moment Alex Pietrangelo didn’t completely rule out playing this year, social media was in a frenzy.
“Back by late April, just wait,” one X user replied to the Golden Knights’ post of Pietrangelo’s media availability Monday.
Another user replied, “Playoff ready!”
There’s one flaw to those theories: It’s not happening.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon said that the 35-year-old defenseman wouldn’t play this year as he continues to rehab a hip injury that landed him on long-term injured reserve.
Besides the verbatim verbiage, Pietrangelo can’t join the Knights for the playoffs because the salary cap says so.
New wrinkle
The NHL is implementing a playoff salary cap this season. It was supposed to go into effect next year when the league’s new collective bargaining agreement kicks in, but the league is putting it in place a year early.
Playoff teams must have cap-compliant game day rosters just as they would during the regular season. The 20 players must be on a roster that’s at, or under, the upper limit of $95.5 million.
Teams can no longer exceed the cap in the postseason.
“I’m not surprised that they did something to it,” McCrimmon said.
Teams receiving Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) relief were in better positions to make moves prior to the trade deadline, as long as the cap hits fit into that available number.
That won’t be the case moving forward.
If a team wants to activate a player from LTIR, their cap hit must comfortably fit on the playoff roster.
“I think some of the changes in the CBA are going to make trades harder to make, which is going to make that period of time less enjoyable for (fans and media),” McCrimmon said. “The rules are the rules, so when we get the rules, we go through them, we go through everything we can to maximize our position within those rules and we forge ahead.”
How numbers work
Pietrangelo carries an $8.8 million cap hit for the next two years. The Knights will have approximately $1.16 million in cap space for the year once he goes on LTIR.
If Pietrangelo were to be playoff-ready, the Knights would need to clear $7.64 million from their roster to move him into the playoff lineup.
Another player, or two, would have to come out of the lineup.
Why it’s become a sticking point involving the Knights is because of how they dipped into the LTIR pool in years past.
Two years ago, the Knights acquired defenseman Noah Hanifin and center Tomas Hertl at the trade deadline, and on retained salary. The San Jose Sharks retained 17 percent of Hertl’s salary (now $6.75 million), while the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers combined to retain 75 percent of Hanifin’s then-$4.95 million cap hit.
The Knights fit both players under the $83.5 million upper limit while captain Mark Stone and goaltender Robin Lehner were on LTIR. Stone returned from a lacerated spleen at the start of the playoffs.
In 2023, Stone went on LTIR for his second back surgery in less than a year. The Knights added depth pieces in left wing Ivan Barbashev, center Teddy Blueger and goaltender Jonathan Quick because of it.
The Knights, even with Stone back for the playoffs, were cap compliant during their run to the Stanley Cup.
“It’s interesting that a lot of people outside our organization think that these rules are made because of the Vegas Golden Knights,” McCrimmon said. “It goes without saying the injuries that we had that put us in LTIR were awfully significant injuries. There was no gray area there in terms of us trying to capitalize on the system.”
Highly unlikely
Pietrangelo going on LTIR was the biggest domino for the Knights to have the necessary space to sign right wing Mitch Marner to an eight-year, $96 million contract.
Pietrangelo is currently rehabbing from an injury that would require bilateral femur reconstruction, an operation done on both femurs — the longest and strongest bone in the body that connect from the hip to the knee.
Surgery isn’t in the plans right now. Pietrangelo is going to continue the physical treatment, which he says is great for him.
The Knights would love to have one of their leaders back for one more playoff run. It’s not feasible physically, and it doesn’t make sense money-wise.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.