With Brent Seabrook now on long-term injured reserve, the Blackhawks’ salary cap outlook looks a lot better than it used to.
The Hawks could add another $21 million in salary this year with their LTIR space, and will probably have quite a bit of space next season, too. (It becomes less clear after summer 2022, when Kirby Dach, Adam Boqvist, Dominik Kubalik, Connor Murphy and Philipp Kurashev will need new contracts.)
That means Hawks general manager Stan Bowman could look to weaponize his LTIR space, taking on another team’s bad contract and getting paid in draft picks or prospects for doing so — just like the Hawks have been forced to do in the past.
There are risks to doing so, but it’s a possibility, especially with many teams around the NHL tight against the cap heading toward the April 12 trade deadline.
Here are 10 potential options.
Loui Eriksson (Canucks forward): Eriksson, 35, has a $6 million cap hit through 2022. It’s one of the worst contracts in the NHL and a big hindrance to the struggling Canucks, but the Hawks could easily absorb it. Eriksson has appeared in only six games this season.
Leo Komarov (Islanders forward): Komarov, 34, has a $3 million cap hit through 2022. Komarov has been in sharp decline since his Maple Leafs days, with just two assists in 14 games this year.
Andrew Ladd (Islanders forward): Ladd, 35, has a $5.5 million cap hit through 2023. His contract is brutal; he’s played just 30 NHL games over the past three seasons and zero this year. The Hawks may not want to take on something this massive, but they’d get paid handsomely if they did.
James Neal (Oilers forward): Neal, 33, has a $5.75 million cap hit through 2023. He’s a prime buyout candidate, however, which would dilute his cap hit to $1.9 million through 2025. Unlike Eriksson and Komarov, Neal is still a decent bottom-six wing, but his contract remains an albatross.
Derek Ryan (Flames forward): Ryan, 34, has a $3.1 million cap hit that expires this summer. He passed through waivers unclaimed earlier this month and was assigned to the Flames’ taxi squad. If the Flames want to be buyers, the Hawks could get a late-round pick for absorbing Ryan.
Jake Gardiner (Hurricanes defenseman): Gardiner, 30, has a $4.1 million cap hit through 2023. Like Ryan, Gardiner also recently passed through waivers unclaimed. He’s not that old and not a bad third-pairing defenseman, but the Hurricanes need to shed salary to re-sign Andrei Svechnikov and Dougie Hamilton this summer.
Richard Panik (Capitals forward): Panik, 30, has a $2.75 million cap hit through 2023. The former Hawks forward is still playable, with eight points in 27 games, but the Capitals need to shed salary to re-sign Alex Ovechkin this summer.
Victor Rask (Wild forward): Rask, 28, has a $4 million cap hit through 2022. Last fall, the Wild would’ve eagerly given up a draft pick to get rid of him. But Rask has slightly revived his career this season, so he’s no longer such an obvious candidate.
Mathieu Perreault (Jets forward): Perreault, 33, has a $4.1 million cap hit that expires this summer. He’s a likely trade candidate, but because of his decent scoring rate (11 points in 27 games) and UFA status, he might not be bad enough for the Jets to surrender an asset to get rid of him.
John Moore (Bruins defenseman): Moore, 30, has a $2.75 million cap hit through 2023. He has dealt with numerous injuries this year. The Bruins are OK cap-wise right now, but if they want to add a big fish like Mattias Ekholm at the deadline, Moore could be jettisoned.
