Have you ever been thrown a curveball like the one Alex Pietrangelo threw this week? It might've been a blown tire or a sudden illness striking you, leaving you in a pickle. That's where Kelly McCrimmon stands with the Vegas Golden Knights here.
Pietrangelo dropped a silent but deadly (like a fart in an elevator) bombshell on Monday regarding his health status. It concerned him returning and talking about the rehab process (it's going well, by the way). If you read the first part of that last sentence, you'd realize that it'd add another wrinkle to the Vegas Golden Knights' cap situation.
You see, the NHL changed its LTIR rules to prevent players with bigger cap hits from coming back for the playoffs if they aren't around for the remainder of the regular season. That means no more Nikita Kucherovs or Mark Stones missing the rest of the regular season just to show up for Game 1. Add in an $8.8 million cap hit and things get a lot more interesting.
"Teams placing a player on LTIR can still increase their salary cap pool by the injured player’s cap hit. However, for players expected to return during the same season or playoffs, LTIR relief is now limited to the previous season’s average league salary. The league’s average salary in 2024-25 was $3,817,293, meaning that LTIR relief for any player with a higher cap hit would be limited to $3,817,283 had the rules been in effect for the 2025-26 season. Under the previous rules, a team could receive LTIR relief by up to the injured player's cap hit, without a maximum. Players declared unfit for the remainder of both the regular season and playoffs are eligible for full LTIR relief but cannot return until the next season."Puckpedia
It's something that could affect the entire season for the Golden Knights. You see, they're $-7,638,571 over the current salary cap and were hoping to use that $8.8 million to put them back under. However, the Pietrangelo situation complicates things to where Kelly McCrimmon must act fast.
How will Kelly McCrimmon handle the latest Alex Pietrangelo bombshell?
Here's the thing about McCrimmon. He's never dealt with such an Earth-shattering scenario before as a general manager. He's been able to work within the confines of the NHL's salary cap, doing whatever it took to field a cap-compliant team. He even got the 2023 Stanley Cup team under the salary cap, cementing himself as an excellent general manager.
But this is something different. This comes a couple of weeks before the Golden Knights' first game against the Los Angeles Kings, putting him in a bind. Now, he must act fast and ensure that he can pull off the right move without getting in trouble with the NHL.
Can the general manager make a quick move and rectify the situation? What can he do to get his team cap-compliant before the season starts? There are some options to consider.
For example, he could simply have Pietrangelo waive his no-movement clause. The defenseman is only sticking around for two more years, where a team loaded with cap space like the Anaheim Ducks could stomach the cost.
But who's willing to take an $8.8 million cap hit on their hands, specifically for two seasons? That's the big question. Get ready for a roller coaster ride, folks. This might get a little bumpy.