You can put them on LTIR before the season starts, but you can't accrue cap space as the season goes on like you can if you do it after the season starts. They traded Hossa to give them more flexibility with in season moves.
Correct. The only thing it impacts is the flexibility in season.
Can LTIR be used in the off-season?
Yes, LTIR can be used in the off-season while the 10% off-season cushion is active. LTIR in the off-season is calculated using the basic equation outlined above, which permits a team to exceed the off-season salary cap. To use off-season LTIR the team must provide doctors proof that the player in question will continue to be injured at the beginning of the regular season for 10 NHL games and 24 calendar days.
At the start of the season the teams LTIR relief & ACSL is recalculated when the 10% cushion is removed.
Basic Equation Example
The league upper limit is $69M. A team has an averaged club salary of $68M and a player with a 35+ contract with an AAV of $5M ($3M cap hit and $2M in performance bonuses) becomes injured and the team places him on LTIR. The LTIR relief pools are calculated as follows:
- AAV of LTIR player is $5M
- Cap space = $69M - $68M = $1M
- ACSL = $69M - $1M = $68M
- LTIR relief:
- Base salary relief pool: $3M
- Performance bonus pool: $2M
Once the team operates above $68M, they have $3M in salary relief, and $2M in performance bonus relief pools.
To add to this example, if the team were to recall a player from the AHL with a cap hit of $950k, the ACSL would be maximized, allowing the team to further exceed the league upper limit:
- AAV of LTIR player is $5M
- Cap space = $69M - $68.95M = $0.05M
- ACSL = $69M - $0.05M = $68.95M
- LTIR relief: $3M
- Base salary relief pool: $3M
- Performance bonus pool: $2M
For this reason, when a player is activated onto LTIR, one day recalls are relatively common as they can be used to maximize the ACSL.