Does Marner’s 4 week injury have any LTIR implications? Asking because that would be a big chunk of change.
What is the Accruable Cap Space Limit (ACSL)?
When a team goes into LTIR, their effective salary cap, or upper limit, is changed. This adjusted upper limit is calculated as a function of the teams cap space and the player’s cap hit. This value is the “accruable cap space limit” (ACSL), and is the first value calculated. Second are the salary and performance bonus relief pools that are later explained below.
The accruable cap space limit is the teams new upper limit excluding their LTIR relief pools. If the team operates below the ACSL, they begin to accrue cap space. A team can operate up to the ACSL without using their LTIR relief pools, once they operate above the ACSL, they begin to use their LTIR relief pools. In the majority of cases, a team using LTIR will be using their relief pools. Only in uncommon circumstances does a team operate below their ACSL.
The ACSL is only calculated when a team first enters LTIR, if a player is placed on LTIR while another player is already on LTIR, the ACSL is not recalculated. In the event that a team stops using LTIR, their ACSL resets to the default upper limit of the active season, upon reentering LTIR, the ACSL is again recalculated.
Two methods can be used to calculate the ACSL:
- The Basic Equation
The basic equation can be used throughout the NHL regular season, and during the off-season:
ACSL = Salary cap upper limit - team cap space
Example: The 2017-18 upper limit is $75M, a team with a projected cap hit of $74.9M places a player with an AAV of $5M on LTIR:
Upper limit = $75M
Team cap space = $0.1M
ACSL = $75M - $0.1M = $74.9M
If the team decides that they do not need to recall a player, and instead reassign a player to the AHL, they would begin to accrue cap space because they are operating below the ACSL.
- The Training-Camp Equation
The training camp equation can be used on the last day of training camp in preparation for the first day of the season:
ACSL = Team cap hit - LTIR player’s cap hit
Example: The 2017-18 upper limit is $75M, on the last day of the off-season a team has a projected cap hit of $78M and places a player with an AAV of $3.5M on LTIR:
Team cap hit = $78M
Player’s cap hit = $3.5M
ACSL = $78M - $3.5M = $74.5M
To accrue cap space while the team continues to use LTIR, they would need to trade players to get below a projected cap hit value of $74.5M.
The ACSL will always be less than or (in the optimal scenario) equal to the league upper limit. The closer the ACSL is to the league upper limit, the greater the team will be able to exceed the upper limit.
How is LTIR Relief calculated?
LTIR relief comes in the form of two values: a salary relief pool, and a performance bonus relief pool.
These pools are determined the day the player is placed on LTIR. The salary relief pool is the player’s averaged salary excluding performance bonuses (their cap hit value). The performance bonus relief is the player’s total performance bonuses for this season (games played, A and B bonuses), regardless of if they are still achievable.
What if the team already has a player on LTIR?
The teams ACSL remains the same, and their salary relief pool increases by the player’s cap hit, and the performance bonus relief pool increases by the player’s performance bonuses.
LTIR FAQ - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps
