Cody Franson has been waiting all summer to sign with a team, and Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 now reports that it is down to just the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks with a chance to sign the defenseman. Vancouver, a team close to Franson’s hometown and where Dhaliwal covers the NHL apparently did not show any interest. Franson is expected to sign a one-year deal, though there are cap complexities to him coming in for either club.
The Blackhawks, who currently project over the cap to start the season, will have some financial flexibility once Marian Hossa is placed on long-term injured reserve (if he hasn’t already), and would be able to fit Franson in on a low-paying contract. That said, if the contract is worth anything close to the $3.3MM per season that Franson has been paid on each of his last two contracts, the team would be precariously close to the cap even after Hossa’s placement. Pushing against it all season is a tough way to operate, especially with potential bonuses and other injury risks on their roster already.
Edmonton has a bit more cap room at the moment, but with Connor McDavid a near-lock for his full Schedule B bonuses, and Jesse Puljujarvi a possibility for the same, that cap room could vanish quickly. Signing many more players to push them closer to the cap is a risky game, as they can’t allow much of those bonuses to carry over to next year when McDavid’s $12.5MM salary kicks in. The team already has over $60MM committed to just 13 players for the 2018-19 season.
Thought a player couldn’t be places on LTIR until day one of the regular season and teams had to be compliant before that could take place?
It’s not quite that simple. Players can be placed on LTIR in the offseason as well, but there are different restrictions on how much cap space is created.