Will the National Hockey League be addressing the LTIR loophole any time soon?
From the sounds of it, we can potentially expect the league to make a change eventually, but it may not be a simple fix.
Speaking to the media ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, deputy commissioner Billy Daly was asked about the response from general managers and the executive committee on the salary cap being circumvented by players on LTIR.
“Yeah I’ve gotten some feedback; I haven’t gotten all the feedback,” shared Daly.
“I think the results came back (how) I kind of anticipated they might. I think the majority of the people I’ve heard from would suggest in a perfect world we should try to address it in some way differently than we’re (currently) addressing it. None of them thought it was a major competitive issue in the short term.”
As it presently stands, NHL teams are able to circumvent the salary cap by designating players to the long-term injury reserve, all while operating within the legal boundaries of the collective bargaining agreement.
As a result of this being part of the CBA, the league cannot make any changes to the current function of LTIR without the approval of its players.
“It’s something we’re ultimately going to have to negotiate with the Players’ Association,” added Daly.
“So whether that can happen with two years left on a collective bargaining agreement? I’m not making any promises. Whether it’s going to be something we address in a broader collective bargaining negotiation? Quite possibly.”
Since there is no salary cap in the playoffs, teams can activate a player off LTIR without cap constraints after the regular season, as long as the player has met the requirements of LTIR (missing 10 games and 24 days).
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights are two of the teams who have attracted attention during recent seasons over their use of LTIR prior to the playoffs. Vegas, notably, had captain Mark Stone on LTIR up until the final game of the regular season two years in a row, before activating him for Game 1 of the playoffs.
However, almost all teams utilize LTIR at some point during a season — 22 of 32 teams did in 2023-24.
Back in March, during the NHL’s GM meetings, commissioner Gary Bettman said he did not believe any team was abusing LTIR.
The NHL has been facing increasing scrutiny over the use of the Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) loophole, which allows teams to exceed the salary cap by placing injured players on the LTIR list. This loophole has been exploited by some teams to create cap space and gain a competitive advantage over their rivals.
The issue came to the forefront during the 2020-2021 season when several teams were accused of manipulating the LTIR system to circumvent the salary cap. The league has since been under pressure to address this loophole and ensure that teams are not abusing it for their own benefit.
In response to these concerns, the NHL has indicated that they are looking into potential changes to the LTIR rules. One proposal being considered is to limit the amount of cap relief a team can receive when placing a player on LTIR. This would prevent teams from gaining an unfair advantage by stockpiling injured players on their roster.
Another suggestion is to implement stricter guidelines for determining when a player is eligible for LTIR. Currently, teams have some flexibility in deciding when to place a player on LTIR, which has led to accusations of teams exaggerating injuries or keeping players out longer than necessary to manipulate the system.
While no official changes have been announced yet, it is clear that the NHL is aware of the concerns surrounding the LTIR loophole and is taking steps to address them. By tightening the rules around LTIR and ensuring that teams are not abusing the system, the league hopes to create a more level playing field for all teams and maintain the integrity of the salary cap system.