NHL could be forced to give Columbus Blue Jackets major exemption after Johnny Gaudreau's death
In the wake of Columbus Blue Jackets Johnny Gaudreau's passing the NHL should offer the team a salary cap exception.
With the unfortunate paassing of Johnny Gaudreau, the Columbus Blue Jackets now find themselves to be under the cap floor of $65 million by just under $2.7 million. While all NHL team needs to be at least to the floor to be cap compliant, there could be a basis for them to ask for an exemption given the gravitas of the situation and the small percentage in which they are missing the bottom-level limit.
The question that someone should be asking the National Hockey League is why the Columbus Blue Jackets should be punished for a situation that not only is out of their control but was unimaginable.
According to Karine Hains of The Hockey News:
The NBA has had a history of making exceptions to their salary cap by teams. Specifically, they have one exception called the Disabled Player Exception. It allows a team that is over the cap to acquire a replacement for a disabled player who will be out for the remainder of the season or the next. The exception includes injuries or deaths.
While this is a difficult scenario for anyone to process, it should be something the National Hockey League considers under compassionate grounds, at least for the 2024-2025 season.
Source -
PuckPedia - NHL Salary Cap, Player Contracts, and Salary Cap Analysis | Puckpedia
| POLL | ||
Should the NHL grant the Columbus Blue Jackets a salary cap exception? | ||
| Yes. Under compassionate grounds | 532 | 86.9 % |
| No. Everyone needs to play by the rules | 80 | 13.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
