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Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL & NHLPA reach mutual decision on team's salary cap

Originally posted on Blade of Steel
By Brett Thomas Wills | Last updated Oct 1, 2024 6:35 PM ET

In the wake of Johnny Gaudreau's tragic passing last month along with his brother Matthew at the hands of an alleged impaired driver, it seems as if the National Hockey League and the Columbus Blue Jackets have come to an agreement in regard to whether or not the team needs to be cap-compliant like the rest of the teams in the league come opening night.

Longtime Columbus Blue Jackets columnist Aaron Portzline reported Tuesday that the NHL and the NHLPA have informed the Blue Jackets that they will not be required to be cap-compliant with the agreed-upon salary floor by Oct. 7 which is the day the league requires rosters to be set by its member clubs.

The Blue Jackets won't be under the floor by much, approximately $1.4 million, and with Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell mentioning earlier in September his desire to add an NHL veteran to his roster via trade or waivers, it feels as if they won't be under the floor for long. After all, he managed to sign veteran forward James Van Riemsdyk to help fill out his roster earlier in training camp when this unfortunate situation began to unfold. It doesn't seem likely that they can find someone before the puck drops on their season on October 10th when they travel to Minnesota to take on the Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

While this is an extenuating circumstance, the situation could have ended up being far worse. The league and the players' association coming to the agreement shows the amount of consideration and compassion they have for the tragic situation of the Blue Jackets losing Johnny Gaudreau. It also is nice to see that they managed to agree in regards to a situation they had never experienced before during the salary cap era.

This article first appeared on Blade of Steel and was syndicated with permission.

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