Johnny Boychuk recently ended his playing career, which alleviated some cap space for the New York Islanders. But the Islanders can, and should, trade him.

The Islanders, who aren’t the wealthiest team in the league, still need to pay Johnny Boychuk. At first glance, it may seem pointless to move Boychuk’s salary, as he doesn’t directly count against the Isles’ salary cap. After all, his entry to the long-term injured reserve gave the Islanders the cash to resign Mat Barzal. However, some teams are in a position to utilize the Islanders in order to weaponize the LTIR. 

The Problem

According to Forbes, the Islanders have the the highest negative operating income in the entire league. While this is not a cause for concern, it does explain why the islanders could look to trade Johnny Boychuk.

Enter the Toronto Maple Leafs, second most valuable team in the NHL. Weaponizing the LTIR is a move that gained popularity when Lou Lamoriello was general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, when fans coined the term “Robidas Island” for the destination for players Lamoriello employed this tactic on. He would place Maple Leaf players, including defenseman Stephane Robidas, on LTIR, never to play again. The Maple Leafs used LTIR to their advantage due to their deep pockets. They, unlike the Islanders, can afford to pay millions of dollars to players sitting in the press box. 

The Solution

Robidas Island has since expanded beyond Toronto, as other teams have used this technique to acquire usable assets. Currently, the Maple Leafs are one of the tightest cap teams in the league. General manager Kyle Dubas has managed his way around the cap, but he will likely not be able to squeeze any assets out of Lou Lamoriello for Johnny Boychuk. A team that may look to take on Boychuk’s contract is the Chicago Blackhawks. 

The Chicago Blackhawks are in an intriguing position. Patrick Kane is performing like a Hart Trophy candidate, Alex Debrincat has become a bona fide star in the NHL, and their youth is promising. The issue is that the Blackhawks are still a couple of years away from being considered contenders once again.

Therefore, Chicago, also among the richest teams in the league, has the opportunity to add an essentially free draft pick. They have already sent defenseman Brent Seabrook to their own Robidas Island. Seabrook, like Boychuk, will never play another NHL game, but both still have to finish out their contracts. 

Salary Cap 101

Every team is allowed to spend up to $81.5 million on player contracts this season. However, that number only applies to active players in a team’s lineup. After the acquisitions of Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac, the Islanders are spending only $72.42 million on active roster contracts (not including an additional $5.85 million on taxi squad members Andrew Ladd and Thomas Hickey), according to calculations from capfriendly.com data. However, they’re paying an additional $13 million to Johnny Boychuk and Anders Lee, who are both on LTIR. Players on LTIR don’t count against a team’s salary cap, but someone still needs to pay them.

NHL teams are allowed to go 10% over the cap in the offseason. Once the offseason is over, organizations must become cap compliant by the start of the regular season. The Islanders and Blackhawks could strike a deal following the completion of this season. The Blackhawks have just shy of $14 million in cap space this offseason, making a trade for Johnny Boychuk possible. Once the season starts, they’ll place Boychuk on LTIR, essentially freeing up that cap space.

In this hypothetical situation, the Islanders would most likely give up a fourth or fifth-round draft pick and trade Johnny Boychuk to the Blackhawks. Both teams would benefit greatly. The Islanders would get rid of money they aren’t using. The Blackhawks, as an organization with deep pockets, weaponizes a tool that can provide assets during their retool.

John Smark