The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs climaxed with the Tampa Bay Lightning pulling off the improbable, winning back to back Stanley Cups – the first time a team has done so since the Pittsburgh Penguins accomplished the feat at the finale of the 2016-2017 season. However, Tampa Bay’s latest triumph hasn’t come without controversy; many have pointed out a salary inequality between the Lightning and the rest of the league which should have been prohibited by the NHL’s salary cap. Since the start of the 2020 season, the Lightning have been over the “hard cap” that the league has established following the lockout of 2005. Before the start of the 2021 season, Lightning GM Julien Brisebois announced that winger Nikita Kucherov would undergo hip surgery and that it would be “impossible” for Kucherov to play during the season. Kucherov’s injury enabled the Lightning to place him on Long Term Injured Reserve, meaning that Kucherov’s 9.5 million-dollar annual salary wouldn’t count towards the team’s payroll, placing them under the salary cap. This “cap relief” allowed them to go after high-end talent at the trade deadline. The Lightning were also able to retain the contracts of key forwards Alex Killorn, Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde, whom they otherwise would have been forced to ship off to other teams in an attempt to get below the cap.
While this circumvention isn’t technically illegal, the actions taken by Kucherov and the Lightning were not above-board. Two months into the season, Kucherov was caught on camera skating on the ice, at full speed, and it didn’t look like he was hurt at all. This rightfully enraged the hockey world. The rules of LTIR state that the player must be immediately removed from the list once he is cleared to skate. That clearly isn’t what the Lightning had in mind. After the video circulated widely on social media, head coach Jon Cooper assured the media and the fans that Kucherov was still hurt and that even if he was eventually cleared to play, he wouldn’t be ready in time for the playoffs. However, a week and a half later, Cooper informed everyone that (surprise, surprise!) Kucherov was now “ahead of schedule” and would be ready to return in time for the postseason. Suspiciously, this announcement was made only once it became clear that the Lightning would be qualifying for the playoffs. Wait, what???! I’m obviously not a doctor, but how does someone go from having a broken hip to being “ahead of schedule” in a span of a week? Backtracking to December of 2020, Brisebois said it was going to be “impossible” for Kucherov to play at all during the 2021 season. While the Lightning were busy attempting to explain the status of the “injured” Nikita Kucherov, they were busy planning another scheme to add more depth to their defense. Taking advantage of the now-available 9.5 million, the Lightning acquired defenseman David Savard from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the deadline, with the Blue Jackets also agreeing to pay 50% of Savard’s salary in exchange for a 2021 1st round and 2022 3rd round pick. There’s even more to this deal, however: the Detroit Red Wings sent defenseman Brian Lashoff to Tampa, and agreed to remain on the hook for 25% of Savard’s salary in exchange for a 2022 3rd round pick from the Lightning. The Lightning ended up clinching a berth in the playoffs, finishing third in the central division behind their arch rivals Florida Panthers. I’m sorry, what was that? Oh, Kucherov’s all set to go? What a coincidence. The day before Tampa Bay’s round 1 Game 1 against the Panthers, Nikita Kucherov was suddenly fully healed and ready to play hockey. It’s important to note that the cap doesn’t exist in the playoffs, therefore the Lightning were able to activate him without any penalties being levied on them. The timing of Kucherov’s return seems much too suspicious for us to believe that the Lightning were being fully honest with the status of his condition. So how did Kucherov perform in his season debut in the playoffs? I’m going to keep it short and simple – he scored two goals, recording all three points on the Lightning power play that night. Judging by his performance in his first game back from the LTIR, it looked like he could have easily been ready even a week before the playoffs. He would go on to lead the team in scoring and assists in the 2021 postseason when all was said and done. After game 4 of round 2 against the Hurricanes, head coach Jon Cooper labeled Kucherov, “a beast”. GM Julien Brisebois countered the criticisms regarding the Bolts cap issues by describing the timing of Kucherov’s return as “lucky”. Are you sure you don’t mean that it was all the result of a cover-up, instead? After the Lightning had knocked off the cap-compliant Carolina Hurricanes in 5 games in round 2, forward Dougie Hamiltion of the Canes made it clear that they were unfairly overmatched, stating, “we lost to a team that’s 18 million over the cap” in his postgame interview. Lightning fans voiced their discontent on social media by hurling personal insults at Hamilton. It’s called a guilty conscience, Lightning fans.
There’s even a bigger problem, however: the Lightning have acquired Brent Seabrook,who’s already on LTIR, from Chicago, in exchange for forward Tyler Johnson.
They’re cheating in front of our faces now. They’re going to keep him on LTIR until the end of the season while using his money to stock up at the deadline. It’s the same thing all over again. Too bad the league officials can’t afford better glasses.
To be continued…
