Which NHL Teams Will Be Most Screwed by the Salary Cap?

Lost in the excitement of All-Star Weekend (or maybe you were simply asleep at this point) was commissioner Gary Bettman's announcement that the 2017-18 salary cap was likely to remain flat at $73 million. Bettman has placed much of the blame on escrow, a complicated thing into which players pay part of their salary, and since we want to keep this piece under 2,000 words, let's end that discussion here.

Assuming the salary cap doesn't rise next season, as Bettman said, that means it will have gone from a nice $69 million in 2014-15 to $73 million in 2017-18. Given that the salary cap is directly connected to hockey-related revenue, the fact that it has barely budged over the past few years is confusing. Since January 2014, the NHL has played 14 lucrative outdoor games, with a 15th coming at the end of this month. MLB started paying the NHL $100 million a year last year for the rights to all NHL digital platforms. Seventy-eight percent of teams (70 of 90) over the past three years have sold at least 93 percent of available tickets for home games.

It makes no sense that the cap has risen only 5 percent in four seasons when the league seemingly has been printing money at outdoor games and took a bunch of cash from MLB to utterly ruin its website. Where is the money going? There has to be an owner whose walls at home are lined with cash like Forest Whitaker in that bad Keanu Reeves movie.

Anyway, back to the flat cap and how it pertains to the 2017-18 season. There's an expansion draft coming in June but teams can't be sure that their hefty contracts will be the one Vegas absorbs or takes in a trade.

These seven teams appear to be the most screwed. Let's see just how screwed they are.

2017-18 salary on the books: $67 million

The problems: They're not huge, but the Blue Jackets have RFAs of varying importance to sign, while 27-year-old Sam Gagner is set to become a UFA after making just $650,000 this season. Gagner has 14 goals in 51 games, so good luck replacing that production next season with minimal space.

Potential expansion relief: Vegas picking up Jack Johnson's $4.4 million cap hit for one season would do the Jackets a world of good.

Level of screwed: LIGHT

2017-18 salary on the books: $66.6 million

The problems: With Artemi Panarin already on the books for 2017-18 at $6 million, the Blackhawks have less than $7 million to sign a handful of depth players, which could add up to a problem. Scott Darling and his $587,500 cap hit will probably be replaced by a goaltender who costs more and does less. These are problems that arise when you are paying Jonathan Toews $10.5 million for 60-point seasons and leadership.

Potential expansion relief: Marcus Kruger seems a likely expansion draft target, although the Blackhawks could use more than the $3.1 million in space his departure would bring.

Level of screwed: MILD

2017-18 salary on the books: $61.4 million

The problems: That's nearly $12 million in space, a bounty of riches compared to other teams on this list. But the Penguins have just three defensemen signed for next season, are set to lose three key forwards to unrestricted free agency, and will have to give RFA Connor Sheary a significant raise from his $667,500 salary.

Potential expansion relief: It's coming in the form of Marc-Andre Fleury's contract leaving the team in a trade or a buyout, since he's not expansion eligible. A buyout frees about $4 million in space, which is desperately needed and almost a foregone conclusion. Fleury's time with the Penguins will die so the team can live. He's basically Maximus in Gladiator.

Level of screwed: AVERAGE

2017-18 salary on the books: $69.4 million

The problems: That number makes things look worse than they are. The Ducks have ten forwards and seven defensemen under contract for next season and with John Gibson establishing himself as the No. 1 goaltender, they don't need to spend much on a backup. Hampus Lindholm taking about $1.8 million less than he's worth will go a long way toward keeping the aging Ducks competitive for at least one more season.

Potential expansion relief: GM Bob Murray probably has the most work to do when it comes to avoiding losing a key player to Vegas. If the Ducks protect four defensemen, they could leave Jakob Silfverberg ($3.75M) exposed; if they protect three defensemen, Sami Vatanen ($4.875M) would likely get snagged. The Ducks are more screwed by the draft than the cap.

Level of screwed: MEDIUM

2017-18 salary on the books: $66.9 million

The problems: They have four good to very good RFAs due decent raises: Tomas Tatar, Tomas Jurco, Andreas Athanasiou, and Xavier Ouellet. On top of those contracts, GM Ken Holland will have to plug some depth holes to fill out the roster.

Potential expansion relief: The Red Wings are almost guaranteed to shed a significant contract. Jimmy Howard ($5.3M) or Petr Mrazek ($4M) would be attractive goaltending options for Vegas, and it's not out of the question that one of the Red Wings' four high-priced defensemen could get taken. Only Frans Nielsen must be protected, so Holland has a lot of expansion flexibility to work a trade before the draft.

Level of screwed: SOMEWHAT

2017-18 salary on the books: $63.2 million

The problems: Mainly, it's Mika Zibanejad's new contract and the fact the Rangers need to pay for a top-four defenseman in free agency if they want to contend, which they do. If Zibanejad's new deal takes the Rangers to $68 million, they don't have enough room to throw money at Kevin Shattenkirk, which should be their top priority in the summer. The lack of space and the need to sign depth forwards will have the Rangers in a bind.

Potential expansion relief: Making matters worse, the Rangers can't expose their bad contracts (Dan Girardi, Marc Staal) to alleviate the pressure. No matter how they protect their roster, the Rangers are likely to lose a valuable depth forward who wasn't making much money.

Level of screwed: PARTICULARLY

2017-18 salary on the books: $59.2 million

The problems: With about $14 million in space, the Lightning have to pay RFAs Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, and Jonathan Drouin. They also need to add a top-four defensemen, something they're trying to do before the trade deadline. On top of that, they also need depth players up front and on the back end. They only have 13 total players under contract next season.

Potential expansion relief: The silver lining could be money leaving for Vegas, but it's likely it won't be money the Lightning want to see go. It could be Alex Killorn, who just signed a seven-year, $31.15 million deal. Or maybe GM Steve Yzerman will dangle Palat. But if Vegas decides to target someone on a small deal like Cedric Paquette, the Lightning are the most screwed of all.

Level of screwed: FEROCIOUSLY

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