Taking a closer look at each team in the Central Division – what their salary cap situation is like for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, as well as their pending unrestricted and restricted free agents.
The Chicago Blackhawks will once again have to make some cap moves this offseason. They have 17 players under contract and have just over $7 million in salary cap space.
The Colorado Avalanche have a couple big name restricted free agents to re-sign in Tyson Barrie and Nathan MacKinnon. They have plenty of cap space to sign both, but there are rumors that Barrie could be traded.
The Dallas Stars will have some decisions to make with regards to their pending free agent defensemen. They may look to improve on their goaltending, but may have trouble moving one (or both) of Antti Niemi or Kari Lehtonen due to each having two years left on their contracts.
The Minnesota Wild have 15 players under contract with just over $10 million in salary cap space. Matt Dumba is a RFA and could take up a good portion of that. The Wild may use a buyout to create some more cap room.
The Nashville Predators have over $15 million in cap space for next year with 18 players under contract. Filip Forsberg needs a new deal, but they have plenty of room for it.
The St. Louis Blues will have some decisions to make on unrestricted free agents David Backes and Troy Brouwer, which could be more difficult the farther they advance in the playoffs. They have he cap space to retain both if they want.
The Winnipeg Jets need to re-sign RFAs Jacob Trouba and Mark Scheifele, and they have plenty of cap space to do so – over $22 million with 18 players under contract. Trouba’s name has also been in the rumor mill.
** When looking at each team’s salary cap situation for next season and 2017-18, the numbers are based of a $74 million cap ceiling.
We’ll update the salary cap numbers when free agents are signed or trades are made. Salary info taken from CapFriendly.com **
