In maximizing LTIR benefit, Scuderi assigned back to Reign

In a move to maximize the benefit of placing a player on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), the Los Angeles Kings have assigned Rob Scuderi back to AHL-Ontario. Scuderi did not take part in this morning’s skate and was not expected to be a part of the team’s plans tonight against Anaheim.

Keep in mind that when a player is placed on LTIR, their cap hit doesn’t simply come off the team’s books. Instead, the team is allowed to spend over the salary cap ceiling by the amount of the the player’s cap hit subtracted by the amount of cap space available. Examples of this are below.

As of right now, there’s no official word from hockey operations on which player has been placed on LTIR, though the safest bets would be either Jonathan Quick or Marian Gaborik (most likely Quick). This isn’t a huge surprise; teams are generally protective of their LTIR designations and do not want the amount of salary cap space they have disseminated widely. The last time the team made a similar move to maximize their cap space was when Nick Ebert and Jeff Schultz were recalled last season prior to placing Matt Greene on LTIR.

Other than Anders Lindback, who is unable to play with the Kings while on an AHL PTO, there were no new players on the ice with the team at today’s morning skate. At some point, the Kings, who lost defenseman Brayden McNabb and forward Andy Andreoff to upper-body injuries over the weekend, will make a roster move to address their most recent casualties. Andreoff’s injury is of the day-to-day variety, per Lisa Dillman, though McNabb’s injury is not expected to be a short-term ailment.

(1/2) #Kings recalling Scuderi brought the team within $102,620 from the ceiling. Assumption is that Quick was then placed on Long Term IR.

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) November 1, 2016

(2/2) Placing Quick on LTIR makes the most sense given that it would allow the #Kings to exceed the $73M ceiling by as much as $5,697,380.

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) November 1, 2016

Via CapFriendly, notes on Long-Term Injured Reserve:

When a player has an injury of which they are expected to miss 10 games and 24 days, the team can place them on long term injured reserve (LTIR) to receive cap relief.

When a player is placed on LTIR, their cap hit technically remains on the teams cap payroll and it continues to count as it always did. It also does not provide the club with additional cap-space savings that can be banked for future use while the team operates below the salary cap. Instead, LTIR provides relief if the club’s averaged club salary, or payroll, begins to exceed the upper limit. The amount of relief that the club receives is calculated on the day the player is placed on LTIR. There are two formulas that are used to determine the LTIR relief, the first formula, the basic formula, can be used during the season and during the off-season. The second formula, the training-camp formula, can be used during the off-season.

Basic Formula
This formula is used throughout the season and during the off-season
Amount team can exceed the cap = Cap hit of LTIR player – Amount of cap space available

Basic Formula Example
The league upper limit is $69M. A team has an averaged club salary of $68M and a player with a cap hit of $5M becomes injured and the team places him on LTIR. The team is now permitted to spend up to a new limit of $72M:

Cap hit of LTIR player is $5M
Amount of cap space available to team = $69M – $68M = $1M
Amount team can exceed the cap = $5M – $1M = $4M
New limit = $68M + $4M = $72M

To add to this example, if the team were to recall a player from the AHL, with a cap hit of $950k, the teams would instead be permitted to spend up to a new limit of $72.95M:

Cap hit of LTIR player is $5M
Amount of cap space available to team = $69M – $68.95M = $0.05M
Amount team can exceed the cap = $5M – $0.05M = $4.95M
New limit = $68M + $4.95M = $72.95M