Cap Commitments and Spending Money 7-2

Well after the 1st day of free agency many teams are approaching their estimated budget number. Will they stop there or go over that number? It will be interesting to see how accurate this approach is when all is said and done.

Again these are approximate estimates for a 20 man NHL roster. I used the players that seemed most likely to make the team out of camp and put their cap hits into a spreadsheet. I'm still missing three players who signed yesterday. Budget = % of the cap max spent in the three previous seasons.

Budget - Current Minimal Contracts = Estimated Budget Space TEAM NAME
$54.4 - $56.7 = -$02.9 ANA
$53.8 - $31.5 = $21.7 ATL
$56.5 - $52.6 = $03.2 BOS
$49.9 - $44.1 = $05.2 BUF
$50.5 - $44.7 = $05.2 CAR
$47.9 - $34.2 = $13.2 CBJ
$54.4 - $52.3 = $01.4 CGY
$53.3 - $55.5 = -$02.8 CHI
$55.5 - $41.3 = $13.5 COL
$55.3 - $51.7 = $03.0 DAL
$56.1 - $46.0 = $09.4 DET
$53.3 - $53.6 = -$01.0 EDM
$47.4 - $46.1 = $00.8 FLA
$51.9 - $33.2 = $18.0 LAK
$49.0 - $46.9 = $01.5 MIN
$53.3 - $48.1 = $04.6 MON
$44.5 - $39.1 = $04.8 NSH
$54.3 - $52.2 = $01.4 NJD
$50.5 - $39.5 = $10.4 NYI
$54.0 - $49.6 = $03.8 NYR
$53.9 - $46.0 = $07.1 OTT
$55.9 - $54.2 = $01.0 PHI
$46.9 - $41.3 = $05.0 PHX
$47.2 - $40.4 = $06.3 PIT
$49.5 - $48.2 = $00.7 SJS
$48.7 - $48.9= -$00.9 STL
$52.6 - $50.3 = $01.6 TBL
$55.1 - $44.3 = $08.5 TOR
$55.3 - $39.8 = $14.9 VAN
$41.9 - $51.4= -$10.0 WSH

I have no idea what the Thrashers and Kings intend to do with all that money they are compelled to spend to reach the cap floor.

Top Ten Projected Budget $$ Available
$21.7 ATL
$18.0 LAK
$14.9 VAN
$13.5 COL
$13.2 CBJ
$11.5 TOR
$10.4 NYI
$09.4 DET
$07.1 OTT
$06.3 PIT