How recent roster moves help Canucks with salary cap

Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin made the decision on Thursday to send defenseman Erik Brannstrom and forward prospect Arshdeep Bains down to the AHL to play for the Abbotsford Canucks.

Although it is certainly within the realm of possibility that defenseman Derek Forbort (personal) and forward Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer) are closing in on making their returns to the Canucks lineup, there are other benefits that will aid Vancouver in the interim, even if only for a couple of days.

By assigning both Brannstrom and Bains to the AHL, the Canucks have increased their current cap space to roughly $2.1 million from only $385,000. At first glance, you might think that this only benefits the Canucks if they plan to make a trade or call up other players from the AHL.

The truth is that they still benefit, even if they choose to do nothing at all. The way the salary cap works in the NHL is a very interesting thing.

Because Allvin successfully managed to clear cap space (in the trade that brought Brannstrom to Vancouver, ironically), the Canucks have been able to avoid utilizing the long-term injured reserve pool. Because they are not using LTIR, the Canucks accrue a small amount of cap space daily. The amount of daily cap space they receive depends on the amount of cap space they have at present, so the more cap space the Canucks have at any given moment, the better off they are.

This allows Allvin and Co. to create as much flexibility as possible for when the NHL trade deadline rolls around in March. With neither Brannstrom nor Bains requiring waivers to go to the AHL at the moment, there is no harm in the Canucks sending them to Abbotsford. If Allvin remains prudent with his cap situation, Vancouver will stand to benefit greatly in the long run.