Washington has been without center Nicklas Backstrom for some time now after getting concussed by then Calgary forward Rene Bourque. With today being the trading deadline and the Caps being short of cap space, they’re putting the play maker on long term injured reserve.
According to Lindsay Applebaum of The Washington Post, the Caps putting Backstrom on LTIR will give them about $7.6 million in salary cap space to work with today and through until he returns to action. There’s no timetable as of yet when, exactly, that will be.
If the Caps make the playoffs and Backstrom returns in time for the postseason, the Caps won’t have to worry about the salary situation anymore as there’s no salary cap in the postseason. Does that mean the Caps dive into the trading pool head first today? Well let’s just say that Rick Nash isn’t about to walk through that door.