NHL enforcing new rule that would have changed Oilers and Panthers Stanley Cup Final
Photo credit: Sam Navarro - Imagn Images
The NHL is now enforcing a hard playoff salary cap that would have greatly affected last year's Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers.
For the second year in a row last year, the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers to win the Cup. Under new NHL rules, the Oilers would've had a much better chance to win.
NHL enforcing new rules early that would have changed last year's Cup Final
The NHL's new CBA will not officially kick-in until the 2026-27 season, but the league is using a rolling implementation of new rules that will bring some significant changes. Among them, teams to ice a roster under the salary cap for every playoff game.
This has led analyst David Staples to claim the Oilers may have won the Stanley Cup last year under the new set of rules.
Last year, the Florida Panthers lineup in the Stanley Cup Final exceeded the salary cap by at least $5M. Under the new NHL rules, the Panthers would have had to take players out of their lineup to make up that salary difference - which would have made their roster much weaker.
On the other hand, the Oilers playoff roster came in $8M under the salary cap.
It's impossible to say that the new rules would've definitely impacted the results of the Cup Final, but the Oilers would've had a much better chance if Florida had to remove players from their lineup while Edmonton didn't. The new rules will certainly have a major impact on playoff lineup decisions at least.
The NHL is trying to finally address the LTIR controversy with teams exceeding the salary cap in the playoffs, which is a positive change for the league. Unfortunately, it's coming just a bit late for the Edmonton Oilers.
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