Red Wings Need to Manipulate the Salary Cap

As the Detroit Red Wings mature as an organization, they need to continually look for competitive advantages to exploit. Ideally, they should be at the forefront of innovation, not lagging behind. 

Managing cap space is no different. Since the salary cap was implemented prior to the 2005-06 season, teams have tried to find loopholes to maximize their spending. Fifteen years later, Steve Yzerman and company need to make every allotted dollar work for them, even if it’s not being spent on players in their lineup. 

Let’s take a look at how NHL teams have manipulated the salary cap in the past, why that’s important, and how today’s Red Wings can take steps to create cap efficiencies.