The cap is slated to remain at $81.5 million US for the foreseeable future, and it's likely a number of franchises will look to go below that number in actual dollars spent.
So how does that impact the job of the NHL's 31 GMs with the draft set for Oct. 6 and 7, and free agency slated to open two days later on Oct. 9?
It is a situation we haven’t seen in a while. While it seems like GMs are still more than happy to bail out their colleagues, there could be some opportunities for the Red Wings to take advantage, now that they have cap space.