With Gaudreau's death, the Columbus Blue Jackets now sit below the cap floor around $62 million dollars to which the team needs to be at $65 million in cap space.
If the team cannot achieve that goal, the team will be punished by the NHL. It's safe to say that many people potentially NHL Board of Governors may want to grant the team a special exemption due to these circumstances.
This would mean the team needs to seek out another team that's looking to dump a contract worth $2.7 million or higher as that is the threshold difference they are at currently. That also would mean they would need to give up either a draft pick or a prospect to be sent the other way in order to make the transaction complete.
These circumstances are very rare in the NHL let alone in pro sports. It remains unknown if the NHL will decide on Columbus and whether they would grant them a special exemption or not. I certainly feel the league should grant them what they need as the team, their fan base and the rest of the NHL is still in mourning after this tragic loss.
Source: Puckpedia
Columbus Blue Jackets salary cap
POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 2 | 124 ANSWERS NHL should consider a special exemption for the Columbus Blue Jackets following Johnny Gaudreau's death Should the NHL grant the Blue Jackets a special expemtion for the salary cap and Johnny Gaudreau's death? | ||
Yes | 113 | 91.1 % |
No | 11 | 8.9 % |
List of polls |