Rumors continue regarding Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog’s possible retirement. Landeskog has flatly denied the rumors, but question marks still hang over the injured Avs captain.
My colleague Graham Tiedtke elaborated on the specific nature of these rumors in this interesting article. Therefore, my purpose in this article is to explore why Landeskog cannot retire, even if he does.
I wanted to. There are three reasons for this claim: These are more than purely economic issues.
3 reasons why Gabe Landeskog can’t retire even if he wants to
Landeskog will leave money on the table
Essentially, retiring means leaving behind millions of dollars for Landeskog.
Now, let’s be clear. This isn’t about greedy players trying to get paid for doing nothing. Standard NHL contracts include provisions for this type of situation. That’s why teams must do what’s right
Diligence before signing players to multi-year contracts.
When Landeskog signed an eight-year extension in 2021, there was no indication that his knee would be injured enough to keep him from playing two full seasons. So the Avalanche signed their captain to the longest contract, keeping him around for the foreseeable future.
However, when Landeskog was injured at some point in 2022, he played through the injury until he needed surgery to repair the damage. He missed the entire 2022-23 season and was hoping to return.
following year.
Rumors of retirement also surfaced when he missed the entire 2023-24 season. But here’s the deal: Current NHL contracts are designed so that players can’t be forced to walk away from their contracts. That would have a series of legal implications.
These regulations were put in place to protect players. This protection means players cannot be forced to retire or be blackballed until they break their contract. If a player retires, both the team and the player must agree to terminate the contract.
This agreement means that the team, not the player, terminates the contract. However, while firing requires a valid reason, retirement of a player does not. It cannot be said that it is a legitimate violation.
Such was the deal between Corey Perry and the Chicago Blackhawks last season.
Retirement is not grounds for termination. That is, players are penalized for leaving money on the table, but teams are left with contracts pending even though the players are waived.
Officially retired.
Horrible cap recapture penalty
Another provision introduced to protect players is the cap recapture penalty. This rule states that if a player retires while the contract is in effect, a team cannot remove the player’s contract from their books. In other words, even if a player retires mid-contract, the team must carry over that player’s cap hit for a specified period of time, the remaining years of the player’s contract.
The amount of the cap recapture penalty varies depending on the individual case. Roberto Luongo’s early retirement is a case in point. PuckPedia has a surprisingly detailed explanation.
It’s important here. In Luongo’s case, the cap repossession penalty exceeded $12 million due to the difference between what was paid and what was owed.
With Luongo retiring with three years left on his contract, the Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers split the cap-back penalties for three seasons. The two clubs will split Luongo’s cap hit of $5.33 million over three years, with the Panthers committing more than $3 million per season.
So let’s crunch the numbers for Landeskog. His total contract was set at eight years, $56 million, and an AAV of $7 million per season. Landeskog is currently in the fourth year of his contract. That means the Avs paid him three years, or $21 million. That would leave him with $35 million, which the Avalanche will have to acquire.
Therefore, the Avs will be left with $35 million in dead cap space over the next five seasons. This means approximately $7 million per season in dead cap space that cannot be used and moved to LTIR. The Avs don’t have to pay Landeskog a dime, but they have a ton of dead cap space that they can’t use for anything else.
In other words, the Avs would be better off paying Landeskog to spend time with his family and work out than deal with dead cap space. It’s a win-win for everyone.
There is also the influence of insurance.
Now, here’s something that might surprise quite a few readers. I was certainly surprised. When a player is placed on IR or LTIR, the team doesn’t actually pay him a salary. it belongs to the team and the players
Insurance contracts to cover the salaries of these players.
Look at it this way. If someone is injured on the job, workers’ compensation will take care of them. Companies don’t actually pay these benefits. The workers’ compensation system makes this possible.
The same goes for NHL players. That’s why teams never reveal the details of a player’s injury. Insurance companies want to keep disclosure to a minimum to maintain confidentiality. After all, if you were injured on the job, would you want your neighbors to know your medical records? Perhaps you’d be happy to tell them you had a workplace-related incident and leave it at that. I’ll leave it there.
So if Landeskog were to retire, it would be an issue between the NHL, the Colorado Avalanche, and Landeskog and his insurance company. All sorts of issues can arise, including claims from all sides, increased premiums, and even a potential rift between your team and your insurance company.
As you can see, Landeskog’s retirement opens up a huge can of worms for everyone involved. It would be better for the Avs to have insurance pay for Landeskog while he is on LTIR. In fact, that’s why LTIR exists. While on LTIR, the team doesn’t actually pay the player’s salary, so the team can use that money to pay other players.
Ultimately, it’s a business decision that technically forces Landeskog and Avalanche to remain active. That’s why Shea Weber is currently a member of the Utah Hockey Club, despite being ruled ineligible to play again after the 2021 season.
The easiest path would be to keep Landeskog on LTIR until his contract expires in 2029. It won’t cost the Avs a dime, Landeskog will be paid and the team can use the cap space to help the team.
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