When Philadelphia terminated Ryan Johansen’s contract earlier this week, it not only freed up cap space for the Flyers but also for the Nashville Predators. The Predators had retained $4 million of Johansen’s $8 million salary when they traded him to Colorado last offseason, but the termination removed that amount from their books.
In a conversation with 102.5 The Game following the Yaroslav Askarov trade, GM Barry Trotz addressed the newly available cap space. However, Trotz indicated that the Predators won’t be spending it anytime soon. “I have to treat it as if it’s in escrow. I have to act like it’s not there until the final decision is made,” he explained.
The “final decision” Trotz referred to is the grievance filed on Johansen’s behalf, arguing that his persistent hip injury renders him too injured to play. This injury was discovered after Johansen was traded to Philadelphia and cleared waivers. Normally, an injured player cannot be bought out, which is why the buyout window closed without action.
The Flyers chose to terminate Johansen’s contract based on a material breach, though they haven’t detailed what the breach was. Speculation suggests it might involve the timing of the injury report. For now, this has cleared $4 million from both the Flyers’ and the Predators’ books.
Given the impending grievance, Trotz’s cautious approach in not immediately using the freed-up cap space is wise. If the contract is reinstated in full, the Predators would avoid scrambling to regain cap compliance. If a settlement or partial reinstatement occurs, the team will have flexibility to make moves closer to the trade deadline.
Currently, the Predators have just under $3.1 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, with Johansen’s contract still considered on their books. Much of that cap space will go towards re-signing RFAs Philip Tomasino and Juuso Parssinen. Until there’s a resolution regarding Johansen’s situation, it’s unlikely the Predators will make any significant additional moves this summer, despite already having a busy offseason.
