Report: The NHL is considering abolishing the rule that allowed Kucherov to participate in the 2021 playoffs

When Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov made the team's playoff roster last year, it caused a lot of chatter around the NHL.

He missed the entire regular season and once in the playoffs, his salary was not included in the Lightning's payroll.

This situation did not please Habs fans at all because normally, the Stanley Cup champions would not have met the expected salary cap of $81.5 million. But as my colleague Christian Matte of Marqueur.com reports, that situation could very well change eventually.

Frank Seravalli, of Daily Faceoff, has reportedly learned that at the upcoming NHL general managers' meeting, this will be one of the items on the agenda.


A league GM is reported to have spoken on condition of anonymity to have this rule abolished altogether. The solution would be to introduce a new rule that would require NHL teams to meet the salary cap by fielding a roster that complies with the rules.

As an example, last year the Lightning were over the salary cap by about $18 million. It's easy to fall into the trap that this was a team strategy, but still, Kucherov shined in the playoffs last year with 32 points in 23 games.

But if the rule is approved by the general managers, the NHL executives will have the final say.