That Pesky Salary Cap

The NHL's salary cap has certainly been stating its case this off-season. Locally, many fans continue to hope Michael Nylander takes his show to Russia instead of eating up $5.5 million of the Caps' limited space. The only good news is that Nylander's no-movement clause goes away after this season, meaning it's probably his last in town barring a major changing of heart.

Perhaps the most intriguing salary-cap situation is unfolding in Boston, where uber-talented (and young) restricted free agent Phil Kessel is still unsigned partially because of the salary cap. According to a recent story on the Hockey News' Web site, the Bruins have tried to free space for the 21-year-old winger, but have continued to sign players (including the recently-inked Derek Morris) to fill that space under the salary cap.

Could this be something more than just a money-related decision about Kessel or another case of a team hoping against hope that it can squeeze everybody into the NHL's salary guidelines? The only sure thing is that Nylander and Kessel will be playing somewhere during the upcoming season, but the details of those arrangements are far from certain.