James Nichols
We knew a new collective bargaining agreement was coming. We just didn’t know how fast it was going to get here. Well, part of it, anyway. The NHL and NHLPA have agreed to implement the new CBA as of September 15th, 2026. However, there are long-term injured reserve (LTIR) rules that are being expedited, and effective immediately. Here’s how it impacts the New Jersey Devils.
READ MORE: What’s Really Going on in the Devils, Luke Hughes Contract Standoff
For starters, the new LTIR impact in the playoffs impacts all 32 NHL teams. The ruling is simple. For each playoff game, the total cap hit of the dressed players must be under the cap ceiling for that season.
To learn more about how it’s all calculated, refer to our partners over at Puckpedia here.
However, there are new rules about how the regular season relief works. Whereas before if a player was put on long-term injured reserve, a team would received said player’s full cap hit in relief, that is no longer the case. Here’s how it works, again via Puckpedia:
“Teams placing a player on LTIR can still increase their salary cap pool by the injured player’s cap hit. However, for players expected to return during the same season or playoffs, LTIR relief is now limited to the previous season’s average league salary. The league’s average salary in 2024-25 was $3,817,293, meaning that LTIR relief for any player with a higher cap hit would be limited to $3,817,283 had the rules been in effect for the 2025-26 season. Under the previous rules, a team could receive LTIR relief by up to the injured player’s cap hit, without a maximum. Players declared unfit for the remainder of both the regular season and playoffs are eligible for full LTIR relief but cannot return until the next season.”
Now, for the Devils, it’s going to be a small initial impact. They’re going to start the year without defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic who had successful knee surgery this offseason and isn’t projected to return until the regular season is underway.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald has been fine leaving players on the roster who will be absent long-term before. That’s so he can continue to accrue cap space as the days press on toward the NHL Trade Deadline.
However, if he feels the need to place Kovacevic on LTIR, it’s a small difference. Kovacevic’s new five-year extension carrying a $4 million average annual value kicked in on July 1st.
Thus, if he were to be placed on LTIR, $182,707 will still count against their salary cap.
Again, small impact. However, even the smallest of margins such as this one could impact what GMs do, or don’t do, in terms of transactions.
The Devils still have a Luke Hughes contract to sort out, and already seem to be a bit under budget. Add that $182,707 to their current cap space if Kovacevic is placed on LTIR, and now the Devils have $6,314,374 to work with. Still not enough to perhaps get Hughes signed.
Plus, Fitzgerald still has to consider when Kovacevic returns—as it’s not a season-ending injury—that $3,817,283 in relief comes off the budget.
It’s a small hurdle, but a hurdle no less, for Fitzgerald to consider currently. However, moving forward, if a player with a larger cap hit requires LTIR and is returning in the same season, the new ruling makes it that much more difficult for teams to fill a significant void on the roster with the new inability to punt long-term injured returns in the playoffs.
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