In a game Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks, the Los Angeles Kings dressed only five of a possible six defensemen. The reason?
$160.
$160 in cap space is all the team had at their disposal, after defenseman Robyn Regehr's injury during practice Friday, to make a move and call up a replacement player, per a report from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.
"Is it ideal? No," head coach Darryl Suter quipped, according to LA Kings Insider.
This situation stems directly from defenseman Slava Voynov's arrest and subsequent suspension by the team and league for suspicion of domestic violence against his wife – an incident which occurred Oct. 20.
"How long is this supposed to go on? It's clear that the system is dysfunctional," Kings general manager Dean Lombardi said, per Helene Elliot of the LA Times.
Because the team is near the salary cap limit and still carrying Voynov's $4.1 million salary - he was suspended with pay by the league – the Kings, and Lombardi, did not have enough space to call up a defenseman.
The league-minimum salary is $550,000 – or $549,837 more than LA had with which to work.
"I had more money in my pocket. I was willing to contribute the difference," said Jeff Solomon, the Kings' senior vice president of hockey operations and legal affairs. "But I didn't think that was going to work."
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the league has "discussed a variety of alternatives that might potentially ease the Kings' cap and roster concerns," according to Elliot, but the union has "not been inclined to agree to offering any relief."
Jonathan Weatherdon, a spokesman for the Union, said the league and the NHLPA "have been engaging in dialogue on the matter."
Possibly hindering a movement in either direction is the fact that both the union and the league have their own separate stakes in the outcome of the matter - the union specifically doesn't want players' 14% escrow payments to rise by even the small amount that would be generated by a replacement for Voynov.
Meanwhile, Lombardi continues to question the fairness – and logic – of the situation as it currently stands.
"We've lost one of our top players. We get it," Lombardi said. "If he gets convicted, he's out. We get the space. Toronto's guy clearly does something out of bounds, they immediately get the space. How is this logical?"
