BREAKING: Gary Bettman Makes a Multi-Million Dollar Decision Involving the 2018 WJC Scandal

NHL insider Darren Dreger reported earlier today that the NHL plans to provide cap relief to the teams with players involved in the legal battle. The teams involved are the Flyers, Flames, and Devils. Flyers goaltender Carter Hart currently has a cap hit of just under 4 million dollars while Flames defenseman Dillon Dube has a 2.3 million dollar cap hit. Both players are on expiring contracts. Cal Foote and Michael McLeod combine for a 2.2 million dollar cap hit for the Devils. Both players are also on expiring deals.

It is not clear exactly how much cap relief the teams will get for these players suddenly being removed from their respective teams. Perhaps the most likely outcome is that their entire cap hits will come off the books for the remainder of the season. As all four players are on expiring deals, it would seem as though this issue should resolve itself by the end of the season.

Fans did not respond well to this news. the prevailing belief seems to be that the teams involved should not get any help in dealing with these players as they knew about their potential legal trouble beforehand. This has not been proven either way, but it has been confirmed that the Flyers were trying to trade Carter hart last offseason, which is certainly a questionable look at best.

That being said, it is understandable why the league would think that they need to compensate the teams with players involved given the hard-cap reality of the NHL. Luckily though, all the players involved are on expiring deals so at the very least, this issue will only last for the remainder of the season.