The NHL season is 192 days long, so every players' daily cap hit is their cap hit divided by 192.
Using the Islanders as an example, Mathew Barzal carries a cap hit of $9.15 million.
So, his daily cap hit is $47,656.
The way it works is that if a player is on an NHL roster, the financial expectation is that they'll be on the roster for the entire season. If they get sent down, things change, which we will discuss a bit later.
Not every player starts the season on the NHL roster, for example, Kyle MacLean last season.
MacLean was recalled on Jan. 18, and although he did go up and down a few times after that (for cap purposes), let's say he stayed on the NHL roster for the rest of the NHL season.
With there being 90 days left in the regular season when he was recalled, and his cap hit is $800,000, you do $800,000 divided by 192 to get his daily cap hit before multiplying it by 90.
$375,000 is around how much the Islanders' cap hit rose by once MacLean was called up last season.
Now, with an understanding of how cap hits work, let's discuss cap accrual.
While the projected cap hit goes up with more players on the roster, the amount of projected cap space goes up when the number of rostered players decreases.
This has a tremendous effect, as mentioned, during the trade deadline.
As the season progresses, teams' available cap space will grow.
NOTE: Teams cannot accrue cap space if they have any player on LTIR
We don't have a date yet for the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, but let's say it's on March 7 (supposed to be 40 days before end of season).
The Islanders begin their season on Oct. 10 against the Utah Hockey Club, so they will have 152 days to accrue cap space before the deadline.
With only 40 days from the deadline to the end of the season, the Islanders could add an additional $237,500 to their books.
This is the math: (192 days in season divided by 40 days remaining) multiplied by the amount of cap space available.
Now, the Islanders can't do much with that since league minimum contracts have a cap hit of $775,000.
Last week, we discussed how the Islanders don't necessarily have to clear cap space since they aren't over the cap and already have an extra two forwards and one defenseman on the roster.
But if the Islanders did want to still move a contract, it could pay major dividends for them at the trade deadline, if they are to be buyers.
Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello is not selling if the Islanders are in a playoff spot by the deadline.
Let's use these three Islanders players as examples: Anders Lee ($7 M AAV), Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($5 M AAV), and Casey Cizikas ($2.5 M AAV).
If the Islanders get their full cap hits off the books, this is how the accrual could work if a player from the minors was recalled to take their place.
For example, let's say Liam Foudy, who just signed a one-year deal worth $775,000 at the NHL level, is the replacement call-up.
Lee: $50,000 (cap space right now) + $7,000,000 (Lee's cap hit) - ($775,000 (Foudy'cap hit)= $6.275 M (new amount of cap space)
So, with cap accrual, the Islanders would be able to take on an additional $30.12 M.
Pageau: $50,000 (cap space right now) + $5,000,000 (Pageau's cap hit) - ($775,000 (Foudy'cap hit)= $4.275 M (new amount of cap space)
So, with cap accrual, the Islanders would be able to take on an additional $20.4 M.
Cizikas: $50,000 (cap space right now) + $2.5 M (Cizikas' cap hit) - ($775,000 (Foudy'cap hit)= $1.775 M (new amount of cap space)
So, with cap accrual, the Islanders would be able to take on an additional $8.52 M.
Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
As you can see, the Islanders can really maximize their ability to bring in players even by moving Cizikas, the cheaper of the three options, who, by the way, doesn't have trade protection like the other two.
The Islanders didn't go crazy in free agency—their lack of cap space wouldn't allow it—but they did sign forward Anthony Duclair to a four-year deal worth $3.5 million annually.
However, next year's pending unrestricted free agent class is a strong one, with players like Mitch Marner, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Leon Draisaitl entering the final years of their deals.
If the Islanders do want to be major players at the deadline, cap accrual becomes a powerful tool, if they can use it to their advantage.
The Islanders will have more than $50,000 because they can make paper transactions, sending certain players to the minors like MacLean (now $775,000 after signing a three-year deal) or Maxim Tsyplakov ($950,000) throughout the season for added cap accrual as they both are waiver-exempt.
For MacLean, he would be okay because he signed a one-way deal, meaning he'll make $775,000 regardless of whether he's playing in the NHL or the AHL.
Tysplakov, on the other hand, signed a two-way deal and would only be making $82,500 if sent to Bridgeport, an $867,500 difference.
I don't think the Islanders would want to do that to their new player, as that's a recipe for him heading elsewhere following the season.
But, in theory, it can be done.
If the Islanders don't move a contract, that doesn't mean they can't have an effective deadline, but it certainly makes things much more difficult.
They'd have to trade a contract the other way, which could become costly as the team's desperation levels are at an all-time high on deadline day.
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