HabsWorld.net --
After weeks of speculation, we finally have a definitive answer regarding the
health status of Andrei Markov. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t good news as
the club announced Friday that he will miss the remainder of the season.
He will undergo surgery on December 8th to repair a torn meniscus and
reconstruct his ACL; the surgery will be performed in Alabama by renowned
specialist Dr. James Andrews.
Markov only played 7 games with the Habs this year after missing the
beginning of the season with, you guessed it, the same injury as he suffered.
In those contests, he picked up a goal and two assists. Last season, also
plagued by an early season injury, he collected 6 goals and 28 assists in 45
games. Markov will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
Because of the amount of time he will miss, he will be eligible for a 1 year,
incentive based contract despite not being on an entry level contract.
He now will be eligible to be placed on LTIR, retroactive to the date he
suffered the injury, which is November 13th. Doing so maximizes the amount
of potential LTIR space, though the point most likely is somewhat moot as the
odds of the team bringing in a player with Markov’s identical salary are pretty
slim. Until the team actually needs to use LTIR (in other words, spend
over the daily limit), he won’t be placed on LTIR (there isn’t a need to).
As for the team’s cap situation, let’s remember that this injury does not
remove Markov’s cap hit from the salary cap, LTIR doesn’t work that way.
For those of you who read my overview of the LTIR situation a few weeks ago,
I’ll spare you the boring details and not rehash everything once more. For
those who haven’t read it, my
HW Recap
from November 14th discussed how LTIR daily accruals are done and how each team
does them regardless of injuries or not.
As of 5 PM EST today, the Habs have accrued $324,170 in LTIR space.
Currently, this amount goes up by roughly $5,820 daily as the team’s daily
spending is lower than their daily allowable limit. Before the team can
derive any savings from LTIR, this amount ($324,170) must be used up; in other
words, whoever comes in as a replacement must eat up those reserves.
For a quick example, let’s hypothesize the team was to acquire Kevin Bieska
prior to Saturday’s game – and no, I’m not implying such a deal is done.
This would put the Habs over the daily spending limit by $14,341; it would take
23 days to eat up the accrued savings before any LTIR credits can be granted.
This of course is assuming the rest of the roster stays the same.
HW’s capsheet, linked below this paragraph, will continue to monitor the LTIR
and cap situation and is updated daily. If you have any questions
regarding how this works, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
