The Rodent was Right

This marks two out of three posts that I talk about something specifically because the Hockey Rodent mentioned it. It’s probably the trend rather than the exception.

Since the NHL’s salary cap was put in place, Ro’ has been predicting that salary cap space will become a tradable commodity – he refers to it as “CapCash.” The first such trade happened today.

The San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils completed a deal that saw supposedly-retired defenseman Vladimir Malakhov and a first-round pick head to San Jose for forward Alexander Korolyuk and defenceman Jim Fahey.

The Devils were due to take a cap-hit of $2.5 million for Malakhov, money that they don’t have. With a handful of players still unsigned just days before the start of the season, the Devils needed to clear cap space.

San Jose, on the other hand, had room to spare. Malakhov will never play for them, they accepted his cap-hit because they also got the first-rounder.

Read the Rodent for the rest.