[cferneyh]

Yes, but you still have to have the cap room for next season, should you want to get this player for their remainder of their contract.

For example, should Montreal acquire Bertuzzi today, it wouldn't be a short term run at the Stanley Cup for this year. It would be an acquisition for the long term.

Well duh. The point is that if a player is approaching UFA status (like McCabe), then it's not the $3.5 million you are on the hook for this season, but the prorated amount, meaning that a lot of possibilities are opened up.

And even if you won't be under the projected cap for next season based on your current commitments, you have the entire offseason to do something about it. I'm sure that's what Colorado has in mind given how much they have committed for next season already. Given the emergence of Svatos, I'm guessing Hejduk will be traded.

I love that in the pre-season Strachan said that there would no longer be trades of consequence in the NHL because of the cap, yet this season we've seen two Hart winners get traded (Theodore and Fedorov) and a #1 overall pick get dealt (Thornton). The lesson is, as always, Strachan is an idiot.