The Calgary Flames were snug up against the National Hockey League’s salary cap for much of this season. Because of some wrangling with the long-term injured reserve, the Flames bought themselves a bit of breathing room. Ultimately, though, they barely utilized the space they gave themselves with all of their wranglings.
The cap for 2016-17 was set at $73 million. Because the Flames opted to place injured defenseman Ladislav Smid on the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) early in the season, the team was able to spend over the salary cap by the full value of Smid’s contract minus the cap space they had at the time he went on LTIR.