Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly was asked about teams using the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) to help solve their cap problems.
"I see how all 32 of our clubs operate, and I can tell you Tampa would not be the one I'd put at the top of the list."
Daly is referring to the Vegas Golden Knights who used LTIR to make room to acquire Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres and again to allow him to join the team on the ice once he recovered from his neck surgery.
The club rotated players on and off the LTIR such as Rielly Smith, Alec Martinez, Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Nolan Patrick and Brayden McNabb to make sure they were cap complain.
Unless the NHLPA agrees to changes to the LTIR protocols, there is not much the NHL can do aside from monitoring each team's usage.
But for some reason, he said Tampa Bay was the last team to worry about..
