Season Opening Injured Reserve

Season-Opening Injured Reserve applies to players who are injured before the regular season begins and therefore cannot be included on the opening roster.

For most injured players, their full cap hit continues to count while on IR. However, players who are on a two-way contract, were on an NHL roster for fewer than 50 games the previous season, and are injured before the season starts have their cap hit pro-rated. The pro-rated amount equals the percentage of NHL days on the roster last season multiplied by their current-year cap hit.

Note: If such a player was injured outside the NHL (e.g., in the AHL playoffs) and remains injured when the next season begins, they carry no cap hit while on SOIR.