Avalanche general manager Francois Giguere said Monday he plans to apply to the NHL for long-term injury (LTI) status for veteran defenseman Patrice Brisebois, who is scheduled to undergo back surgery today and is likely to miss the rest of the season.
Approval would be a formality, but the timing of the request would be tied to the Avalanche attempting to open as much room as possible under the league’s $44 million salary cap. Colorado, which faces the Western Conference-leading Nashville Predators tonight at the Pepsi Center, is at about $43 million for cap purposes under the formulas set forth in the collective bargaining agreement. Numbers routinely fluctuate depending on roster moves.
“There’s a strategy to this,” Giguere said.
Brisebois’ cap number is $2.25 million this season because that’s the average of his expiring two-year deal, and the closer the Avalanche is to the maximum when the LTI status is granted, the bigger the cap relief would be.
For example, if the Avalanche is $500,000 under the salary cap when Brisebois goes on LTI status, the Avalanche would gain $1.75 million of available payroll – $2.25 million minus $500,000 – to replace him. LTI status is available for players who will miss at least 10 games.
“It’s going to give us the flexibility for the period of time that he’s out,” Giguere said.
Giguere said because of the unpredictability of back injury and surgery recovery, there still is a slight chance Brisebois could recover enough to play this season. If the Avalanche attempts to activate him, his cap number then would count against the Avalanche total again. That all seems unlikely, and the Avalanche trying to get him back in the lineup almost certainly would hinge on whether Colorado has lost other defensemen and whether it has stood pat through the trading deadline, or at least hasn’t significantly added to the payroll by then. Brisebois recovering that quickly seems unlikely.
Giguere said the Avalanche waited to apply for LTI status for veteran forward Steve Konowalchuk, who retired in training camp because of a heart problem detected in his physical exam. The GM said when Konowalchuk went on LTI, Colorado was within $15,000 of the cap, so the Avalanche gained nearly all of Konowalchuk’s $1.9 million salary against the cap – although he is continuing to be paid.
The NHL trading deadline is Feb. 27, but Giguere – as long has been the team policy – declined to discuss possible moves, including whether the Avalanche is interested in trying to acquire Peter Forsberg from Philadelphia. Forsberg’s cap number is $5.75 million this season, so even if Brisebois goes on LTI status, the Avalanche would have to clear additional room to be able to add Forsberg to the roster. But given Forsberg’s and the Flyers’ adamant stands that his foot and skate issues need to be resolved before he thinks about his future, and Forsberg’s denial of a report that he had spoken directly with the Avalanche, all of that also seems moot for the moment.
Forsberg met with Philadelphia GM Paul Holmgren on Monday, but Holmgren told Philadelphia-area reporters the issue of whether Forsberg wanted to be or would be traded didn’t come up. He added that they had agreed “there is no sense talking about anything down the road until we can get to the point where he feels comfortable in his skate.”
Terry Frei can be reached at 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
