NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman grants the Columbus Blue Jackets a major exception this season

This past offseason has unfortunately been filled with tragedy for the hockey community and the Columbus Blue Jackets. However the NHL regular season is approaching quickly and understandably some aspects of the business have fallen behind.

With that being said, the NHL has being very mindful of the situation and have announced a major exception for the Columbus Blue Jackets heading into the 2024-25 regular season.

According to a recent report from Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, the NHL has waived the October 7th deadline for the Blue Jackets to reach the salary cap floor, and will expect the organization to get there «in a reasonable time».

The Blue Jackets are currently $1.4 million below the $65 million cap floor and will need to add another salary, whether it's from the waiver wire or a trade.

Truly a great move by the National Hockey League, as the Blue Jackets were set to be over the salary cap floor, but with the devastating passing of Johnny Gaudreau, it ended up taking $9.5 million dollars off the total.

Clearly no one will ever truly replace «Johnny Hockey». However there is a few options that have emerged for the Columbus Blue Jackets to fill the salary cap floor, such as Mike Hoffman, Phil Kessel, Sammy Blais, and many more especially with all the players that will be placed on the waiver wire within the next few days.

Without a doubt this season will be a tough one for the entire NHL, but especially for the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames as the season officially starts without Gaudreau.