Some thoughts:
The cap recapture penalty only applies if the player retires before the contract ends. If Chicago traded Hossa to another team and he did not file retirement papers, the acquiring team would get his cap hit and pay him $1 million a year. (Call it an Arizona Special.)
If the Blackhawks knew Hossa was not playing again, they could have asked him to waive his NMC. I very much doubt Vegas would have taken him in the circumstances, and that would have allowed the Hawks to put another forward on their protected list.
If Hossa did waive his NMC and Vegas claimed him, his cap hit would become the Golden Knights' problem. The Hawks would not be stuck with the limitations of LTIR – having to be under the cap including Hossa's salary on the first day of the season, and only then being eligible to add a replacement player.
It's the lost protection slot that really gets me. If this is a scam cooked up by Hossa, the Blackhawks, and some shady doctors, why didn't they get him to waive his NMC? People keep talking about how convenient the timing of this is for the team; well, it would have been even more convenient if they hadn't been forced to waste a protected slot on a player who may never suit up again.
I'm beginning to think this may actually be on the level.
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