The NHL has set a precedent of punishing teams for cap circumvention, even by means that were not explicitly against the rules at the time such cap circumvention took place. I think the league should do the same here, and set explicit rules going forward. There is absolutely no way a team should be allowed to keep the salaries of several of its top players off the books by choosing to not play them during the regular season, and still be able to play them during the playoffs, while also spending to the cap to replace them with high-quality players during the season who continue to be with the team during the playoffs.
Since players are paid only a stipend/per diem in the playoffs and this does not count toward the cap, the solution is to require the following:
1. All players who are healthy cannot remain on LTIR once cleared to play by a league-appointed physician. Decisions regarding fitness to play may not be made by a team or player's physician to avoid any suggestions of bias (although it would obviously be appropriate for the league-appointed physician to consult with physicians familiar with that player's care).
2. The sum of the AAV of all active players plus the AAV of all penalties, buyouts, and retained salary for each team must be cap compliant on any game day in the playoffs. No amount may be carried forward from one day to another in the playoffs.
3. When placing a player on LTIR, it is the responsibility of the team to plan for the cap implications of the return of that player to the lineup. If a player is no longer eligible for LTIR but their addition to the roster would cause a team to not be cap compliant, then that player may not rejoin the roster, and the team may not remove other players from the roster except by means of trade in order to make cap space for that player. This would put teams intentionally planning to circumvent the cap by abusing LTIR at a significant disadvantage by forcing them to make trades in unfavourable circumstances.
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