I think the weaponizing space comes more with the playoff salary cap now. For instance, if the Flames made the following hypothetical trade with the Habs
Kadri for
2026 1st
Zharovsky
Josh Anderson
(Value of the Kadri trade is irrelevant for this example)
You could then hypothetically trade a 50% Josh Anderson to a playoff team looking for size and grit for probably a pretty good return. A 2.75 million dollar Josh Anderson would be appealing for a contender looking for size and grit on the 3rd/4th lines.
Calgary hasn’t shown a huge willingness to weaponize cap space previously, although we don’t know what opportunities there have been.