Blues recall Colin Ralph purely for an LTIR cap move
TLDR: The St. Louis Blues called up defenseman Colin Ralph on Monday to get within $90K of the cap, but he's not joining the team; it's a paper move to set their LTIR number.
Don't go looking for Ralph in the lineup in Ottawa. PuckPedia flagged the transaction first, and the math told you what was going on.
The #StlBlues called up Colin Ralph. This brings them within $90K of the cap. By getting closer to the cap & calling up a player with large performance bonuses, this would be a good opportunity for them to put a player on LTIR & set their LTIR capture. t.co/ChA2kidlmb
That's the whole point. Teams can't bank cap space on long-term injured reserve. When a player goes on LTIR, the relief is figured against where the payroll sits that day, so a team that's right up against the ceiling gets more room to work with afterward. Calling up an entry-level guy whose contract carries bonuses pushes the Blues as close to the line as they can get, and it's all on paper. The beat writers made sure nobody got excited about a roster change.
This is purely a cap move for the Blues. Ralph is not joining the team and will be sent back down. With so many guys injured and counting towards the cap, it’s a good opportunity for the Blues to lock in a good capture point when using LTIR. We’ll have to see what they do next.
DeFranks's point about 'so many guys injured and counting towards the cap' is the real story. The Blues are only a few days into the season and already have enough bodies hurt that juggling the cap like this beats eating the space. Jeremy Rutherford said the same thing in fewer words and added a timeline.
This is strictly a cap move. Ralph is not coming to the Blues and will be reassigned tomorrow. #stlblues
Ralph won't make the 3-game road trip that starts Tuesday in Ottawa. The 21-year-old has no points in 4 AHL games at Springfield so far, so this was never a promotion he earned in October. He's a 6-foot-4 left-shot defenseman the Blues took in the 2nd round, 48th overall, in 2024. After one season at Michigan State he signed in April.
His contract is why he was the one picked for the paperwork. It's a 3-year entry-level deal with a $1.075MM cap hit, and this season it includes $250K in performance bonuses that he'd only earn by playing in the NHL. PuckPedia specifically pointed to those bonuses as part of why he was the right guy to call up for this.
Next up is the LTIR move itself. Rutherford has Ralph back with Springfield on Tuesday, and the call-up only pays off if the Blues put someone on LTIR while the payroll is maxed out. Keep an eye on the transaction wire over the next day. Whoever lands on LTIR shows you which injury the Blues think is going to keep someone out a long time, and the capture point shows how much room Doug Armstrong has to work with while the roster is beat up.
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