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This should answer the question of "did the Flyers move Morin to the taxi squad yesterday solely for cap purposes?" Yes, they did. By having Morin on the taxi squad yesterday (a non-gameday), they could bank just a little bit more cap space for future use. https://twitter.com/NHLFlyers/status/1353080723402608640
For those that don't understand this, here's a brief explainer.
Most people think of a team being "under the cap" to mean that they're not over the $81.5 mil cap ceiling. That's not quite how it works. In reality, cap spend is calculated daily during the league year. (1/x)
Most people think of a team being "under the cap" to mean that they're not over the $81.5 mil cap ceiling. That's not quite how it works. In reality, cap spend is calculated daily during the league year. (1/x)
So to simplify things, let's say a team can spend a maximum of $1 million on cap per day. One day, they spend only $950,000. That $50,000 that they didn't spend doesn't just disappear. It's "banked." That means that in theory, they could spend $1,050,000 on other day & be fine.
PHI wants to have an extra F on game days, in case a player gets hurt/sick at the last minute & can't play. But on non-game days? There's no need. So by sending Morin to the taxi squad on those days (where he doesn't count on the cap), they bank a little extra $$$ for future use.
Now, some players make less real money on days they're with the taxi squad than when they're with the NHL club. Ex. Twarynski makes a $700k salary on the NHL roster, & just $70k on days with the taxi squad. So it would stink for a player like that to be part of cap gymnastics.
Morin, however, is on a "one-way" contract, which means he makes the same money on a daily basis ($700k, in his case) whether he's in the NHL or in the AHL/taxi squad. So it's not screwing him over. It's literally just a paper move, as taxi squad guys can practice with NHL guys.
And thus ends today's cap explainer. In short -- by sending Morin to the taxi squad on non-game days, it gives PHI just a bit more available cap space to fit potential acquisitions later in the season, while essentially keeping Morin as the 13th F & not hurting him money-wise.
