It’s a strange time to be a GM. Some teams are announcing the buyouts of some big names — Lecavalier — and other teams mulling over buying out big names — the Rangers and Brad Richards.

And the salary cap is going down for the first time in history, by $6 million (U.S.). Between the draft and free agency on July 5, there are a lot of moving parts in a short period of time.

That appears to be causing some sort of stasis.

“It’s different than we’ve ever seen before,” said Nonis. “There are more names thrown out than I’ve seen before. More big, significant names with fewer teams willing to take them, which is not normally the case.

“It’s not because they players are not quality players or quality people. The cap jumping down has a significant impact for what people can do. It may make free agency more difficult. If some teams absorb salary and close the door on what they can do in free agency, then July 5 will be a different-looking day, too.”

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