How would expanded rosters work in NHL?

There aren't many certainties when it comes to what a possible resumption of the NHL season would look like, but one certainty is that there will have to be expanded rosters.

The official cancellation of the remainder of the AHL season on Monday only makes that more clear. With no Calder Cup playoffs taking place, those players would now be free to join their NHL teams as Black Aces.

Jim Rutherford spoke with Dave Molinari last week about how many players an expanded roster might require.

“We’d probably have to carry a total of 30 guys, with the roster we have here (and) with whatever extras we’d add,” Rutherford said. “If you go on a long run, we’ve all seen that you need extra guys.”

There are still a few questions when it comes to expanded rosters

• Does this make a hub city plan more difficult?

The NHL has been discussing the idea of having hub cities, with multiple teams finishing the season in the same city. A hub city would need to be an NHL city with an adequate number of ice surfaces in the area for multiple teams' practices, and ideally an ample number of locker rooms at the facility so multiple teams wouldn't be moving in and out of the same locker room without enough time for sanitization.

If teams carry expanded rosters, those extra players would be practicing like everyone else, and there isn't enough room for them all in the main locker rooms. Usually with training camps or with Black Aces in the postseason, extra players on the Penguins roster will use one of the two additional locker rooms at the Lemieux Complex for practices. If extra players are using that additional locker room space, it would make it harder for other teams to use those same facilities within a short span.

• If regular-season games are played, will there just be no salary cap?

There are no roster limits or salary constraints in the postseason. From the trade deadline until the end of the regular season, the 23-man roster limit goes away, but teams are limited to four non-emergency recalls, and teams still need to be cap-compliant.

Presumably, the recall limit would go away in this situation. But you also can't fit that many extra players onto a roster and still stay cap compliant. So does the cap just go away for any regular season games? If teams were using long-term injured reserve for salary cap relief (like the Penguins were doing with Jake Guentzel) can those players come off of LTIR even if there wouldn't have been enough salary cap space to do so in a normal finish to the regular season?

• What about testing?

Any scenario for restarting the season would most likely require regular testing of players and staff for coronavirus. How many more tests would expanded rosters require?

• Would prospects who went to their home countries be brought back?

While a good number of NHL players stuck around in their NHL cities during the shutdown, most, if not all AHL players went home. If an organization's top AHL players have gone home to Europe, would they be flown back just to be on an expanded roster?

• Who would the Penguins have on their expanded roster?

The Penguins already have 17 forwards on the roster. Guentzel, Nick Bjugstad, Dominik Simon, Zach Aston-Reese and Anthony Angello were all injured at the time of the shutdown and are expected to be healthy if the season resumes. Adam Johnson or Thomas Di Pauli could also be brought in at forward if they want to stick to AHL players, but (unless the rules change this season) nothing would be stopping them from adding Samuel Poulin or Nathan Legare either because they have already been signed to contracts.

The Penguins had two extra defensemen -- Chad Ruhwedel and Juuso Riikola -- on the roster this season. Veterans Zach Trotman and David Warsofsky could be added, or rookie Pierre-Olivier Joseph if they want him to be around to experience a run.

Casey DeSmith would be the next goaltender up, but would they carry more than three? If they want a fourth goaltender, either Emil Larmi or Alex D'Orio would do. Both have championship experience -- Larmi in the Finnish league, and D'Orio in the QMJHL. D'Orio played 31 games this season in the ECHL. Larmi only played a total of 20 games, 11 in the ECHL and nine in the AHL. I'd give D'Orio the edge if they need a fourth goaltender if only because they wouldn't have to fly him across the Atlantic Ocean to get here.