TORONTO – “Sometimes the stars align for you.” That is how general manager Julien BriseBois explained how his Hart Trophy–winning game-breaker Nikita Kucherov was too sore from hip surgery to play for the salary-cap-strapped Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2020-21 regular season. Yet Kucherov was healthy enough to skate nearly 20 minutes, score two goals and add an assist in Game 1 of the playoffs. Milking but not breaking long-term injury guidelines of the collective bargaining agreement, BriseBois, Kucherov and the Bolts barged through four rounds and hoisted a second chalice carrying a collective “cap hit” of $98.84 million. We put “cap hit” in quotes because, come postseason, the NHL’s salary cap is irrelevant. Thems the rules. And so, when Kucherov is in one (a bender) and on one (a boat) last summer, and he’s photographed with a T-shirt emblazoned with an image of himself hugging a Bud Light alongside the phrase “$18M OVER THE CAP,” some got indignant and some got an id...