When Ekman Larsson was traded to Vancouver in July of 2021, the Coyotes retained 12% of his cap hit. This is a common practice in NHL trades, as teams often retain salary on undeforming players.
Now the Coyotes have lost a valuable retention slot which takes away their ability to retain salary in a possible trade. Often the Coyotes retain alary in order to get a valuable draft pick. Without this ability, their rebuild could be stalled.