The NHL’s salary cap could be in for a massive jump that may see the number rise just short of $100 million next season.
During last night’s Saturday Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the NHL and NHL Player’s Association are set to meet this month to discuss the CBA.
Among the things at the top of the agenda is the salary cap, which is expected to rise to about $92.5 million next season from its current $88 million. However, Friedman reported that those projections were made during COVID and with NHL revenue now recovering and outpacing that initial number, the cap could be in for a big increase.
“We have two paths to follow here,” Friedman explained. “Number one is they keep the cap next year at around $92.5 [million] and then there is a huge jump the year after in 2026-27 or, what the players say they’ve been told about, is the possibility that the cap moves higher next year, probably around the $95 to $97 [million] area.”
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A course of action has not yet been determined by the NHL and the Player’s Association, but the possibility of the cap making a $9 million year-to-year jump sounds absurd to the minimal increments fans have become accustomed to over the past several seasons.
The biggest jump in recent memory came this year as the cap jumped up from $83.5 million last season to $88 million this season, an increase of just $4.5 million. The upper echelon of Friedman’s projection would represent an increase of double that.
Many teams currently up against the cap would benefit from this type of development, specifically the Edmonton Oilers, who will be trying to get superstar Connor McDavid signed to a long-term extension this summer and will most likely demand a record-setting contract to do so.
Other Canadian teams up against the cap that could also benefit from a jump in the cap are the Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs, both of which currently have less than $1.5 million in space at the moment. The Canucks specifically will have to find a way to fit a Brock Boeser extension under the cap starting next season.
There is still lots of time before the NHL officially sets the cap for next season, but this is an encouraging sign early on.