NHL salary cap projected to rise at least $3M in 2018-19

[SaveByRichter35]

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According to projections the NHL shared at the Board of Governors meeting on Friday, the salary cap is expected to increase by at least $3 million for the 2018-19 season.

“The league has never been healthier,” said Commissioner Gary Bettman. “The game has never been healthier. Our franchise’s have never been healthier.”

Currently at $75 million, if the Players’ Association chooses to use an inflator the ceiling could rise as high as $82 million. The jump to $78 million would mark the biggest rise since a $4.7 million increase for the 2014-15 season.

That would be music to the ears of a handful of NHL teams who are near the current ceiling, allowing them some extra room to maneuver for their off-season spending. It would also help teams like the Chicago Blackhawks ($66M), Los Angeles Kings ($66M), and Nashville Predators ($65M), who are already committed to at least $65 million in salary for next season, per CapFriendly. Then you have the Vegas Golden Knights, who are sitting pretty at $34 million tied up for 2018-19. You wonder how general manager George McPhee will go about using his spending space to build off their inaugural season.

The ability for the ceiling to rise by a minimum of $3 million is due to another increase in league revenues, which Bettman said is projected to hit around $4.85 billion this season, while hockey-related revenues are expected to reach $4.54 billion, an increase of 8.2 percent.

We’ve come a long way from a $39 million ceiling all the way back in 2005-06.

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2017/12/08/nhl-salary-cap-projected-to-rise-at-least-3m-in-2018-19/?sf175740970=1

By  Sean Leahy

[Moose75]

“The league has never been healthier"

Once you get passed the endless list of players with injuries and "upper body injuries" (AKA concussions), and the Panthers/'Canes/'Yotes struggling mightily, the Flames potentially without an arena/Ottawa needing a new one, the mysterious coincidence of why all the Canadian teams (sans Toronto, the big cheese of Canada) have awful GMs and scouting staffs, and once again, the lack of consistency in concussion protocols. 

I forgot in Bettman-speak "healthier" means more money in the owners' pockets, not quality of the game and for its players.

[coopaloop1234]

26 minutes ago, Moose75 said:

“The league has never been healthier"

I forgot in Bettman-speak "healthier" means more money in the owners' pockets, not quality of the game and for its players.

That's exactly what the salary cap increasing is in relation to though...