NHL salary cap going up again next season

MANALAPAN, FLA. NHL general managers should have the ability to reach deeper into their pockets next season.

The league says the projected salary cap for 2018-19 will be somewhere between US$78 million and $82 million, up from the current $75 million.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman wrapped up two days of board of governors meetings in Florida by saying revenues for this season are projected to be somewhere in the neighbourhood of $4.85 billion in native currency — combined U.S. and Canadian dollars — while hockey-related revenue will be around US$4.54 billion.

“HRR will actually be up about 8.2 per cent, so we’re having extraordinarily healthy growth in revenues,” said Bettman. “Using these numbers with no inflator versus these numbers with a five per cent inflator, which is the range, the cap would be between $78 million and $82 million.

“That’s something we’re going to have to discuss with the players’ association.”

The players and the league have to agree on the cap inflator, which would stand at $78 million under the projections at zero per cent, and $82 million at five per cent.

“My preference is to keep the cap as low as possible because then the escrow is low,” said Bettman. “We’re projecting from our standpoint that the final escrow when it’s settled out and we disperse it will be a single-digit escrow from player salaries for last season.”

A percentage of player salaries is withheld in escrow to ensure a 50/50 split of hockey revenue with owners, per terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

The increase in cap space was welcome, but not unexpected, news for the board.

“The salary cap is going to go up every year,” said Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson. “We’re a team that is a salary cap team.

“It wasn’t a surprise.”