After making a steady recovery from the 2019-20 shortened season which saw the NHL miss out on nearly $3.6 Billion in revenue, the Salary Cap is finally set for a major increase.
It's no secret that the NHL has been rolling in the revenue since both ESPN & TNT acquired their rights until 2028 at a combined $650 Million annually.
Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada has recently hinted that the Salary Cap is about to see its biggest increase ever. This will be staggered over the next three seasons.
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During the 32 Thoughts podcast, both Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek discussed the leagues plans to increase the Salary Cap over the upcoming seasons, and how it allows teams the flexibility to sign players like Brandon Hagel to long-term contracts for great sums of money.
Friedman: Two years ago, if you had said Brandon Hagel would sign a $52 Million contract. who would believe it? It was interesting the reaction of that deal. I had a couple guys tell me that its a sign of where we're going here. There's no way that Tampa would have been able to do that kind of thing. Like everybody else, Tampa believes the cap is going to go up and they are going to have some flexibility.
They're expecting the cap to go up 4 million next year and 5 million the year after.
According to Capfriendly.com, the upcoming Salary Cap increases are currently estimated at 4.79% by 2024-25, and another 5.14% by 2025-26. This will bring the Cap ceiling from the current $82,500,000 up to $92,000,000. While raising the cap floor from its current $61,000,000 up to $68,000,000.
Teams have already been acknowledging the potential cap increase. And just recently, Auston Matthews signed a monster $13.2 Million / year contract through the 2027-28 season.
Will Connor McDavid become the highest paid player ever?
Yes
No
