Bettman provides update on NHL's salary cap situation for 2023-24 season

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Cooper Godin
June 4, 2023 (9:52)

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During his annual state of the union address ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman gave updates on various topics around the league, including next year's salary cap.

According to TSN's Chris Johnston, Bettman said that the cap will only rise by $1 million next season to $83.5 million because the players' escrow debt won't be paid off until the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

Bettman added in his address that the salary cap will go up significantly for the 2024-25 season, but didn't elaborate further on what that dollar amount may look like.

"Gary Bettman says the players' escrow debt won't be paid off by the end of the season. That likely means a $1M salary cap increase next season, with a much larger bump expected for 2024-25." Johnston said in a tweet.

The news was not what outspoken NHL agent Allan Walsh was wanting to hear and he took to Twitter to voice his displeasure.

"There was a $1.1 Billion Escrow Debt from the pandemic owing from NHL players to Owners. By end of this season, the balance will be down to $70 million. In other words, 93% of the Escrow Debt will be paid off.

So Gary will hold several of his teams and all the players hostage by only allowing a $1M bump to the Upper Limit instead of a modest $3M rise justified by next seasons projections. Maybe the players should just decertify the Union and get rid of Gary's triple hard cap system.

Do you know who else Gary is holding hostage here? THE FANS!!!

Gary's own projections for next season would allow for a $3M rise in the cap and a pay down of the entire remaining balance of the $70 Million Escrow Debt." Walsh said in a series of tweets.

Do you know who else Gary is holding hostage here? THE FANS!!!

Gary's own projections for next season would allow for a $3M rise in the cap and a pay down of the entire remaining balance of the $70 Million Escrow Debt.� Allan Walsh🏒 (@walsha) June 3, 2023

It's certainly a frustrating situation for everyone involved here. Front offices around the league aren't happy because they aren't able to spend more this off-season in free agency and cap-tight teams aren't going to feel much relief. For the players, especially those hoping for a big payday this summer, they may need to hold out and wait for 2024 before getting the money they want and we could see plenty of one-year deals signed next month.