Elliotte Friedman Makes Surprise Statement About The NHL's Salary Cap Situation For 2025-26
The NHL's salary cap is expected to rise once more next season, but according to Elliotte Friedman, it may be going higher than originally anticipated.
Over the past few years, the NHL has been doing some incredible business, and with the arrival of the Vegas Golden Knights, Seattle Kraken and Utah Hockey Club among other things, business is booming for the league.
After a significant raise in the salary cap this past season, predictions for the upcoming year have revealed a potential $4.5 million increase, with Commissioner Gary Bettman expecting a $92.5 million salary cap.
However, that may not be the case after all, as top NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman has suggested it could go even higher, with conversations reportedly set to happen about increasing the cap for teams and the players.
According to Friedman, there's two possibilities for the salary cap growth with the NHL and NHLPA set to negotiate a new CBA next season.
One of those situations would see the cap remain at the $92.5 million mark next season and take a huge jump the year after, and the other possibility is that it rises to somewhere between $95 and $97 million for the 2024/25 campaign.
Friedman confirms that nothing has been confirmed at this point, but that the two sides will likely come together to discuss the possibility at some point, which would be a major victory for the players.
The people this won't be a victory for are those that are locked in to long-term deals already, but with business in the NHL continuing to improve, there's no doubting that the cap should continue to rise moving forward.
For now though, we wait patiently as the league and the NHLPA look to come to terms on a new CBA, and with other new potential rules suggested such as a five-year cap on contracts rather than 8, we could be seeing some huge changes coming in the near future.
