Gary Bettman Strongly Shuts Down Elliotte Friedman's Latest Report on the NHL Salary Cap

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TJ Tucker
November 20, 2024 (4:03 PM)

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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has completely rebuked a report from Elliotte Friedman regarding next year's salary cap and a potential larger increase than expected

The NHL's commissioner and a Sportnet insider are completely at odds over a report on the NHL's salary cap.

Over the weekend, Elliotte Friedman issued a report stating the NHL's salary cap could take a bigger jump than expected next year, and that NHL officials were considering an increase of up to $97 million from the planned increase to $92.5 million.

"So, basically, we have two paths to follow here. Number one is they keep the cap at $92.5 million, and then there's a huge jump in 2026-27. Or, what the players say they've kind of been told about, is the possibility that the cap moves higher next year. Probably around the $95M to $97M area."

Enter NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who totally shot down Elliotte Friedman's report. Bettman said the NHL hasn't discussed it, and the numbers don't make sense.

"I don't know where that came from. The numbers that were being thrown around were not accurate and any change would require an agreement between us, the league and the Players Association in terms of how it's computed. We haven't had those discussions. So somebody, I think, floated something on a slow news day."

That's unfortunate for players who are looking for bigger raises, and NHL GMs who want as much money to play with as possible when signing and/or extending players.

While Gary Bettman is the top authority in the NHL, there are questions over whether he would say these discussions are taking place, even if they were. He's a guy who tends to hold his cards very close to his chest.