Gary Bettman's latest announcement spells trouble for the Maple Leafs
Photo credit: Sporting News
Gary Bettman has been the NHL commissioner for over 30 years and he is always making big decisions regarding the salary cap; decisions that can impact teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Earlier this week, we brought you a report from Elliotte Friedman who proclaimed that the NHL salary cap would go up to $92.5 million.
However, Friedman suggested that it could go up even more as NHL revenues are steadily growing.
"Well fortunately for the NHL revenue has been strong, and outpaced that guardrail. So now we have two paths to follow: One, either they keep the cap at $92.5 and then there's a huge jump the year after that in 2026-27, or there's the possibility [and players have been told] that the cap goes higher next year in the $95-97M area."
This would be good news for the Maple Leafs who have to sign players like Mitch Marner, Matthew Knies, and John Tavares next summer.
Unfortunately, it seems as though some cold water has been poured on the Maple Leafs' hopes.
We say this because Bettman addressed the report from Friedman and called it out as being manufactured.
Gary Bettman speaks on the salary cap
"I don't know where that came from," Bettman said. "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."
Simply put, the NHL has not officially made any decisions on the salary cap and it might be a while before they do so.
While this might not be what the Leafs were hoping to hear, it at least showcases that it is something the NHL is thinking about.
Besides, the salary cap will at least get up to $92.5 million which helps out the league significantly. It means the Leafs can be prepared to pay Marner over $12 million per season.
Having said that, this offseason will be a difficult one for Brad Treliving, regardless of what the salary cap looks like.
Only time will tell whether or not Bettman and the league have a change of heart.
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NOVEMBRE 20 | 279 ANSWERS Gary Bettman's latest announcement spells trouble for the Maple Leafs Should the Maple Leafs be worried about the salary cap? | ||
| YES | 144 | 51.6 % |
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