Gary Bettman Addresses NHL Salary Cap Speculation

With the NHL's salary cap continuing to be a hot-button topic, the league's commissioner, Gary Bettman, addressed the growing speculation.

Sep 9, 2024; Media, Pennsylvania, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and former general manager Brian Burke leave St. Mary Magdalen Parish following the funeral service for Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau. The brothers died after being hit by a drunk driver while riding bicycles on Aug. 29.Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Adam Cairns/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The NHL's salary cap continues to be one of the most important aspects of the league moving forward. Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the salary cap can rise annually up to 5%. That would leave next season's cap at around $92 to $92.5 million.

But the NHL and its Players' Association are just a few months away from negotiations commencing for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The current one expires in September of 2026, but both sides are keen on finalizing a new agreement before the end of the 2025-2026 season. That gives the league roughly a year and a half to get something done. That feels like endless time, but it will be here before both sides know it.

As the NHL's Board of Governors recently met, the salary cap was again at the center of conversation. Several insiders and reporters shared that there was chatter of the cap rising more than the 5% the CBA outlines. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman gave his side of the recent meetings in a conversation with NHL.com, where he confirmed that the possibility is still there, but it's still up in the air.

"As we look at revenues, we’re going to have discussions with the Players’ Association about escrow levels and whether or not the cap can or should be tweaked a little more on an ongoing basis," he told NHL.com. "But that’s something that we have to really work out with the Players’ Association and we’re having those discussions."

The good thing for any possible increases to the salary cap is that they are not solely dependent on the upcoming CBA negotiations. If both the owners and NHLPA want to engage in a conversation about adjusting the salary cap and its structure, Bettman said that can certainly happen.

“I wouldn’t necessarily view the CBA as the only point in time that you can make adjustments,” he said. “We might decide to make an adjustment and then deal with the CBA. We may decide to make it all part of the package. It’s a little more free flowing."

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