While there was still a bit of player movement over the past week, the headlines were dominated by significant off-ice developments. Here are the top stories from the past seven days.
Seattle Expansion: Seattle council approved a $660MM renovation proposal for KeyArena that would help pave the way for an NHL (and/or NBA franchise) down the road. It’s very clear that the NHL has been keeping tabs on the situation as days later, they announced that they green-lighted Seattle’s prospective ownership group to conduct a season-ticket drive to gauge interest in the market while also setting an expansion fee of $650MM as well as a target start date of the 2020-21 season. If they were to be added, that would re-balance the conferences at 16 teams apiece although one team would have to shift from the Pacific to the Central Division.
Russia To Compete Under Neutral Flag In Olympics: The announcement from the International Olympic Committee to ban Russian athletes from competing under the Russian flag has raised some more questions about the status of the hockey tournament in February. While Russian athletes may still be permitted to play under the Olympic flag as an “Olympic Athlete from Russia”, there is still no firm decision from the KHL as to whether they will attempt to revise their schedule to play through the Olympics while barring players from participation.
Hurricanes To Be Sold: An agreement has been struck for Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon to buy the Hurricanes from owner Peter Karmanos. The deal is pending approval by the Board of Governors. Dundon is purchasing 52% of the team now with an option to buy the remaining 48% three years from now. Also notable is that the team will not be moved for at least the next seven years so that should put an end to any relocation speculation, at least for a while.
Schwartz Out Six Weeks: The Blues were dealt a significant blow as winger Jaden Schwartz, who sits second on the team in scoring (with 35 points in 30 games) and tied for ninth league-wide, will miss at least the next six weeks with a right ankle injury. The key phrase in their announcement is that he will be re-evaluated at that time and based on how they’ve used that term for other injuries already this season, there’s a decent chance he will be out longer. This will be the second time in three seasons that Schwartz will miss significant time due to an injury; he missed 49 games with a fractured ankle back in 2015-16.
Cap Increase On The Horizon: At the recent Board of Governors meetings, Commissioner Gary Bettman projected a notable raise in the salary cap, providing a range between $78MM and $82MM. This, of course, will be affected by any notable fluctuations in the Canadian dollar as well as what the NHLPA chooses to use for their inflator percentage. Even if the raise is at the low end of that scale, it would still be the biggest jump since 2014-15 when the Upper Limit increased by $4.7MM. With some big ticket contracts either kicking in or on the horizon, many general managers are undoubtedly looking forward to the extra flexibility.
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