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Utah Signs Noel Nordh To Entry-Level Contract

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June 17: The Utah Hockey Club is officially in business, making Nordh’s signing official as the first in franchise history (via Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN).

May 5: The loom of a summertime move hasn’t stopped the day-to-day affairs of the former Arizona Coyotes front office. Now representing Utah, they’ve signed 2023 third-round pick Noel Nordh to a three-year, entry-level contract, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). The contract carries a $865K cap hit and both signing and performance bonuses. Nordh becomes the 11th player from 2023’s third-round to sign his first NHL contract.

Nordh is coming off his first full season of pro hockey, earning a role in Sweden’s second-tier league, the HockeyAllsvenskan, after starting the season in the country’s U20 league. He was limited to just six goals and 15 points in his 50 appearances with Brynas IF, averaging 9:41 in ice time. While he certainly posted an anti-climactic stat line, Nordh improved significantly in his ability to make plays and work with teammates at high speeds this season.

He’s still a bit of an awkward skater who doesn’t inspire many flashy plays – both complaints levied against him in his draft year – but Nordh fit nicely into Brynas’ systems and showed a clear ability to use his size and long reach to shut down defenders. He seems to have all of the tools needed to develop into a reliable bottom-six forward. Utah now seems ready to test that, signing Nordh to a deal that strongly suggests he’ll be moving to North America next season.

The Coyotes iced 19 different forwards over the 2023-24 season, showing no fear in rewarding minor-league standouts with their NHL debut. That could bode well for Nordh, who will now enter a race with players like Aku Raty, Jan Jenik, and Milos Kelemen for some of the last spots on Utah’s lineup.

Five Key Stories: 6/10/24 – 6/16/24

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The playoffs will last a little longer now with Edmonton staying alive on Saturday night.  Even so, offseason activity round the league is starting to pick up, including Arizona’s relocation to Utah being made official.  Here’s a rundown of the most notable news from the week that was.

Warsofsky Gets Promoted: After a long coaching search, the Sharks decided that the best option to take over behind the bench is someone who was already there.  The team announced that they’ve promoted assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky to the top role.  Warsofsky was considered for the top job a couple of years ago but was passed over for David Quinn.  San Jose struggled as expected over the past two seasons in the midst of a full-scale rebuild and they’ll be hoping to fare better under their rookie head coach.  While this is Warsofsky’s first time running an NHL team, he has previous experience running a bench having been a head coach at both the AHL and ECHL levels.

Steen To Become A GM: Long-time NHL forward Alex Steen hasn’t been retired for long but he is about to take on a big front office job.  The Blues have announced that Steen will become their new GM starting in the 2026-27 season.  Current GM Doug Armstrong, who was under contract for the next two years, inked a three-year extension through 2028-29 as their president of hockey operations, a title he has held since 2013.  Steen was a consultant for St. Louis this season and will now have the next two years to get ready to take over the top job.  Armstrong, meanwhile, has been the GM for the Blues for the past 14 seasons with St. Louis making ten playoff appearances including their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2019.

Laine In Play: While there will be several big-name wingers available in free agency in a couple of weeks, it appears as if one notable winger is in play on the trade front as the Blue Jackets and Patrik Laine are in agreement that a change of scenery would be beneficial.  The 26-year-old was limited to just 18 games this season between injuries and spending time in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program where he has been since January.  When he’s at his best, Laine is one of the more dangerous scoring threats in the NHL but he has played in just 129 games over the past three seasons combined.  Laine has two years left on his contract with an $8.7MM AAV, a price tag that will be tricky for a lot of teams to fit in, even with the $4.5MM increase in the salary cap.

Kakko Signs Early: After a tough season, Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko was going to have a hard time making a case for a raise.  With that in mind, the two sides settled on a one-year, $2.4MM agreement, the exact amount of what his qualifying offer would have been.  The 23-year-old notched just 13 goals and six assists in 61 games in 2023-24, his point total dropping by a little more than half from the year before.  The early contract gives both sides some certainty moving forward while if there are teams interested in acquiring the 2019 second-overall selection, the fact they know what his next contract will likely help in those trade discussions.

Carolina Defensive Deals: The Hurricanes have several pending unrestricted free agents but they were able to cut down that list by one, reaching a three-year, $9MM extension with defenseman Jalen Chatfield.  The 28-year-old has become a full-time option on Carolina’s third pairing over the last couple of years and had a career-best eight goals and 14 assists in 72 games this season.  Chatfield had played on a league minimum contract the last two seasons so this is certainly a significant raise for him.  With four other rearguards set to hit the open market next month, Chatfield should be in line for a bigger role next season.

Meanwhile, while he’s not eligible to sign an extension until the calendar turns to July, it appears a tentative agreement is in place between Jaccob Slavin and the Hurricanes.  Terms of the reported deal have not been disclosed.  The 30-year-old has been one of the anchors on Carolina’s back end for the past nine years, logging over 20 minutes a night in all of those while being one of the top defensive defenders.  He has one year left on his current contract which carries a $5.3MM price tag and it’s fair to suggest he’ll be getting a considerable increase when he puts pen to paper on this deal next month.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Evening Notes: Mittelstadt, Sabres, Goodrow

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Casey Mittelstadt proved to be one of the most impactful acquisitions of the Trade Deadline, joining the Avalanche in a one-for-one swap with defenseman Bowen Byram. Mittelstadt immediately stepped into a role as Colorado’s second-line center, scoring a confident 19 points in 29 games with the Avalanche between the regular season and playoffs. He was just what the doctor ordered for an Avalanche team at risk of lacking depth, but the Avalanche will now face the dreaded hurdle of having to work out his next contract. Corey Masisak of The Denver Post is confident the team will be able to retain Mittelstadt’s services, projecting the centerman could sign a middle-ground deal close to five years and $5MM in yearly cap hit.

Masisak came to these numbers while comparing Mittelstadt to the contracts Jared McCann and Pavel Buchnevich are currently on. McCann signed the five-year, $25MM deal Masisak projects for Mittelstadt, earning it after a stout 27 goals and 50 points in 74 games with the inaugural Seattle Kraken. Buchnevich carries a pricier $5.8MM price tag, though his deal ran for just four years. As pointed out by Masisak, each of Mittelstadt, McCann, and Buchnevich scored at similar paces – each above 0.70 points per game – in the two seasons leading up to their deals.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Buffalo Sabres could be convinced to move one of their second-tier prospects to find a player that fits their system, shares Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News. Lysowski mentions Isak Rosen, Viktor Neuchev, and Nikita Novikov among six options the Sabres could choose from in trade talks. The Sabres have already mentioned they’re open to trading the 11th overall pick and are now adding to their wallet ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft.
  • New York Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow could be a candidate for a buyout when the buyout window opens, shares Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Brooks noted Goodrow’s meager scoring with New York, including his limited 12 points in 80 games this season. Goodrow has made up for that meager scoring with a strong postseason, posting a career-high eight points in 16 games in a flurry of postseason success that’s beginning to define Goodrow’s game. He’s appeared in 97 playoff games over the course of his career, and while he’s totaled just 24 points in those appearances, he’s found a way to show up in pivotal moments. That clutch factor could make him a strong candidate to join a new playoff-caliber team should the Rangers decide to part ways with him this summer.

Snapshots: Byfield, Necas, Ehlers, Helenius

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The Los Angeles Kings are set to face the consequences of their drafting this summer, with each of Quinton Byfield, Arthur Kaliyev, Jordan Spence, and Alex Turcotte set to enter restricted free agency. Of the quartet, only Byfield has emerged as a legitimate NHL option, stamping that sentiment with 20 goals and 55 points in 80 games this season. Byfield held onto a role on the team’s second-line and second power-play unit, and will now be paid accordingly per John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor, who projects a $6MM cap hit and eight years of term on Byfield’s next deal.

Hoven explained that Byfield’s lack of multi-season success likely holds him from too hefty of a price tag and makes the interim cost of a bridge deal hard to gauge. The Kings are also face at least one major free agent in every year between 2026 and 2030 – and likely wouldn’t be too keen on circling back to Byfield’s negotiations on top of it. Through Hoven’s projections, Byfield would earn an admirable salary – thanks to a strong season and his 2020 second-overall selection – and gains the confidence of a long-term deal without signing into his 30s. The deal also works for the team, who have $20.2MM in projected cap space to sign 10 pending free agents this summer. Byfield earning $6MM would leave plenty of room for the Kings to re-sign strong lineup pieces like Matt Roy, Viktor Arvidsson, and Cam Talbot.

Los Angeles had to wait for Byfield’s breakout but seems to have finally situated him in a role he’s comfortable with. They’ll hope he can build on his commendable scoring on a new deal next season, though with negotiations could become complicated with no recent comparable contract for Byfield’s delayed breakout.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Carolina Hurricanes will be looking for like-value players in their search for a Martin Necas trade, shares Chris Johnston on the Chris Johnston Show. Johnston went on to mention Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers as a situation where a swap could make sense. Ehlers is in a similar situation to Necas – tentatively on the trade block after a successful season and capable of holding down a confident top-six role. Necas is a pending restricted free agent this summer, due for his first major pay raise following the end of a two-year, $6MM bridge contract. Ehlers’ already makes $6MM each season, though he’s set to enter unrestricted free agency next summer. Both players are due for lofty salaries on their next deals after each showing the potential to reach 60 or more points in one season. Johnston was hesitant to speak too confidently about a swap happening, though it could certainly make sense for a Hurricanes team in the midst of their Stanley Cup window and a Jets team still a few years away.
  • Star 2024 NHL Draft prospect Konsta Helenius expressed a desire to move to the NHL as quickly as possible in an interview with Adam Kimelman of NHL.com. Helenius told Kimelman, “I played against NHL guys. Of course it gives me confidence because I think I did a great job against them – I think I’m very closet to the NHL.” Kimelman went on to explain that Helenius is not just pushing himself to be an NHL player, but to be one of the best Finns to ever appear in the league. That kind of enthusiasm should boost the excitement around him ahead of the draft, though he’s already a top 10 pick on many public scouting boards. Regardless of where he goes, though, it seems Helenius is much more focused on seizing the opportunity of his first NHL training camp.

Morning Notes: Senators, Sweden U20, AHL Prospects

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The Ottawa Senators are making sure they won’t be outdone on the trade market, now making the seventh-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft available for the right price, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. During an event held for season ticket holders to hear about the team’s off-season plans, Senators’ senior vice president Dave Poulin shared, “We had interest in the (No. 7) pick. Teams will call you and say, ‘Are you interested in moving the pick?’ and you don’t know what that’s going to look like because you don’t know what’s going to be available there. You have to stay very flexible.”

Including the seventh-overall pick in trade talks will bring the Senators more in line with the New Jersey Devils, who began shopping around the 10th-overall pick during the NHL Combine. The two teams headline a long list of teams interested in bringing in new goaltending talent this summer, and should be among the top options for trade bait like Linus Ullmark, Juuse Saros, and John Gibson. Dave Poulin made sure to emphasize Ottawa’s pursuit of a goaltender when speaking with Garrioch, adding that the team wasn’t happy with their goaltending tandem “numerically, statistically, or from an analytics standpoint.” The Senators’ tandem of Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg combined for a .890 save percentage this season – though their consistency in the lineup allowed Ottawa to rely on just three goalies this season, the fewest they’ve needed to get through a year since the 2019-20 season. But despite good health, the Senators goalies didn’t stand up to the task this year, and the team is once again doomed to spending the summer finding the right option in net.

But despite the interest elsewhere, it doesn’t seem Ottawa is ready to part with Korpisalo just yet. When asked, Poulin offered relief to Korpisalo’s down year, speaking to the difficulty in adjusting to a new team and the lack of defensive stops in front of him, relative to what he had with the Los Angeles Kings. Korpisalo just concluded the first season of a five-year, $20MM contract signed with the Senators last summer. He’ll be the team’s de facto backup should they bring in a new starter, and likely their go-to starter should things stay the same. The off-season event for season ticket holders where this information was conveyed is slated to be a yearly event for the Senators.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Team Sweden has announced the coaching staff that will oversee their U19 and U20 international teams next season. The group is manned by Magnus Hävelid, who has coached Sweden’s international juniors teams since 2017. He’ll be flanked by Gereon Dahlgren, and former NHL defenders Robin Jonsson and Nicklas Grossmann. Both Dahlgren and Jonsson are returning to their posts, while this news marks Grossman’s first time coaching an international squad. The quartet will lead Sweden’s lineups at the World Junior Summer Showcase and World Junior Championship, as well as in team friendlies.
  • The AHL has announced their All-Prospect team, as voted on by the league’s hockey operations department and general managers. The team includes AHL Rookie of the Year Logan Stankoven (DAL), as well as Shane Wright (SEA), Jiri Kulich (BUF), Simon Edvinsson (DET), Brandt Clarke (LAK), and Yaroslav Askarov (NSH). Each player appeared in NHL games this season, though Stankoven has become the first to carve out a daily role – recording 22 points across his first 43 NHL games, combined between the regular season and playoffs. His All-Prospect team peers will look to catch up to him with daily lineup spots next season.

Five Key Stories: 6/3/24 – 6/9/24

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The Stanley Cup Final is now underway and although there typically isn’t a lot of activity around the NHL during the final series, there was still some notable news and notes from the past week which is recapped in our key stories.

Salary Cap Set: With the players’ share of the overage they received during the pandemic-shortened season now repaid, the salary cap is getting a nice boost heading into next season.  The league has set the Upper Limit of the cap at $88MM, an increase of $4.5MM from 2023-24’s number.  The cap had been going up by just $1MM per year while the escrow portion was paid off.  Meanwhile, the increase at the top end means that the minimum cap expenditure is also going up, from $61.7MM this season to $65MM in 2024-25.  Many teams have been cap-strapped in recent years and while this increase won’t solve all of that, it will provide at least a bit of flexibility moving forward.

Kekalainen Linked To Hurricanes: With Don Waddell leaving Carolina for Columbus, the Hurricanes now have a GM vacancy to fill.  It appears one of the contenders for the role is former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen.  While Columbus didn’t fare well over the last few years of his tenure, Kekalainen would add some experience to an organization that’s planning to go with a by-committee approach when it comes to decision-making, a process that will also involve owner Tom Dundon.  In the meantime, one of the decisions the Hurricanes have to make is what to do with pending UFA winger Jake Guentzel who appears intent on testing free agency.  For the time being, it appears Carolina has made his negotiating rights available for a draft pick.

Pavelski Expected To Retire: While he stressed that this was not an official retirement announcement, Stars forward Joe Pavelski said that he believes that he has played his final NHL season.  The 39-year-old spent the first 13 years of his career in San Jose before moving to Dallas in 2019-20 after not being able to secure a multi-year agreement with the Sharks.  The change of scenery worked out quite well for both sides as Pavelski had his two best seasons with Dallas and even managed 67 points this season.  If this is indeed it for him, Pavelski finishes up with 476 goals and 592 assists in 1,332 regular season games while chipping in with 143 points in 201 playoff contests.  He reached the top-25 in all-time playoff appearances last round against Edmonton.

Lottery Picks Available: Teams looking to move up in the draft order could have some options in the coming weeks as reports suggest that the Devils and Sabres are open to moving their first-round selections, slotted at 10th and 11th respectively.  Both teams are looking to rebound from disappointing seasons and aren’t believed to be looking for a pick swap but rather are dangling the selection to make an impact addition that can help them win now.  We’ll find out over the coming weeks if they get an offer to their liking to part with a lottery selection.

Ehlers Not Interested In Extension: Nikolaj Ehlers has been a key part of Winnipeg’s forward group for the past nine years but it appears he would like his time with them to end sooner than later.  He is believed to have indicated that he is not interested in signing an extension with the Jets and would welcome a trade.  Ehlers has one year left on his contract at $6MM and will be UFA-eligible in 2025.  Coming off a 25-goal, 61-point campaign, he’s likely in line for a raise on that price tag and if Winnipeg is open to allowing extension talks to occur prior to a trade, they could get a better return for Ehlers over dealing him strictly as a rental player.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Evening Notes: Saros, CapFriendly, Dillon

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Star Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros has been deeply entrenched in trade rumors for much of the season, largely thanks to the emergence of top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov in the minor leagues. But the two sides might not be set for the departure many are expecting, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman sharing that, “the player wants to stay and the team wants him to say,” in the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. Friedman added that a source close to the team has expressed optimism in Nashville’s chances of extending Saros.

Saros has one year remaining on the four-year, $20MM contract he earned following a breakout 2020-21 season. Manning the net in the last year of Pekka Rinne’s career, Saros posted 21 wins and a .927 save percentage through just 36 appearances. Saros has fully taken the reigns from Rinne on his new deal, recording at least 64 games in each of the three seasons he’s played on the deal so far. He’s posted a combined 106 wins and .915 save percentage in 195 games since 2021. Saros has remained an unquestioned starter in Nashville, even as he posted a career-worst .906 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against-average in 64 games this season.

But despite the strong stats, Nashville has shared they’re not in a rush to re-sign the former Vezina Trophy finalist. Instead, they’ll monitor how the goalie market develops under a growing cap, specifically watching for how extension talks between the New York Rangers and Igor Shesterkin play out. That patient approach should give time for trade candidates like Jacob Markstrom, John Gibson, and Linus Ullmark to be moved as well, giving the Predators a sense of what a return for Saros may look like.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Washington Capitals have moved to purchase the website CapFriendly, per Friedman. CapFriendly has become a central repository for information on NHL player and staff contracts, fantasy hockey tools, and lineup information among many other uses. The move will give Washington full access to CapFriendly’s extensive toolkit, though it will also force the site to publicly shut down on July 5th – keeping it active through the NHL Draft and beginning of free agency. Friedman shared that other NHL teams who had access to CapFriendly’s data were recently told their contracts would be termminated, suggesting a buyout was imminent.
  • Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon is expected to test free agency, shares Friedman in 32 Thoughts. Dillon concluded his third year with the Jets this season, joining the team via trade in 2021 – with Winnipeg sending the Washington Capitals the draft picks used to select Seamus Casey and Carson Rehkopf, though neither player was drafted by Washington. Dillon, 33, will be looking for a new home after recording 63 points across 238 games with the Jets.

Latest On Jacob Markstrom

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The Calgary Flames are trying to move former Vezina Trophy runner-up Jacob Markstrom as discretely as possible, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. Friedman adds that the team was aware of the theatrics brought on by Markstrom’s trade rumors earlier this season. Markstrom publicly expressed his frustration with the team over his pre-Deadline speculation, amidst rumors of a pending move to the New Jersey Devils being reversed after Calgary went 9-3-0 throughout February. Markstrom posted a .928 save percentage while appearing in 10 games during the hot streak. He’d go on to post a measly .869 save percentage in 10 games following the strong stretch, floundering on a Flames lineup that went on to miss the postseason by 17 points.

The second half of season felt like an encapsulation of Markstrom’s play over the last few years – with dramatically up-and-down stretches culminating in a modest stat line. He posted 23 wins and a .905 save percentage in 48 games this year – finding the same number of wins and a stronger save percentage than he did last season, despite playing in 11 fewer games.

Markstrom has been a no-doubt starter for much of the last eight seasons, after joining the Vancouver Canucks in 2014 in the trade that sent Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers. Markstrom would make his first stand as a full-fledged starter in the 2017-18 season, posting 23 wins and a .912 save percentage in 60 appearances with Vancouver. He’s played in 40 or more games in every season since, totaling a .910 save percentage in 376 games. And while last season’s sub-.900 save percentage – and a tally this year that came close –  have caused some to pause, it’s hard to think Markstrom isn’t bound for the lion’s share of games with whoever he may suit up for next season.

That could be the New Jersey Devils, who have Markstrom as one of their top trade targets this summer, but Friedman notes they’re not the only teams involved. Friedman specifically named the Toronto Maple Leafs as a strong candidate for trade, largely thanks to Toronto now being manned by Brad Treliving, the general manager who signed Markstrom to the six-year, $36MM contract he’s currently on with the Flames. The price of a Markstrom trade could quickly test Toronto’s budget – especially as they approach a summer with just $18.83MM in cap space and 12 pending free agents. The Leafs are also woefully juxtaposed by a Devils team willing to move the 10th-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft for lineup improvements. That offer could be tantalizing for a Calgary team looking for a breadth of young talent. At the very least, it’s an exciting bar in a goalie market that, per Friedman, has plenty of invested teams.

Boston, Montreal To Host 2025 4 Nations Face-Off

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The NHL has announced that the inaugural 2025 4 Nations Face-Off – a best-on-best tournament featuring Canada, America, Sweden, and Finland – will be hosted in Boston’s TD Garden and Montreal’s Bell Centre (Twitter link). The festivities will include a rivalry day on Saturday, February 15 – with Team Finland and Team Sweden squaring off in the afternoon and Team USA set to face Team Canada that evening. The tournament will kick off in Montreal on February 12th, while Boston will host the tournament’s championship game on February 20th.

The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off was announced at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game and is intended to serve as a preparatory tournament to the 2026 Winter Olympics and will take place in place of an All-Star Weekend. The tournament will take place on NHL-sized rinks and follow NHL rules. The league also shared its intention to host the 2028 and 2032 World Cups of Hockey – a pre-season tournament that hasn’t been hosted since 2016, when it famously featured Team North America – a team comprised solely of U23 players from the USA and Canada.

While the addition of more international best-on-best tournaments is something fans have clamored for, the increase isn’t coming without controversy. Team Czechia is a notable exclusion from the 4 Nations lineup, after winning the 2024 World Championship. The four countries featured are four of the five most-represented nations in the NHL, joined by Russia, which is excluded from all IIHF competitions.

The early pieces of the 4 Nations tournament are coming into view, with Team USA already naming Mike Sullivan for 4 Nations and the 2026 Olympics. His appointment was made by Team USA general manager Bill Guerin, who is presiding over both events. Guerin is supported by other NHL GMs Chris Drury, Tom Fitzgerald, and Bill Zito as his assistants, and Chris Kelleher as ’Director of Player Personnel’. Team Canada has also named its management staff, announcing that Don Sweeney will serve as GM, with Jim Nill as his associate GM. Fans can expect to see rosters come together soon as well, per TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie, who shares that the first six players of all four rosters will be announced during the NHL Draft’s first round on June 28 (Twitter link).

NHL Announces Salary Cap For 2024-25 Season

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The NHL and NHLPA have announced the Team Payroll Range for the 2024-25 season. The salary cap upper limit has been set at $88MM, with a midpoint of $76.5MM and a lower limit of $65.0MM. This marks a $4.5MM increase in the upper limit for the 2023-24 season – tied for the highest single-season increase of all time – and a $6.5MM increase from the cap in 2019 and 2020. The upper limit also exceeds CapFriendly’s projected upper limit of $87.7MM – a projection mentioned at October’s NHL Board of Governors meeting. CapFriendly continues to project a $92MM salary cap next season – a mark that continues through the 2020s. The minimum salary is expected to remain at $775K, after growing from $750K ahead of this season.

The NHL incurred $1.5B in escrow debt after pausing the 2019-20 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The league has been paying off that debt ever since, with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman sharing it was down to $50M at the start of the season. This big step forward in salary cap suggests the league has fully paid off that debt, something Bettman hinted towards in the pre-season Board of Governors meeting. Bettman added in that meeting, “The game is in great shape. Our franchises have never been better owned or stronger, and we’re excited to have the start of another season upon us.” 

The NHL is showing that a healthy league leads to innovation, set to welcome a team in Utah for the first time next season. Utah will boast the most cap space in the league, with a hardy $43.5MM to spend. They’re succeeded by the San Jose Sharks ($37.5MM in cap space) and Chicago Blackhawks ($34.1MM in cap space), per CapFriendly.

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