The NHL has officially released the payroll range for 2023-24, though it won’t come as much of a surprise. As expected, the salary cap ceiling has been set at $83.5MM for next season, $1MM more than 2022-23. A much larger increase is expected next offseason.
The lower limit, or salary cap floor, has been set at $61.7MM. According to CapFriendly, four teams currently project to be under that number. The Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes, Detroit Red Wings, and Anaheim Ducks are all well under $60MM in commitments, meaning they have work to do in the coming weeks and months.
A cap ceiling of $83.5MM means that the maximum average annual value that a player can sign for is now $16.7MM, 20 percent of the upper limit. It also means that teams can have commitments up to $91.85MM in the offseason, as there is a cushion of 10 percent to work with before the season begins.