According to multiple reports, the NHLPA is expected to vote on a $75 million salary cap today.
If approved, it would raise the cap from its current level of $73 million; however, it would not quite match the $76 million figure that the league pegged in March.
It’s not clear how the union came up with the $75 million figure. It’s possible that only part of the five percent growth factor was used -- say, 1.5 to 2.5 percent -- with the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights making that more palatable for free agents.
There had been talk that the salary cap could remain flat for next season, as a way to address the players’ concerns about escrow.
“Obviously the higher the cap goes, the more exacerbated the escrow problem becomes,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said before the Stanley Cup Final. “Certainly our position with the players’ association has been that we’ll manage the cap tighter and keep it lower to try to address the escrow situation, if that’s your preference.”