Despite the growing concern of some of the NHL’s big spenders, the league doesn’t expect a weaker Canadian dollar to keep the salary cap from going up next season, as has been reported.
“I expect there to be a healthy rise in the salary cap for next season,” deputy commissioner Bill Daly said last week, per the New York Times. “The Canadian dollar would have to continue to fall in a material way for that to change.”
At last glance, one Canadian dollar was worth around $0.88 U.S. That’s considerably lower than it was a couple of years ago, but considerably higher than it was during the 1990s when the exchange rate was a contributing factor to the relocations of the Winnipeg Jets (to Arizona) and Quebec Nordiques (to Colorado).
What are the chances the Canadian dollar could “continue to fall in a material way”? Well, we’re not currency traders here at PHT, but we do know that plunging oil prices are tied to the looney’s recent devaluation. So if you’re a Blackhawks fan, feel free to blame OPEC if it turns out Chicago can’t keep Patrick Sharp or Brent Seabrook.