Escrow has risen from 16 percent to 18 percent, according to multiple reports.
No surprise there, given the Canadian dollar’s plunge. With seven of the NHL’s 30 teams in Canada, there was no way league revenues weren’t going to be affected. Some had predicted escrow would go up even more.
Despite the fact it’s not the owners’ fault that the oil market crashed, taking the loonie down with it, the players won’t be happy to have almost a fifth of what they expected to earn withheld from their paychecks. While some of that significant chunk could be returned at a later date, there’s no guarantee that it will be.
In a related story, click here to read a column in the Seattle Times, with the headline: “Canada’s falling dollar could be raising hopes for a Seattle NHL expansion team.”
Also related, the NHL’s executive committee held its “special” meeting on expansion last week:
#nhl executive committee meeting is over. Expansion process still ongoing. No recommendations will be made at the BOG next week. #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) January 20, 2016
Only word from today's NHL Executive Committee meeting:"a good discussion on expansion...the process continues...no timeline "
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) January 21, 2016
