NHL reveals 2023-24 salary cap

The cap will rise by $1 million from the $82.5 million it was set at for the 2022-23 season. The cap stagnated for three seasons during the COVID-19 era when it was stuck at $81.5 million because the league was losing revenue due to the lack of fans in NHL arenas.

It rose by $1 million for the 2022-23 season, which was the first time it had risen since 2018-19. The modern NHL salary cap was established following the 2005 lockout and was initially set at $39 million. In the 19 years since then it has gone up in 15 out of 19 seasons. Three cap stagnations were caused by COVID-19, and the other one was due to the 2012-13 lockout, which caused the cap to drop from $64.3 million down to $60 million.

The cap has risen by an average amount of $2.34 million year over year. Once the players pay off their escrow owed from the last few years the cap is expected to rise rapidly.

The NHL could have a salary cap north of $90 million in the next couple of seasons. This affects how teams negotiate long-term contracts with core players. The highest-paid player in the NHL for next year is Nathan MacKinnon at $12.6 million. Auston Matthews is one year removed from unrestricted free agency, and if there are indications that the cap is going to rise above $90 million in the first few years of his contract, he could blow past MacKinnon’s average annual value.

As the NHL enters the offseason, starting with the draft in less than a week and free agency shortly after, teams will fill out their rosters with diverse salary-cap situations. According to CapFriendly, the Montreal Canadiens are the only team currently over the cap, at $84.7 million owed to their players for next year.

Six other teams are within $5 million of the cap, and they all have numerous players to sign still. On the other side, there are currently six teams sitting under the $61.7 million cap floor. The Anaheim Ducks need to commit more than $17 million in salaries next year just to get above the salary cap floor.