from Ken Campbell of The Hockey News,

You might not have noticed that the Canadian dollar closed on Friday at 78 cents against its American counterpart. That’s by no means where it was five years ago when it was trading at par or above par against the U.S. dollar, nor is it as dire as January, 2002, when it dipped to 62 cents. But that close of 78 cents on Friday represents the highest value it has had in the calendar year of 2017.

And if it can nudge its way up to 80 cents, something that could very well happen, particularly if the Bank of Canada increases interest rates this week, that would be a very, very good thing for the NHL.

“It will make a significant difference,” said one NHL executive. “It wouldn’t have any effect on this season, but it could make a difference next year.”

With the salary cap already set at $75 million, teams will have no more cap room this season despite what the Canadian dollar does. But with one third of the league’s revenues coming in Canadian dollars, the difference between a 73-cent dollar (which is where it was trading at its 2017 nadir in May) and an 80-cent dollar is huge for the league. Not only do Canadian NHL teams take in revenues in Canadian dollars and pay their players in U.S. dollars, they also provide roughly 33 percent of the league’s overall revenues.

To break it down further, consider that NHL revenues, which have flattened over the past couple of seasons, are about $4 billion (U.S.). One third of that is approximately $1.3 billion. If the Canadian dollar were to gain seven cents, that would bump that revenue figure up by more than $90 million U.S. dollars.

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