from Frank Seravalli of TSN,

The cap is projected to rise to somewhere between $78 and $82 million for next season, up from $75 million this season.

After growing a combined $3.6 million over the last two seasons, the cap will climb at least $3 million next season thanks to a healthy 8 per cent increase in league revenue.

“We’re having an extraordinarily healthy growth in revenues,” commissioner Gary Bettman said. “The league has never been healthier. The game has never been healthier. Our franchises have never been healthier.”

Bettman projected the NHL to hit a record $4.54 billion (U.S.) in league-wide hockey-related revenue. That figure does not include the $500 million expansion fee paid by the Vegas Golden Knights to join the league, but their addition as a 31st club was definitely a factor for the increase.

The NHL still lags well behind the other three major sports in North America in revenue. For perspective, in 2016 the NFL generated approximately $14 billion, MLB surpassed $10 billion for the first time and the NBA is north of $6 billion.

read on