from Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazetts,
Over the past 12 months, the value of the loonie in relation to its U.S. counterpart has dropped from 94.46 cents to 87.91 cents.
With more than one-third of the NHL’s hockey-related revenue being generated in Canadian dollars, the decline has a direct effect on the salary cap. Last spring, GMs were figuring out ways to spend the extra money generated by the new 12-year Canadian TV deal with Rogers worth $5.2 billion. But the loonie’s drop and the decision to apply some of that new revenue to this season’s salary cap has teams facing a stark reality — for the first time since the end of the lockout in 2005, the cap might not go up from its current $69 million U.S.
That would create problems for a number of teams, including the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks have 15 players under contract for next season and have committed nearly $65.8 million to that group. They will have an average of $400,000 to spend on the eight players to fill out their roster for next season if the cap remains the same, and the minimum salary in the NHL is $600,000.
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.